The St. Paul Lions Football Club regained its winning momentum on Friday with a 52-14 victory over the Wainwright Commandos.
The Lions seemed to take the Commandos out of it mentally early on, said Coach Todd Tanasichuk after the game.
“I know they’re a tougher team than that, but we played well today,” he said.
The Lions learned from its loss to the Cold Lake Royals in an exhibition match the week prior to improve its game heading into Friday’s contest, he said. “We executed. We worked really hard at practice to get the things right that we were doing wrong last week.”
The Lions fielded more players than the Commandos, something that factored into the team’s success on Friday, noted Tanasichuk.
The Lions took the lead early with two touchdowns and a successful conversion in the first quarter. In the second, Lions earned two points when the Commandos gave up their safety, making it 17-0. Nearing the bottom of the second, the Lions earned its third touchdown and a conversion point for 24-0.
The Lions maintained the pressure into the second half with two more touchdowns for the 38-0 lead. The Commandos came back harder after half time, scoring its first touchdown at the bottom of the third quarter with a 50-yard run after a fumble and recovery, and followed it up with a two-point conversion by Brandyn Delisle. The Lions answered the Commandos raid to the Lions’ end zone with a 60-yard dash by Jason Jubinville near the start of the fourth, cementing the lead at 45-8 with the field goal.
The Commandos earned one more touchdown but did not complete the conversion attempt. Nearing the bottom of the fourth, Dominic Dion earned another touchdown for the Lions, followed by the successful convert by Mark Proskiw for 52-14.
Jubinville had his best game of the season with three touchdowns. Jubinville made nine carries for 200 yards and received three for 99 yards. He credited being more prepared for the game than in previous weeks for his performance. “I have to give a lot of credit to the O-line,” he said after the game.
Proskiw made six converts, good for six points, and received four for 91 yards. He punted three for 94 yards.
“We really bonded as a team. We ran the ball well, threw the ball well, we just did great overall,” said Proskiw. “Our team showed up to play.”
Tanasichuk was impressed with starting quartberback Brendan McKay and both offensive and defensive squads. McKay completed seven of 12 passes for 126 yards and executed four carries for 16 yards.
“Defensively, Dominic Dion as usual was a force. We had great pressure from our defensive line all game. Many boys played really well. Lots of standouts today,” complimented the coach.
Dion made two touchdowns and four carries for 48 yards and as quarterback made four of five for 103 yards. He made six tackles, while Dale Johnson made four, Justin Anderson three, and Zach Mohyluk and Pelham two a piece. Johnson also made two sacks, and Anderson, Mohyluk, Dakota Boucher and Cody White one a piece.
Josh Pelham executed three carries for 55 yards and one touchdown, Dale Krankowsky eight carries for 55 yards and one touchdown, and Lance Ouellette three carries for 34 yards.
Both teams received an unnecessary roughness penalty toward the end of the match for “extra-curricular activities,” as the announcer put it.
Despite the well-played match, the Lions took too many penalties, said Tanasichuk, adding that it is something the team will definitely address. A couple holding penalties and “too many overall” in last week’s match will be a focus as the team prepares for its match on home turf against Vegreville tonight and against Bonnyville on Friday.
