The St. Paul Bengals were not able to complete a local team sweep of Lloydminster clubs in its home opener against the Lloydminster Mustangs on Saturday afternoon.
The Mustangs put on a defensive clinic and the Bengals were just not able to establish any sort of offensive rhythm for the vast majority of the game. Lloydminster earned a 26-0 whitewash of the Bengals.
“Offensively we just were not able to get it going,” said Mark Tichkowsky, one of the Bengals head coaches. “We were in the red zone lots but just wasn’t able to punch it in.”
The Bengals started on offence and were able to get into the red zone early. The Mustangs picked up momentum from stopping the Bengals offence. Lloydminster charged down to the other end of the field to pick up the touchdown and a 6-0 lead.
While the Mustangs were not able to earn the two-point conversion following their first quarter touchdown, they made no mistake picking up the extra deuce following their second touchdown in the second quarter.
The Mustangs headed into half-time with a 14-0 lead.
Following the Bengals early encounter with the red zone, the team’s offence was struggling to make a meaningful drive up the field in the first half. The local team committed a slew of turnovers and fumbles.
The Bengals played with more urgency following the half-time intermission however. Using a combination of rushing and passing plays the Bengals were once again able to get within a few yards of the Mustangs’ house. However, the Bengals offence was not able to get the ball over the line. They turned over the ball on downs.
The Bengals responded to this setback well. They ended up preventing the Mustangs from scoring when they were only a few yards away from the St. Paul end zone. Making defensive contributions in the third quarter were Jayden Duchesne and Owen Nooskey. Both of them earned key quarterback sacks.
The Mustangs found their offensive mojo again in the final quarter. They added two more touchdowns to increase their lead to 26.
While the Bengals as a whole struggled on offence, Owen Breast was able to shine individually.
He stood out to his coach too.
“He is one of our leaders out there offensively and defensively,” said Tichkowsky. “He is playing at a higher level than others on the field.”
Tichkowsky told the Journal that work on offensive timing and tackling will be primary focuses of team practices this week leading up to a Saturday showdown at home against Bonnyville. Kick-off is 1 p.m.
