For the first time in the team’s history, the St. Paul Bengals are going to the provincial minor football finals, after beating its southern Alberta opponent, the Leduc Ti-Cats, soundly last Saturday afternoon at St. Paul Regional Field.
The final score was a resounding 40 – 14 for the Bengals, with six touchdowns scored in total for the homeboys. The boys scored two touchdowns in the first half, and four unanswered touchdowns in the second half.
Both teams were tied at 14 – 14 at the end of the third quarter after the Bengals gave up a safety in the second quarter, and let the Ti-cats score two touchdowns with one in the second quarter and another with 5:46 to go in the third.
Dmitri Krys, one of the veterans of the Bengals’ team, commented that with the tied game, the team had to score.
“It was really close,” said Dmitri, who scored two of the game’s touchdowns for the Bengals. “It was 14-14 … and we scored 26 in a row.”
Gerald Thomas, head coach of the Leduc Ti-Cats, commented that although his team lost, they “played well and played hard.
“Today, (the Bengals) were the better team, but tomorrow we’ll be the better team,” said Thomas.
Bengals’ quarterback Brenden McKay contributed two of the four touchdowns in the nail-biting fourth quarter, and with the help of Dmitri and Dylan Machura, who also scored touchdowns in the fourth, put the nails in the coffin of the Ti-Cats’ season.
Head coach Seth Henderson commented that he felt ecstatic, with this season being the first time a St. Paul football team has made it to the provincial finals. “I loved it,” said Henderson, adding, “We knew it was going to be a battle … (the Ti-Cats) came out wanting to win too.
“It took our boys a while to understand that they have to step up their game,” explained Henderson. “It was very tense for the first three quarters … but our conditioning level and our skill took over during the fourth quarter and helped us win.”
Steve Johnson, the Bengals’ defensive coach, praised the Ti-Cats for being “a solid team,” and agreed with Henderson that the Bengals’ conditioning and skill made the difference in the fourth quarter.
Henderson commented after the game that he is excited for the future of the Bengals and the Lions. “Many of the players in the team will go on to do great things at the high school level too,” said Henderson, adding the boys will need to make sure their success doesn’t go to their heads.
“I believe in the next coming years, we’re going to see a lot more kids come out and play football,” commented Henderson. He felt the current team’s success in being the first ever St. Paul team to win a provincial semi-finals to go to the finals was important for the future of the sport in the area. “This historic event right now is going to push kids to hopefully come out and join the Bengals and the Lions.”
The boys will hit the road to travel down south to take on the Calgary Colts this coming Saturday for the final game, and they hope to bring the Provincial Minor Football championship cup back home for the first time in the St. Paul Bengals’ history.
