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Bantam Titans show growth in win over Strathmore

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The Bantam Titans redeemed themselves after last weekend’s loss in a close game and defeated Strathmore on the road.
The Bantam Titans were in Strathmore on Saturday, September 25 to take on the Badgers. The team has had some challenges early but is coming together. This was evident in their 40-16 win.
“The Bantams have been a little bit of a work in progress because we had some low numbers, but over the last week or two we have had some more guys come out,” said Coach Brad Iverson. “Last week we were much closer, we lost 39-35 (to Strathmore) in a game we could have maybe won, we had a couple of turnovers late. This week we did really well.”
“With the new players that have joined the team, it has really helped everyone sort of begin to develop and start to come together.”
This showed with their more disciplined style on the field.
“We really eliminated some of our mistakes, we had fewer turnovers and the penalties were down a lot,” said Iverson, adding they had more offensive spark with some of the new additions to the team.
This season the Bantams are playing nine a side, and for a while, they only had about a dozen players. The ranks have since grown to 18, which reflects the product on the field, and also helps to have more effective practices.
The team played in the Central Alberta Football League, and the bantams have been split into two divisions. With only three teams in the south division, the Titans have completed their league schedule. They do not play this weekend but will play in an exhibition series with Hanna.

Dragons split in weekend play

While it is still early in the season, the Dragons are holding on to the second spot in the Viterra AJHL South Division, after a win and a loss over the weekend.
The Dragons hosted the Camrose Kodiaks on Friday, September 24 at Drumheller Memorial Arena. The Kodiaks outshot the Dragons 29-23, and the Dragons only mustered two shots to the Kodiak’s12 in the second period. Camrose mustered the only goal of the game at the 8:32 mark of the third period, to win 1-0.
The Dragons then headed to Okotoks to take on the Oilers on Saturday, September 25. The Dragons got an early start, outshooting the Oilers 10-3 in the first period. Sam Lozinski scored on the powerplay, 3:12 into the game.
Lozinski followed it up early in the second period to put the Dragons up by two. Grayson Dietrich added one more to end the second period up 3-0.
In the third period, Sam Simard made it 4-0 before the Oilers made it onto the scoreboard. Hayden Prosofsky added another for the Dragons, but the Oilers added two more. In the end, it wasn’t enough as the Dragons won 5-3. Lozinski’s two goals earned him the star of the game for the Dragons.
This Thursday, September 30, the Dragons will start the AJHL Showcase in Brooks versus the Grande Prairie Storm, and then play the Sherwood Park Crusaders on Sunday, October 3.

Senior Titans top Wolverines

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With another win on Saturday, the Senior Titans have moved up in the Tier IV Alberta rankings and are sitting in second spot.
The Titans were in Canmore to take on the Wolverines in league play. They dominated and walked away with a 37-10 win.
“The positives were we moved the ball through the air, and we moved the ball on the ground,” said Coach Ken Fournier. “We held Canmore to 10 points, they had their touchdown in the first half and that was it.”
Fournier said the game was riddled with penalties, but the Titans were able to adapt. There were a few turnovers and plays called back but the Titans were resilient and would go ahead and cause a turnover, and even blocked a punt and recovered it.”
He said the rookie players were active on the field and were part of some big plays.
“Our defence put in a strong effort which was good to see. Canmore had some good players,” said Fournier. “We went ahead a bit, but they still made some really good plays and it was a pretty good battle.”
He said Matthew Perez had a great game, playing defense for the first time with a blocked punt. Hayden Jones also had a monster game. On offence, Devon Landon and Teagan Watson played stellar games.
He likes how the team is progressing as they head into the second half of the season.
“We have committed to developing our young guys because technically we don’t have any seniors. We didn’t have anybody who played a grade 11 season, so we have six or seven Grade 12s and the rest are rookies,” said Fournier. “We are still learning our team identity and still sorting out who is going to play where, and over the next three weeks we will probably have that solidified.”
This Friday night, the Titans host Olds, a team they have not seen so far in league play. Game time is 6 p.m.

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