Bengals Prep for Saturday Night Lights

Bengals work on reducing penalties as they prepare for Cold Lake on Saturday

Coming off of a tough loss last weekend against the Lloydminster Mustangs, the St. Paul Bantam Bengals focused on cleaning up their game this week at practice as they head into Saturday Night Lights. The special double-header event features the Bengals versus Cold Lake, followed by the High School Lions versus Wainwright. Head Coach Mark Tichkowsky, of the Bengals says the event draws a big crowd and he wants to be sure the squad is in full fighting force.

“We have to refocus and get back to our game plan; not take any teams lightly.” Coach Tichkowsky says over the past week he’s been talking about the mental game with the team, “not having those breakdowns throughout the game. That’s what hurt us last weekend.” It’s a matter of each player knowing what their job is on the field and sticking to that job. “We need to limit our mistakes, both offensively and defensively.” Coach explains it was a two-sided game with both teams suffering call backs and penalties; however, he’d like to see his team with none for the game against Cold Lake.

Cold Lake and St. Paul are what you’d call storybook rivals. They love a good battle “we respect one another,” says Coach Tichkowsky who has coached Alberta Summer Games with Kelly Johnson, the coach of the Cold Lake High School football Royals. The fans love when these teams meet, and the players have an extra bounce in their stride. Coach expects an exciting match up on Saturday, “we heard they picked up a few guys and in Bantam football, we know, you add a few key players and everything can change.”

“There’s going to be some great football at Bantam and High School level!” Coach Tichkowsky encourages everyone to come out and catch some of the action throughout the day. Kick off for the Bengals game is 5:00 pm followed by the Lions at 7:30 pm, lights sponsored by Northern Source Rentals. Proceeds from the event will go to Kids Sport & the St. Paul Food Bank.