ST. PAUL – After losing to the Holy Rosary Raiders 29 – 11 on Sept. 29, the St. Paul Lions bounced back with a victory against the Cold Lake Royals on Oct. 6.
The game is the Lions’ fourth of the 2022 Wheatland Football League season.
The Lions came out strong in the first half of the game on Thursday night, scoring two touchdowns and collecting a few extra points, leading to a score of 17-0. Coming up on the second half, the Lions again managed to break through the Royals’ defense and ended the third quarter with a solid lead of 30-0.
On the last quarter, supporters of the Royals cheered in uproar when Cold Lake made their first touchdown of the game, making the score 32-6 with about nine minutes remaining on the clock. The Royals took advantage of the momentum to close the gap 32-13.
But, the St. Paul Lions reinforced its defense as the clock ran out. Then, with just a minute and a half left, St. Paul Lions’ Ryan Songer (#8) rushed to the end zone with another touchdown.
The Lions won the match with a 25-point lead and a final score of 40-15.
Ryan Fodchuk (#5) was among the leading scorers at the game. He said it was a team effort Thursday night under the lights, and “everybody played well.” He said there were limited penalties, mistakes, turnovers, and “We just came out and dominated.”
Mark Tichkowsky, head coach, said the team’s offense was balanced between “running the ball, passing the ball,” and he added the Lions played well defensively with limited turnovers.
During the last quarter, when the momentum shifted to the Royals, Tichkowsky admitted that “the momentum changed” when defensive tackle Helmon Ndose (#65) was injured.
But, the team “rose to the occasion,” according to the coach. Ndose was taken for an X-ray due to an ankle injury.
“We were kind of on our heels for a while and we were able to withhold it,” said Tichkowsky. “We were able to march the ball down and punch one more in to seal the deal.”
The St. Paul Lions will head to Wainwright to take on the Commandos on Oct. 14.
