Bengals victorious on the road, claim league championship
Walsh Field was the scene of an epic battle between the St. Paul Bengals and the Bonnyville Bandits, as the teams fought hard for the Wheatland Football League Bantam Championship.
Both teams endured an icy wind blowing across the artificial tundra, but the Bengals persevered, winning in overtime by a score of 13 – 7.
While he gave credit to the opposing team for their hard work, head coach Todd Tanasichuk said, “In the end, I believe it was our heart and resolve that carried the day. This is the first of our nine championships that we've won as the road team. It’s very difficult to do. I'm very proud of my players and assistant coaches and their mental toughness and work ethic.
The Bengals’ defence and dropped balls for the offense were the stories of the game on Saturday. When the mercury dipped and the weather dropped to -20 and below with the wind chill, the ball became a slippery rock.
Tanasichuk said it was “great game,” calling it “a defensive battle for certain, although offensively, we shot ourselves in the foot more so than they stopped us. Still, the boys played with tremendous heart and refused to surrender, despite our inability to score.”
Given the wintery weather conditions, the Bonnyville football volunteers did an amazing job of getting the field ready and playable, even providing heated shelters for both teams.
The first quarter was a draw, with the St. Paul offense turning the ball over, and the defense shutting down the Bandits.
Bonnyville's only score came in the second quarter after a fumble inside the St. Paul 10-yard line. Two plays later, Duncan Critch scored on a three-yard run to put the Bandits up 7-0.
“We had an early fumble deep in our own end that set up their touchdown in the second quarter, on an inadvertent whistle. Despite the setback, we battled on and carried the play to Bonnyville throughout the game,” said Tanasichuk. “Their offence could do little against our fantastic defence. While we would move the ball on offence and had many big plays, turnovers, broken plays and penalties killed drives for us.”
Early in the fourth quarter, Brett Halfe broke a long run into the end zone but it was called back due to a penalty being called. Heads dropped for a moment on the Bengals’ sideline until coaching staff re-lit the fire.
“We lost one touchdown because of a penalty. It’s been a frustrating trend the past four weeks, but our defence continues to hold the fort,” said Tanasichuk. “We had a great defensive game plan and defensive coordinator Derek Zapisocki called a great defensive game to give us opportunity after opportunity to do something on the offensive side.”
The score would remain 7-0 until 5:17 of the fourth quarter when Tyler Foote caught an Ethan Boisclair pass to tie the game. On third and long, with 1:30 remaining, Tanasichuk went for the win.
Boisclair boomed the ball toward the Bonnyville end zone, attempting a rouge on the punt. Kelton McAuley made a great play to save the game for the Bandits, catching the ball in the air and running it out of the end zone, sending the game to overtime.
St. Paul won the coin toss and received first possession in the shootout. In the shootout format, each team gets possession on their opponents’ 35-yard line with one drive to score. If both or neither team scores, it goes to another round.
Early in that drive, Halfe made an amazing play, picking up a fumble on the 40-yard line and scampering for 30 yards. Malcolm Steeves then carried the ball to the one-yard line. The winning touchdown came with Boisclair calling his own number on a quarterback sneak.
St. Paul's defence would once again shut down Bonnyville for the win.
“It (winning the championship) means everything to me, I am so excited and the rest of the guys feels the same,” said Dominick Couture.
Tanasichuk gave credit to current Lions’ coaches Mark Tichkowsky and Travis Rolheiser, who were co-head coaches of the Bengals the last two seasons, saying they “built a foundation and culture that sets up opportunities to win championships.”
“We couldn't have done this without them. I know they are excited about the solid group of players we have moving up to them at the Lions’ level next season.”
The Bengals now play Saturday at CKC Field in Grande Prairie against the Sexsmith Shamrocks for the Northern Alberta Tier III Championship.
“They look like a fast team that present challenges we haven't seen this season, but we will be ready,” said Tanasichuk.
A victory in Grande Prairie means the Bengals would host the provincial championship game in St. Paul on Nov. 18, which would be a first for the organization.
