The Central Alberta Buccaneers returned to their winning ways by defeating the St. Albert Stars 19-6 at MEGlobal Athletic Park in Lacombe on Saturday.
The win allowed the Buccaneers to keep their third place in the Alberta Football League, after they were defeated by the Fort McMurray Monarchs 33-9 in their previous game.
“It was a great victory for our team,” said Todd Lewis, who plays linebacker for the Buccaneers and acts as the team’s chairman. “We’ve won against teams that weren’t quite up to our level, but this team is closer to us, and us beating them kind of made a statement as well as a turn around in our season.”
Lewis said strong offensive teamwork helped the Buccaneers win the game, and credited Sylvan Lake quarterback Matt Merkley in particular for putting in a solid performance.
“He was fantastic and drove our offence,” said Lewis. “We had great field position and we we’re fired up. We had a lot of fun.”
Lewis said he felt the game marked a turning point for the Buccaneers, describing it as the team’s “most complete game” of the season so far.
The Buccaneers’ next game sees them taking on the Airdrie Irish on Aug. 15, in the final game of the regular season. Lewis suspects the Buccaneers have a good chance of winning that one as well.
Buccaneer Brett Lapointe was pleased with his team’s victory over the Stars, but still holds the attitude that the team needs to improve further.
“Next time we’re going to have to execute a little bit better, but a win is a win,” he said.
The Buccaneers have now won five of seven games played this season.
Their game against the Irish kicks off at 3 p.m. in Airdrie on the 15th.