It’s another win for the Westlock Thunderbirds football team.
Playing on the road in Wainwright against the Commandos on Sept. 19, the T-Birds came away with a 32-20 win. It was the team’s second win in a row, lifting the team to a 2-1 record on the season.
Coach Jon Kramer said the team controlled much of the play, especially in the early going.
“We were driving the ball well,” he said. “We managed the clock really well on offence. I think we had played for 10 minutes and they had only had about three offensive plays.”
After one quarter, the T-Birds led 7-0. However, early in the second the Commandos scored to tie the game 7-7.
The T-Birds followed that up with two touchdowns, one of which was not converted, to take a 20-7 lead at the half.
Another unconverted touchdown to start the third quarter gave the T-Birds a 26-7 lead, but Wainwright answered back with a touchdown of its own to make it 26-14 heading in to the final quarter.
In the fourth quarter, the teams traded unconverted touchdowns to bring the final score to 32-20.
“It was quite tight most of the way through, but in hindsight we managed the game really well,” Kramer said.
What helped lead the T-Birds to the win was limiting their own turnovers while forcing the Commandos to commit several of their own. The T-Birds intercepted the Commandos twice, and forced two fumbles. The Commandos forced the T-Birds to fumble only once.
“The little things we did right made a big difference in the game,” Kramer said.
Leading the way on defence were Jacob Williston and Nick Schwarz. Wainwright is a team that passes and runs equally, Kramer said, and the boys’ work kept the Commandos’ passing game under control.
Up next for the T-Birds is the annual Friday Night Lights game on Sept. 26 on the field behind Westlock Elementary School against the Athabasca Pacers.
It’s a big rivalry game for both teams, Kramer said, and what happens on the field won’t be based on anything that’s happened earlier this season.
“They’re 0-3 on the year and we’re 2-1, but when you get to the rivalry games, the records don’t mean anything,” he said.
For the T-Birds, it’s especially important they put up a good show, as the Pacers have had their number the past few years, and they want to reverse that trend.
“It’ll be a fun one that we’re going to work really hard towards,” Kramer said.
The festivities kick off at around 5 p.m. on Friday with tailgating and children’s activities at the field.
Player introductions are scheduled for 7:45 p.m., with the opening kick off to take place at 8 p.m.
