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Bengals head to championships against Bandits

The St. Paul Bengals are moving on to the Wheatland Bantam Football League Championship game for the second time in as many years. The boys beat the Lloydminster Chargers 13 – 8 in a nail-biter at St. Paul Regional field on Oct. 288.
After besting the Lloydminster Chargers, the St. Paul Bengals team heads to the championship game against the Bonnyville Bandits, on Nov. 4 at Walsh Field.
After besting the Lloydminster Chargers, the St. Paul Bengals team heads to the championship game against the Bonnyville Bandits, on Nov. 4 at Walsh Field.

The St. Paul Bengals are moving on to the Wheatland Bantam Football League Championship game for the second time in as many years.

The boys beat the Lloydminster Chargers 13 – 8 in a nail-biter at St. Paul Regional field on Oct. 288. The game was undecided until the very last seconds ran out on the clock.

“Basically, I felt it was exactly as advertised - a tough physical game against a well coached team. The biggest key to our victory was our resolve. We refused to surrender in moments where things didn't look good,” said Bengals head coach Todd Tanasichuk.

It was mostly a beautiful day for a football game on Saturday, although Mother Nature decided to throw a 40km/h northwest wind into the mix after halftime. The Bengals’ defense dominated the first half, repeatedly knocking the ball from the Chargers’ hands.

The pigskin hit the turf three times on the Chargers’ first four plays. Lloydminster did have one good drive in the first quarter, but the St. Paul defense made a stand inside their 10-yard line and came away with the ball.

“We moved the ball well in the first half, but had difficulty cashing in on our drives. We also had a hard time getting them to punt after putting their offence in second and longs,” said Tanasichuk.

On offense, the Bengals racked up the yards on the ground and in the air but just couldn't punch it in. St. Paul would score on only one of their four first half trips into the red zone and that was on a muffed Ethan Boisclair punt. Early in the second quarter from the Lloydminster 30-yard line, the Bengals punted and after bouncing off a Charger, the ball rolled into the end zone.

Tyler Foote recovered the ball just west of the goal line, making the score 7 – 0 for St. Paul.

“The recovered punt in the end zone was obviously a big play for us in the second quarter. A very ‘heads up’ play by Tyler Foote gave us the lead,” said Tanasichuk.

Twice the Chargers’ defense stood tall and once blocked a Boisclair field goal attempt. The score would stay 7-0 until Carter Illerbrun pulled down a 35-yard Anders Hundeby pass for a touchdown, making it 7 – 7 at the half.

“We continued pressuring them in that quarter but then at the end they put a long-penalty aided drive together and made some big catches on second and third downs to get a touchdown of their own. It was deflating to be tied at halftime after outplaying them, but we regrouped.”

During halftime, the wind started to really kick up with speeds of 40km/h with gusts to 65km/h, which became a factor in the game and created some tougher conditions in the third. The Chargers scored the third quarter’s only point with a rouge on a Davin Falcon punt.

“We started forcing them to punt early into their drives. Offensively, their size up front gave us a lot of difficulty in our attempts to run the ball. Entering the fourth quarter down 8-7 was a real victory for us,” said the coach.

In the last quarter, with the wind working in their favour, St. Paul took a few more chances through the air and connected on a couple, but after a blocked field goal with seven minutes left, things were looking bleak.

When Bengals’ quarterback Ethan Boisclair connected with receiver Damon Buffalo for a touchdown, the crowd breathed a big sigh of relief as the Bengals went up 13-8.

Lloydminster had many chances to tie the game, but the St. Paul defense came up big again and again.

“The last three minutes were heart stopping, as we gave them opportunity after opportunity to get a touchdown of their own, between fumbles, incorrect plays being ran and penalties, but in the end we gutted it out,” said Tanasichuk. “We had many players that stood out, but in particular our linebackers and receivers really played well. Our linemen had difficulty against their big size, but held their own on both sides of the ball.”

The Bengals will now face the Bonnyville Bandits at 2 p.m. on Nov. 4 at Walsh Field.

“Things we need to do much better against Bonnyville . . . one, protect the football. We had way too many fumbles. Two, get our signal calls correct so the right play is being run in the right moment; three, far fewer penalties. Four, tackle well in second and long situations. Five, take advantage of our opportunities,” said an upbeat Tanasichuk.

The Bengals are in for a battle as Bonnyville is another very well coached team.

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