The Westlock Thunderbirds came out to a great start in their regular season with a 40-21 win over the Vermilion Marauders.
Westlock hosted their opponents from the Wheatland Football League at the Westlock Elementary School last Friday evening, where a crowd several hundred strong braved the cold weather to cheer them on.
“I’m just happy people came out, watched and supported the boys,” coach Jon Kramer said. “It’s the whole atmosphere of having so many people out cheering them on that builds to why they work so hard in practice.”
The hard work obviously paid off for the T-Birds, as they got out to a formidable lead early on in the game.
Quarterback Jesse Plamondon ran in two touchdowns in the first quarter, and successfully kicked both conversions for a score of 14-0.
Josh Boyd made a 10-yard run early in the second for a third touchdown, and Plamondon threw a 41-yard pass to Robert Bokenfohr to make the score 27-0 before Vermilion was able to get on the board late in the quarter on a one-yard run into the end zone.
Westlock gave up another two points to a safety early in the third, but regained some momentum with another 14-yard touchdown run from Plamondon. The Marauders ran in another one to make the score 33-15 before Ronald Spiker successfully ran 53 yards for another touchdown.
The Thunderbirds held on in the fourth quarter, allowing only one more touchdown for the 40-21 final score.
Kramer said the boys lived up to expectations, playing the system they’ve been working on an focusing more on the Xs and Os from the playbook rather than relying on individual athletic ability.
“This was the most polished we’ve looked all year, which is what you hope for in a game,” he said. “I’m really proud of the guys because everybody played and everybody played hard.”
Specifically, he said he was proud of the way the running backs kept themselves pointed straight up the field rather than trying to outrun to the sidelines.
“That’s the problem with high-school football, is everybody wants to outrun everybody to the sidelines, and when they get there they realize there’s nowhere to go,” he said.
Kramer said Plamondon’s performance as quarterback was fairly strong, which comes as a result of a lot of hard work with the club throughout his high-school career.
“Jesse’s been a good hard player for us for a number of years, and he’s spent a lot of time learning,” he said. “When it’s his time to shine, he’s done really well.”
Plamondon has had the advantage of some coaching from last year’s quarterback, Brett Snell, who has rejoined the team as part of the coaching staff.
“It makes a big difference. He knows a lot of the guys and he understands the system,” Kramer said. “It’s nice to have guys who have benefited from the program giving back to it, too, and it’s been really nice for me to have him on the sidelines.”
The Thunderbirds will look for another win this Friday in Wainwright against the Commandos, before returning to Westlock on September 26 to host the Athabasca Pacers at 8 p.m. for the annual “Friday Night Lights” game.
