The Central Alberta Buccaneers kicked off their regular season Saturday June 2nd against the Lloydminster Vandals. The sky was cloudy and trickled rain on Lloydminster’s Armstrong Field throughout the game. Despite the humid and gray weather, numerous fans attended to watch the AFL football action.
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The first quarter was a defensive battle; neither teams were able to put points on the board. The Vandals made some gains down field, but were unable to capitalize in the redzone and were forced to kick. Linebacker Cody Baird, however, managed to block one field goal attempt and the other kick went wide, keeping the score at 0-0.
Early in the second quarter, the Bucs offense was still unable to move the ball and was forced to concede a safety rather than risk giving the Vandals field position, putting the score at 2-0.
The Buccaneers defense continued to shut down the Vandal offense until the end of the first half. With barely a minute remaining before half-time, Lloydminster’s quarterback scrambled until he found his receiver deep in the Bucs endzone with a long pass. The score was 9-0 going into the second half.
Despite injuries and excessive play time, the Buccaneers defense continued to play hard throughout the second half. The Vandal offense had to work for every inch they gained and only scored on big, opportunistic plays rather than long drives. The effort of the Buccaneer defense kept the team in the game, but the Buccaneer offense continued to struggle and failed to score any points in the second half. The offence had issues with the intense rush the powerful Vandal’s defense put forward all game; the Buccaneer quarterback had little time to pass the ball.
The final score was 27-0.
Slotback and Buccaneer captain, Jamie Blinkhorn, caught six for six passes for a total of 125 yards. Rookie corner, Mark Fay, played shut down defense, earning a pick and 4.5 tackles. Safety Kenton Poelzer picked up a fumble and made an amazing 16 tackles, 3 for loss of yards. This feat ties the AFL record for number of tackles in a single game. Linebacker and defense captain, Curtis Dreger, had an interception for 11 yards, a fumble recovery, a forced fumble, and made 8 tackles.
The Buccaneers reload for their first home game against the provincial champions Calgary Wolfpack. Last year, the two teams had a shoot-out, nearly putting up a combined score over 100.
For updates about games and Buc info, fans should be sure to check out the Bucs on Facebook and follow on Twitter, as well as check the team’s website www.cabucs.com.
Source: Central Alberta Buccaneers
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