The Westlock Thunderbirds’ hopes for a Wheatland Football League crown remain intact following a 21-7 home-playoff win Saturday over the Athabasca Pacers.
Down 7-0 in the second quarter, the T-Birds rattled off 21-straight points for the victory, and now have a second round playoff matchup with the Bonnyville Voyageurs Saturday, Oct. 29 at 1 p.m. in Westlock. The T-Birds faced Bonnyville in an exhibition tilt Sept. 27, falling 31-0.
“It was good to host a playoff game. It’s been a couple of years since we’ve done that,” said head coach Jon Kramer. “It’s nice to have a win. The guys have just worked so hard throughout the season and the guys from Morinville and Barrhead make the drive everyday to practice so it’s nice to see it all pay off for them to have a win in front of the home fans.”
Trailing early, T-Bird quarterback Brett Snell took matters into his own hands and rattled off a long touchdown run.
“Someone called it kind of a fluke play but it’s hard work and the guys just saw some open spot and they took it,” Kramer said. “That’s the one that tied it up 7-7.”
He said the team still struggled on offence, but pulled through and stuck with the game plan, which ultimately paid off.
“For the Grade 12s, we always remind them that this could be the last time you wear your shoulder pads in your life, so that’s a motivation,” he said.
For Grade 12 student Mitchell Kosh, the game was icing on the cake, falling on his 18th birthday.
“(Mitchell Kosh) had a monster game,” said defensive coach Shayne Frith-Smith, adding that other standout players included Stefan Toivonen and Snell.
Kramer agreed, adding that Kurtis Ouellette, played outstanding, staying on the field for every play in the game.
Heading into the game, he said the team was anxious. They’ve played the Pacers twice before, winning 22-12 on Sept. 9 and losing on Sept. 30 in Athabasca 16-6.
“The guys were pretty nervous and you could tell from the first bit, but once the game started up and they made their first contact with somebody, they loosen up and then they just have fun,” he said.
“The thing that always bit us in previous years is we always had a breakdown somewhere … you have your offence, your defence and your special teams and we always have struggled getting all three lined up and working well,” he said. “But this was a game where we didn’t really have any mistakes and we tell the guys, if you can play mistake-free, you can probably win.”
Winning is reward itself, but beating out Athabasca was even more satisfying.
“They’re one of our biggest rivalries,” Kramer said. “They’re a good, hard football team. I’ve got a lot of respect for them. They don’t have as many players as a part of their program, so they have half a dozen football players that played every play in the game. They’re really well-coached and they don’t have any quit in them.”
“I didn’t want the season to end, so I’m just ecstatic,” coach Frith-Smith added.
