Chris Zwick – Leader Staff
The Westlock Thunderbirds may have been 0-5 on the season, but you couldn’t tell given the effort and attitude they displayed as they took on the visiting team from Bonnyville under the bright lights last Friday.
The community came out in full force to support their Thunderbirds for the annual Friday Night Lights game Oct. 4. The bleachers were packed, while even more stood or brought their own lawn chairs to witness their hometown boys.
Sadly, the fortunes were not in the Thunderbirds’ favour, as they fell to the visiting Voyageurs 54-6.
It’s been a rebuilding year and a tough season, but the coaching staff, including head coach Jon Kramer have made a point of noting their progress throughout the season and trying to never let them get down on themselves.
“It was a good night,” said Kramer. “The scoreboard is the first thing that comes to mind for a lot of people. The boys at the start of the game were fired up and excited for the night. They were thrilled and just over the moon with the experience. It was just a good night, and a special night for a small town.”
It was a miserable day as far as the weather went, with a constant drizzle coming down throughout the day, but it cleared off just in time for the pre-game festivities, presented by CONEX, which included games for the kids, prizes and fun for the whole family.
“Their mandate is just trying to connect people in the community and get people connecting with each other. They recognized when this started that it was a big event for the town so they’ve put some of their resources and people behind it to reach out to more kids and more families to get people doing things together,” said Kramer.
Kramer also had nothing but good things to say about the Voyageurs, who had many fans in the crowd as well, coming all the way from Bonnyville.
“Bonnyville is a good opponent too. They gave us a pretty competitive game and we were pretty close at the start actually. It was one of the closer ones we had,” he said.
“On the football side it comes down to the little things and it takes mistakes to learn those things ... the competitiveness is there, the drive is there and the focus is there, but the little things will bite us in the butt, until we learn those lessons.”
While the regular season is now finished, the Thunderbirds will travel to Olds for an exhibition game next Friday, with the same team that travelled to Westlock last year, before learning who their playoff opponent will be Oct. 18. They will be on the road though, that much is known.
Kramer also went on to express his gratitude to the town and all the sponsors and fans who make Friday Night Lights possible every year.
“It’s a pretty special experience for the kids just to lose themselves for three hours. Life’s not easy for a teenager, but they made the most of it and it was pretty special for them.”
