WESTLOCK — Following a disappointing end to the season last year, the Westlock Thunderbirds turned things around in 2023 and will be hosting the Caroline Cougars in the first round of the Tier 2 Alberta-Six-A-Side Football League playoffs.
The two teams will square off on the field behind Westlock Elementary School at 5 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 3. This is a playoff game that the T-Birds have anticipated from day one.
Having finished the regular season Oct. 19 with a 4W-2L-0T record, they are ready for the post-season but aren’t taking anything for granted.
“It was another building year. We definitely wanted to improve upon our season last year and we definitely did that,” said head coach Jared DeJong, pointing to a larger number of athletes this year, which contributed to the team’s success.
They played their first-round playoff opponent Caroline, just once in the regular season when they were in Westlock for the Friday Night Lights game Oct. 13 and beat them 48-6, but DeJong said they know not to take the Cougars lightly, especially in a one-game elimination playoff round.
“Our goal all season has been to just get better every week and I think for the most part outside of maybe one week, we have done that,” he said. “We’ve been pretty fortunate this year where we haven’t had many significant injuries. I think we only lost two or three guys this year, which has been really good because (staying healthy is) definitely part of what’s going to help you be successful.”
He noted that Caroline did not have their full roster when they played them in the regular season, so they will be ready for them Nov. 3.
“We know that they’ve gotten better …you’ve been able to watch what they’ve done over the season, and they’ve improved. They’ve become more cohesive as a team, they definitely have a few strong athletes and we expect them to have a number of more bodies which will make them more competitive as well,” explained DeJong. “This isn’t any easy one …our focus is winning that game and moving onto the next round.”
With a full roster this season, including some players who are younger and newer to football, DeJong said they want to prioritize getting those T-Birds some playing time to get them more experience.
“We’re not looking past Caroline at all; we definitely know they need to have our full attention until the clock runs out zero.”
Following the quarter-final, the winners of the semi-final round will meet in the league championship round in mid-November, noted DeJong, adding that with a different system this year and a bit less pressure, the T-Birds are looking forward to the playoffs no matter the outcome.
“Definitely for us, we wanted to host a home playoff game … and we’ll have the one for sure, so that’s a mission accomplished for us as well in that sense,” said DeJong. “We feel pretty confident and if we can bring our full roster, then we’re going to be really competitive no matter how things end.”
