Sports | DrumhellerMail

Bantam Titans face undefeated Olds Bulldogs

The Bantam Titans are having a strong season, but they ran into a formidable opponent on Saturday afternoon when they faced the Olds Bulldogs.
The Bantams hosted the Bulldogs on October 1. What started out looking like an even match game, with both teams scoring on their first opportunities, The Bulldogs took over.
“Olds are undefeated. They have some good numbers,” said Coach Brad Iverson. “We are a fairly young team, so they were a little older than us.”
The extra experience on the Olds squad was evident as they went on to a 60-14 win.
“It was a bit of a tough one with Olds there, but overall it has been a good year so far. Prior to that, we had two wins and a tie,” said Iverson.
“Everyone was pretty good after the loss, no one was really down.”
He has high hopes for the coming season, with his young squad.
“That’s why I’m happy this year we have 19 of our 25 kids coming back next year, so that bodes pretty well that we are having a good season so far,” he said.
The strength of the team is coming on the offensive end.
“Prior to last game, we scored over 50 points every game, so the offence has been going really good,” he said. “The commitment of the kids has been really good too. They are coming to practice and having fun, so that’s important.”
The Bantams are playing in a nine-team league, playing 9 per-side football.
This week Iverson explains he has arranged an exhibition game against the Calgary Cowboys Bantam community team at McMahon Stadium.
“They are a community team and play in the Calgary Bantam Football associations. They have a 12-man team that plays in the regular league and a nine-man team because they get quite a few kids out… after that it’s the playoffs.”

Dragons battle at Showcase Weekend

The Dragons were in Blackfalds this weekend and had the opportunity to face off against talent from the AJHL Northern Division.
The Dragons were in Blackfalds for the AJHL Showcase weekend and took on the Bonnyville Pontiacs on Thursday, September 29.
The Pontiacs have been playing great hockey so far this season. and are in third place in the Viterra North Division. They wasted no time getting on the scoreboard and led by one after the first period. They increased their lead just a minute and a half into the second period, before Ty Whitford put the Dragons on the scoreboard, making it 2-1 going into the third period.
Bonnyville increased the lead again midway through the third, but Noah Danielson added a goal for the Dragons with over three minutes remaining.
Bonnyville put it out of reach with one more goal making it a 4-2 final. Goaltending played a role as the Dragons outshot the Pontiacs 36-22.
On Saturday, October 1, the Dragons faced the Fort McMurray Oil Barons for the first time this season. After a scoreless first period, Fort McMurray went ahead by two goals in the second. They added one more at the 13:16 mark of the third period, but Adam Raesler connected on the powerplay with 45 seconds left. It was too little too late as the Oil Barons went on to a 3-1 win. Again the Dragons led the way in opportunity, outshooting the Oil Barons 49-38.
The Dragons were at home on Tuesday, October 4 to take on the Blackfalds Bulldogs, results not available at press time, and are on the road this coming weekend to play Canmore on Friday, October 7 and Calgary on Saturday, October 8.

Titans take on Brooks in jamboree scrimmage

The Drumheller Senior Titans football team held onto the top spot in their provincial division after a.. sort of win on September 30.
The Titans were under Friday night lights at 6:30 p.m. at the Titans Field to take on Brooks. The only problem was the referees weren’t.
After trying to sort out the situation, the teams played a jamboree-style scrimmage.
“It really doesn’t have any bearing. Football Alberta did ask who scored the most touchdowns,” said head coach Ken Fournier. “I don’t know how they are going to deal with it.” According to the standings, Football Alberta recorded it as a win for Drumheller with a score of 42-14. Despite the mix-up, Fournier said it turned out to be a valuable exercise.
“It was kind of nice to hold a controlled scrimmage. It was a good way for both teams to roll guys through in different situations,” he said. “You get more repetitions on offence-defence plays and less special teams. It is good having the opportunity to play against other opponents and work on some of that stuff.”
He said it is the first time they have had an error with referees not showing up.
“It’s embarrassing and frustrating for the other team travelling, with parents coming, but they were awesome sports about it and made the best of it,” said Fournier.
“When it comes down to it, the boys were playing football. It wasn’t the situation we were expecting, but both teams went out and had a pretty good time.”
The Senior Titans are sporting a 4-1 record and are heading to Strathmore this coming Friday to take on the Spartans.
“We are looking forward to that game, and we are in the middle stretch of the season. This is our opportunity to work on things, get the things we need to get done out of the way, and make sure we are checking boxes as we are going through the season.”

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