The Bonnyville Bantam Bandits won their first Scott MacDonald Memorial football game this past Friday night, defeating the St. Paul Bengals with a score of 66-19.
The game started out on even footing, with both teams putting 13 points up on the scoreboard by the end of the first quarter, but Bonnyville came back to dominate the field for the remainder of the game, increasing their lead to 41-13 by the end of the second.
The Bonnyville defensive line kept the Bengals back until the end of the fourth, when a heroic 60-yard run led to a touchdown by the St. Paul team to give them a few more points, ending the game with 19 to Bonnyville's 66.
Coach Dan Jubinville said it was “a very good win. First time to win a Scott MacDonald Memorial for us, it's a great feeling.”
He said all the Bandits contributed to the win, explaining, “We put out basically our whole bench and the whole bench couldn't go wrong.”
Winning at the Scott MacDonald Memorial made the win that much more important, Jubinville said, saying the event is a huge one for the Bonnyville Football Association.
This was the third year for the annual event, held in honour of Scott MacDonald, a former player on the Bonnyville Voyageurs team who died of cancer on July 11, 2010, at 19 years old. 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.
“To the Bonnyville Football Association, it's huge,” Jubinville said. “It's a non-profit organization giving to a non-profit organization that gives all the money to rural citizens that have cancer. I tell you, there's not a better thing that we could do.”
He added, “I don't think you'll see any other club of any other stature do this type of event for something like that, a non-profit. I don't think we've ever seen the hockey teams do it. I challenge them to do it because it's probably the best cause that we have in this town.”
Larry Godziuk, coach of the Voyageurs, said the event would not be possible without local support and the parents who organized it.
“We had a pretty big turn out like usual,” he said. “We had so much support from businesses and individuals and that in itself is a success for the evening, to have that much community support for the programs and what we do here.
“The parents did an excellent job organizing this night and I'd like to recognize their efforts.”
Despite their best efforts, the Voyageurs fell to the St. Paul Lions during the second game of the evening, played under floodlights after the sun had set.
Despite the final score of 50-20 for the Lions, Godziuk said his team performed “really well.”
“The score was not in our favour, but the boys played really well,” he said. “We had some breakdowns that led to some scores, a couple of interceptions that led to scores, and we've got a week to put the pieces back together before we play them again in St. Paul.”
In particular, Godziuk said players Devon Edmonds and quarterback Jerad Churko played well. Linebacker Michael Zelisko, who also plays fullback, had his “best game in two years,” Godziuk added.
“I don't think the score reflected our efforts,” said Zelisko after the game. “On defence, it was our best game in a long time. We kept strong until the end, even though we had a couple of bad bounces.”
He said playing a game where even the team's best efforts still resulted in a loss teaches some valuable lessons.
“Never give up,” he said. “Just keep your cool, play tough, keep going.”
