It was a tough day on the field for the Bonnyville Amateur Football teams, but a huge success off the field, as they raised $19,000 at annual Scott MacDonald charity games this past Saturday.
It was a tough day on the field for the Bonnyville Amateur Football teams, but a huge success off the field, as they raised $19,000 at annual Scott MacDonald charity games this past Saturday.
For the first time in the event's five-year history all three local football teams - the Renegades peewee team, Bandits bantam team and Voyageurs high school team - took the field in a triple-header of action.
While all three teams suffered tough losses, the event once again brought the community together, raising the most money in the memorial game's history, with those funds going towards cancer research, as well as post-secondary scholarships.
"The atmosphere and the community support we got was amazing," said Bandits head coach Dan Jubinville. "There were a ton of people coming (to watch) and the head shaving was huge."
A large chunk of players from all three teams raised money in advance of the event, agreeing to shave their heads at the game. Jubinville was one of the top fundraisers, nearly reaching his $10,000 goal.
This was the fifth year for the annual event, held in honour of Scott MacDonald, a former player on the Bonnyville Voyageurs team who died from cancer on July 11, 2010, at 19 years old.
The funds raised from the day will be split with 80 per cent going to the Bonnyville Hospital Foundation and 20 per cent going to the Scott McDonald scholarship fund, which provides for football players moving to post-secondary education.
"The volunteers have been organizing this for a couple months now. They put together a great event," said Voyageurs head coach Larry Godziuk. "The boys really got into the head shaving on all three teams. It was nice to see them join the cause and help us out."
The teams will still be accepting donations until Oct. 15.
The Bonnyville Renegades and Lloydminster Steelers hooked up on Saturday morning and when the dust settled many of the local boys were left in tears.
"This one was a heartbreaker," said Renegades head coach Kevin Sartain.
"The kids wanted this one, they wanted it bad. You look at how many kids we've got, how young they are and they are all crying. I am heartbroken."
A rushing touchdown with 51 second left on the clock propelled the visiting Lloydminster squad to a come-from-behind 16-13 victory.
The game started out well for the Renegades, who shutout the Steelers in the first half and went into the break with a 7-0 lead.
Lloydminster got on the board late in third quarter, after a huge goal line stand, which the Renegades couldn't recover from and conceded a safety.
A few minutes later, with time ticking down in the quarter, Bonnyville's Brodie Gamble took a handoff, broke a few tackles and rumbled 104 yards down the field for a huge touchdown. The play gave the Renegades the 13-2 lead heading into the final quarter.
The Steelers did a good job hanging in their against the Renegades and took advantage of a few miscues to climb back into the game.
At 9:08 of the fourth Lloydminster broke through the Renegade defense into the end zone cutting the Bonnyville lead to five points, trailing 13-8.
With 1:30 left the hometown Renegades turned the ball over on downs around midfield. The Steelers picked it up and pounded their way down the field. With 51 seconds left Lloydminster scored the game-winning touchdown.
"It came down to the wire. We had a couple miscues. It is just what happens," said Sartain. "I take my hat off to my defense. They were solid. They kept us in this game."
The Renegades next game is Oct. 4 in Lloydminster.
The Bonnyville Bandits bantam football team saw firsthand why the Cold Lake Royals are the team to beat this season.
The Royals team came in to Bonnyville and put on a clinic, en route to a 51-12 victory over the Bandits squad.
"We knew what we were coming into. We thought we would do a bit better than that," said Bandits head coach Dan Jubinville, who felt his team was a little nervous during the game.
After an early Royals touchdown, the Bandits had a chance to respond but shot themselves in the foot.
A 30-yard run by Silas Fagnan, which would have put the Bandits in great field position, was wiped out by a procedure penalty. The drive stalled and a few minutes later the Royals tacked on to their lead.
Four minutes into the second quarter, with the Royals up 18-0, the Bandits penalty troubles hurt them again. An illegal block cost them 10-yards and eliminated a nice 17-yard run.
After another Royals touchdown, Fagan picked up 32 yards on a kick return that was once again wiped out by a procedure call on the Bandits.
By the time Fagnan and the Bonnyville offense found the end zone, with 4:08 left in the first half, they were down 26-6.
A 30-yard touchdown run by Cold Lake's Daniel Delorme with 3:19 second quarter gave the Royals a 34-6 lead. It was the fifth straight drive in which the Royals reached the end zone.
The game didn't get any easier for the Bandits as the sheer size and strength mismatch made it hard for them to cover the Royals players.
Cold Lake connected for three more touchdowns and Bonnyville added another as the game came to a close.
"We are a very young team," said Jubinville. "When most of your backfield is Grade 8 kids and you are playing up against some Grade 9 kids it is always going to be a tough game."
The Bandits are back in action on Oct. 4 in Lac La Biche.
The Lloydminster Barons scored on the first two possessions of the game pacing themselves to a 51-19 romp over the host Bonnyville Voyageurs.
The Barons caught the Voyageurs off guard by recovering their opening kickoff of the game, marching down the field and scoring.
After taking a 6-0 lead, Lloydminster's special teams unit was at it again, recovering the second kick off of the game and gaining great field position. A few minutes later receiver Denton Collins caught a 39-yard pass for a touchdown and 13-0 lead.
When the Voyageurs offense finally hit the field they were down two scores, and in a hole they couldn't climb out of.
"We came in hungry, but when it came time to play we were a little flat," said quarterback Greg Godziuk.
Bonnyville got on the board at the 6:31 mark of the second quarter when quarterback Reid Skrypichayko punched the ball in from the one-year line. The Bonnyville drive was aided by four Lloydminster penalties totalling 45 yards.
The touchdown brought Bonnyville within seven points, down 13-6, but that is as close as they would get.
On the first play of the ensuing Barons possession Clarke Block caught a 60 yard touchdown pass to put the visitors up 20-6.
With precise, accurate passing the Barons were able to two more receiving touchdowns and take a 33-6 lead into half time.
"We knew what they were going to do and we tried to prepare for it as best as we could," said Voyageurs head coach Larry Godziuk.
"The two short kick recoveries and two quick touchdowns hurt and it took the guys a bit to recover."
The second half didn't start any better than the first. One the first play of the third quarter the Barons recovered a Bonnyville fumble. Minutes later, at the 9:43 mark, they tacked on to their lead with another touchdown.
On the next possession Voyageur Reid Skrypichayko ripped off a huge 56-yard touchdown run, but it was taken off the board by an illegal blocking penalty. Bonnyville rebounded and a few plays later Godziuk found the end zone on a short run. The touchdown was also called back due to a Voyageur penalty.
Finally, on their third attempt, Godziuk found Isaac Fagnan in the corner of the end zone for a touchdown that counted.
Lloydminster added a few more scores, and Bonnyville tacked on a late touchdown as the game finished with the Barons in front by 32.
"The first half really did us in, but the second half was much better," said coach Godziuk. "Nobody was taking anytime off. It is a good football team over there and it is a good measuring stick for us."
Highlighting the game were the special retro uniforms the Voyageurs wore to commemorate the 1986 provincial championship team. The jerseys were auctioned off to raise money at the event.
The Voyageurs next game is on Friday night in Cold Lake.
"It is all about next week. We have to look ahead," said Greg Godziuk. "It is a long season; one loss is a pretty small setback"
