Sylvan Lake Lions bantam football team finished the regular season on a high with a 51-19 victory over Drumheller Saturday.
The win was the Lions’ fourth of the season, and meant they finished the regular season with a 4-1 record. Their single loss came against Strathmore, who finished top of the south division after going five games undefeated.
Defensive co-ordinator Dave Berg felt the win against Drumheller set his players up nicely for playoffs.
“It was just overall a really good, positive game, and a good building game for developing some of the aspects that we wanted to strengthen and get ready for playoffs with,” he said.
A strong start helped the Lions on Saturday, with Justin Fedun running and scoring “just about at will”, according to Berg.
A couple of nervous moments from the Lions gave hope to Drumheller. However, the Lions managed to see out the rest of the game.
“We struggled a little bit with the nerves and so on at first, but we settled in and continued on,” said Berg.
Patrick Bennette did well filling in for starting quarterback Michael Smyth, who sat out the game against Drumheller, Berg added.
He also singled out Caleb Johnson for praise, saying Johnson had an “absolute monster game”.
“He was just absolutely everywhere, and the whole defence played really well, particularly in the first half.”
Tristen Koller made several important tackles, despite playing with an injured knee.
The Lions were scheduled to play this Saturday against Olds. That game will not go ahead, however, as Olds withdrew from the league due to insufficient numbers. With at least two weeks off, the Bears are now preparing themselves for their next challenge, as they wait to find out who they’ll face in playoffs.
Berg said their next game could be as far as three weeks away, depending on how the playoff schedule pans out. Exhibition games, to keep his players active during the break, are being planned.
“It would be nice to get something in there.”
Information on the Lions’ next game will be posted on Sylvan Lake Minor Football Association’s website at www.slmfa.com.