Trailing 14-6 at the half, it seemed like the Westlock Thunderbirds’ 2014 season would come to a screeching halt on Saturday against the Wainwright Commandos.
However, the Thunderbirds managed to pull out an 18-15 turnaround victory, clinching a spot in the Wheatland Football League championship this Saturday, Nov. 8 in St. Paul.
Head coach Jon Kramer said you could tell the Wainwright Commandos did a lot of film study on the Thunderbirds and were well-prepared.”
“We played a very good football team today,” he said. “They came prepared to give us a heck of a football game.”
The Commandos jumped out to a 7-0 lead on the Thunderbirds in the first quarter, though Westlock scored their own touchdown to put the score at 7-6.
Wainwright then gained a 14-6 lead just before halftime by scoring on a long pass.
“They were well-coached and pretty diverse with throwing the ball,” said Kramer.
At the half, Westlock’s coaching staff told the T-Birds that they were not feeling rattled.
“As coaches, we said we don’t believe in momentum. We believe in hard work and that pays off,” he said.
Admittedly, the second half didn’t get off to a great start, with Wainwright kicking for a single and Westlock failing to make a touchdown early in the third quarter. But the T-Birds did not relent.
“I was so proud of the boys. We could have folded when we didn’t get that touchdown here deep in their end ... but we talked to our offensive line, and said “just keep driving, keep driving.”
Kramer said they took note of what Wainwright was allowing them to do and just “pounded the ball.”
When Jesse Plamondon scored a second touchdown with 41 seconds left in the third quarter to raise the score to 15-12, the turnaround was in full swing.
Westlock and Wainwright both had crucial interceptions in the fourth quarter, but the Thunderbirds victory was clinched when Ronald Spiker, one of their Grade 12 players, ran over 50 yards to score their third touchdown.
“It was fun to watch him run that one,” said Kramer. “(The Wainwright player) who was playing chase with him … when we played these guys in Week 2, he caught most of our players. He’s a fast athlete.
“When I saw him chasing (Spiker), I didn’t know what would happen. But Ronnie ran hard today.”
Kramer said they didn’t see a lot of long passes this game; there were more short plays in general.
Had Vermilion won their playoff match with St. Paul, then the game would have been held in Westlock. However, the St. Paul Lions trounced the Vermilion Marauders 53-18.
As the Thunderbirds had received a bye during the first round of league playoffs, Kramer said this was the first playoff match for many of their young athletes — perhaps a third of their roster.
Last year, the T-Birds were defeated by the Athabasca Pacers in the final, but Kramer noted the league was also set up somewhat differently, as there are now six teams in their division.
“We’ve got enough veteran experience ... a lot of guys who have been (to finals) before,” he said. “And we’ve got enough young guys who got experience today that we’ll be good heading into the game.”