The Westlock Thunderbirds are 0-2 in the WFL following a 55-0 road loss to the St. Paul Lions Sept. 6.
The Westlock Thunderbirds didn’t fare much better in their second game of the Wheatland Football League season than they did in their first, suffering a 55-0 loss at the hands of the St. Paul Lions.
The Thunderbirds hopped on the bus and travelled to St. Paul for their first road game of the year Sept. 6 and were soundly defeated as the team of gridiron warriors struggled versus the top-ranked Lions.
“It was another tough loss,” said head coach Jon Kramer. “But I’m super proud of the boys. It was a progression from last week ... There’s a few teams in our league that are just on a whole different level and with the six years of experience they’ve had together, it can be hard to have a competitive game.”
For a team made up of mostly first-year players who have never played together before, competing with the big level teams with long-standing programs can be difficult, but Kramer said he saw a spark that will surely serve the team well as they head into the latter part of their schedule.
“Going into the game we talked about our plans for the year and learning to care about each other and get a community going, then figure out what kind of effort is required,” said Kramer. “After that we figure out how to be competitive and then how to win games.”
Kramer said he saw a lot of promise in the loss to the Lions.
“We had a handful of really competitive plays — we had an interception, we had a sack — there were quite a few good things happening out there, just not enough,” he said.
“I was really proud of the effort the boys put out. It’s really easy, in a game where you’re mismatched, to back down or to check out, but we didn’t do either of them.
“The boys played good, hard physical football all night and made quite a few good, hard hits and were fired up and focused the whole time.”
Kramer hopes to see that effort continue next week, when the Holy Rosary Raiders from Lloydminster visit the Thunderbirds Sept. 13 at the Westlock Elementary School football field with the opening kick-off taking place at 5 p.m.
