The St. Paul Lions offense shined in the first Wheatland Football League (WFL) game of the season against the Athabasca Pacers last Friday night in Athabasca. The Lions outscored its opponent, 53-26.
“Overall, I was very pleased with how we performed in the game,” says Lions head coach Todd Tanasichuk. “ Our offense really got out to a strong start and we were able to build a big enough lead to allow our younger players into the game on defense in the second half. It is important to give them that opportunity to develop.”
Tanasichuk said these younger players on defense did an overall good job.
“They made some good tackles and were aware of their assignments. There were some players that were not aware of their assignments though so we will have to continue to put in work at practice.”
The Lions managed to build a 40-0 lead in the contest before the Pacers managed to score a touchdown just prior to the end of the game’s first half.
The Lions didn’t waste any time getting points on the board. Donovan Campeau took the opening kickoff 70 yards for a touchdown.
Madison Brousseau and Patrick Dion were other Lions players that starred on offence. They both earned two touchdowns.
Tanasichuk says this past Friday’s game marked the first time the Lions have played the Pacers since 2010. For the past few seasons, the two teams played in different tiers in the WFL. This year has all the league teams back competing in the same tier. The Lions and Pacers are playing in the same pool — Pool B — for the 2015 season.
The Pacers have not bested the Lions in a matchup to date, according to Tanasichuk, who remarked that the Pacers team that the Lions faced last week “was one of the better Athabasca teams the Lions had faced.”
The Pacers were actually the better team in the second half of the game by earning three touchdowns to the Lions’ two.
“They were able to get some momentum going into the second half,” says Tanasichuk. “I credit the Pacers for exposing some things we need to work on going into our next game.”
The Lions’ next game is against the Lloydminster Comprehensive High School Barons at the St. Paul Regional High School field at 4:30 p.m. on Friday.
The Barons, a longtime rival of the Lions, trounced the Vegreville Vortex, 60-0, in its opening game of the season this past weekend.
Tanasichuk says the Barons nearly always prove to be a difficult opponent as being a big city team allows them to field a talented roster year in and year out.
The Lions’ coach says the team will continue to work in practice in order to become one in sync unit. He adds that every player on the roster will need to bring their ‘A’ game to the table to topple a formidable opponent.
The Lions are the home team for each of its next four games. The team’s complete schedule can be found on the Wheatland Football League website.
Statistics
Rushing:
Donovan Campeau, 108 yards on five attempts
Madison Brousseau, 89 yards on four attempts
Patrick Dion, 30 yards on four attempts.
Touchdowns:
Brousseau- 2 TD
Dion- 2 TD
Campeau – 1 TD
Liam Krys – 1 TD
2.Bradley Dubrule – 1 TD
2. Christian Laramee – 1 TD
Passing Attempts
Dion – 4/13, 49 yards
Tackles:
Spencer Graling- 10 tackles
Sacks:
1. Colin Macmillan – 1 sack
