It was sunny and seasonably warm on the first day of November, when the St. Paul Lions welcomed the visiting Vermilion Marauders to town for a crisp autumn football game. On the line was a berth in the Wheatland Football League’s Division Two championship game.
When the captains met in the middle of the field before the first whistle, the leaders from St. Paul elected to receive the opening kick.
“I wanted the ball at the start, largely because of the way we were practicing this week,” commented head coach John Lumby after the game. “I felt confident with what we were going to do offensively.”
The head coach’s premonitions came true, as the Lions opened the game with a methodical drive of the football field. They ran right, then left, and eventually it was quarterback Patrick Dion who called his own number for the touchdown play, a 27-yard run that went wide around the edge behind some great blocking. They successfully converted the single to jump out to a 7-0 lead, but the home team was just getting started.
Three plays later, St. Paul’s Madison Brousseau intercepted a Vermilion pass. Soon, running back Donavan Campeau was crossing the goal line for another Lions touchdown run.
Brousseau had another interception on Vermilion’s next drive, but a St. Paul fumble halted the ensuing series. After another defensive stop, Vermilion lined up to punt, only to have the snap sail high over the punter’s head. Max Lumby recovered the ball for St. Paul, giving them good field position for their next attempt on offence. One play later, Dion found receiver Travis Lee open on an out route, and Lee carried the ball into the end zone for another Lions score.
The Lions’ defence came up with yet another interception on the next drive, this one hauled in by Reuben Johnson. Dion soon hit a long pass to Simone Chamberland, who made an adjustment in traffic to come down with the ball and scamper for extra yards. Campeau was the one to eventually score on a short run.
The first half scoring wouldn’t end there, as Brousseau cashed in on a long touchdown run later in the frame. Liam Krys had an interception in the second quarter, and Brousseau hauled in another of his own – his third pick of the half – before returning it a long way.
Dion later scored on another touchdown run, which made for a total of six majors in the first half for the Lions. All of their point after attempts were good, and they also tacked on a rouge on a missed field goal in order to make the score 43-0 at halftime.
The teams traded a few punts to start the third, with the first big play of the half coming from Lions receiver Marlin Melnyk, who collected a deep pass and ran for the end zone, only to step out of bounds short of the goal. The Lions eventually scored a field goal on the drive.
The Marauders, for their part, were able to score two unanswered touchdowns as the second half played out. It wouldn’t be enough to overcome the deficit, though, and the Lions even added another late game touchdown on a long Campeau run. The final score read 53-12 for St. Paul, earning them a spot in the Division Two final.
“It was a good game. We came out and played hard and did our jobs. Everybody did what they were supposed to do,” said Reuben Johnson, an offensive and defensive standout for the Lions in the contest. “It felt good to finally be able to work as a team, and to work as we know we can.”
“We were ready to go right from the start, and we played at 100 miles an hour. It was good to see,” said running back and defensive back Liam Krys, who credited the big guys up front for some of his longer runs. “The offensive line did a great job. We had great blocking on the outside.”
Coach Lumby was happy with what his team brought to the table on Saturday, and hopes that the win can propel them forward with a little momentum.
“Sometimes we’ve been a little bit flat this season. This is the kind of energy it takes to play this game,” he said of his team’s performance. “We’ve got one more week to go here, and we want to keep this energy level up all week, and bring it into next game.”
