The St. Paul Bengals dropped the team’s first game of the season to the Bonnyville Bandits by 66-19 at Friday night’s Scott McDonald Memorial football game in Bonnyville.
While the first quarter saw both the Bengals and Bandits put up 13 points each, Bonnyville took over the game in the second and refused to relinquish control.
The Bandits used the second quarter to distance themselves from the Bengals on the scoreboard. At halftime, the Bengals left the field down 41-13, and they did not manage to close the gap in the second half.
The Bengals managed to drive in another touchdown late in the game on a 60-yard run, but it was not enough as the Bandits had already run their tally up to 66 points.
The loss brings the Bengals to 2-1 on the season with plenty of time to bounce back for the playoffs.
It was the third annual Scott McDonald Memorial game, held in honour of MacDonald, a former player on the Bonnyville Voyageurs team who died of cancer on July 11, 2010, at age 19. The event raises money for Haying in the 30s, a non-profit organization that helps locals currently undergoing cancer treatment, as well as the Bonnyville Football Scholarship Fund. The Bandits and the Voygeurs play back-to-back games during the event, with the Voyageurs playing under the lights, after sunset. Hundreds of people attend the memorial event each year.
