The steady snowfall that blanketed the area over the weekend fell equally onto the St. Paul football field – the site of the Wheatland Football League Division Two championship game on Nov. 8.
Few took notice of the weather on Saturday morning more than John Lumby, the Lions’ head coach, as his team got set to host the Westlock Thunderbirds in their final game of the year.
“We had been working on the passing game,” he said of the week of practice, which was played out under relatively mild conditions. “The weather definitely changed the game plan.”
Parents and volunteers helped clear some of the snow before kickoff, working snow blowers down the yardage lines so the officials could have some sense of where things were amidst all the deep white powder.
The Thunderbirds were first to possess the ball, and they used the drive to help establish their inside running game. Ball carriers hid behind a wall of blockers as they worked their way down the field, and eventually one of those ball carriers popped loose from the pile and scampered all the way to pay dirt for the game’s first score.
“When they drove for that first touchdown, it just seemed like we would never be able to stop them,” Lumby said after the game.
St. Paul was forced to punt on their first possession, but the Lions defence came up big with a fumble recovery on the next series, hauled in by Clinton Labine. The offence made good on the turnover, cashing in with a Liam Krys touchdown run. Both teams were successful with their converts, marking a 7-7 score after one quarter of play.
Westlock was first to strike in the second, keeping the ball on the ground for another Thunderbirds score. They missed the point-after kick, keeping the score at 13-7.
The Lions were again able to trample over the snowy tundra to put together a scoring drive on their next possession. Krys was again the one to break the plane, this time on a 35-yard touchdown run. The point-after kick by Madison Brousseau was good, giving the Lions a slim 14-13 advantage.
The next big play was again executed by the Lions in the form of a 27-yard touchdown run by Brousseau. He converted the kick on his own score, making it 21-13 for the home team.
As the first half wound to a close, the Lions found themselves up against another good Thunderbirds drive. With their backs against their own goal line, Lions linebacker Corey Wozniak made a big tackle on a third down attempt by Westlock. The halftime score remained 21-13 for St. Paul.
St. Paul took the ball to start the second half, and they soon found themselves facing a third down play. They sent the punt team onto the field, only to have punter Donovan Campeau fake the punt and carry the ball most of the way towards the goal line. On the very next play, Campeau took the handoff and finished the job.
The Lions would soon score again on another touchdown run by Krys. On the ensuing drive, the Lions defence forced a fumble that was recovered by Wozniak, who scooped up the loose ball and rumbled the other way for a Lions score. By then the home team had racked up a 42-13 lead.
The Thunderbirds were able to score a late-game touchdown, complete with a successful two-point conversion. Brousseau later added a field goal for the Lions to round out the scoring at 45-21.
“I think we executed well,” said Wozniak. “We had our ups and downs, but once we started going, we didn’t let up at all.”
Wozniak, a senior who was playing his last game as a Lion, was happy to finish on a winning note, complete with his first touchdown of his high school career.
“It felt amazing,” he said of the scoring play. “It was a good way to go out in my Grade 12 year.”
Another graduating player, Labine, was proud of his teammates for coming together for the win.
“We played hard,” he said. “We had a little bit of adversity, but we came to play. We played Lions football, and that’s what I like to see.”
“It’s a great way to end the year – to end on a winning note against a tough opponent,” said Lumby. “I guess what we wanted to do was prove that we’re a Division One team, and we still belong in Division One. I think that by winning the Division Two championship, it definitely confirmed that for us.”
