Bandits Roll Wainwright in Rain; Voyageurs win Exhibition

Photo credit: Game Ready Photography 

The Bonnyville Bandits braved the wet conditions at Walsh Field on Saturday afternoon, and continued their winning ways with a 41-8 victory over Wainwright.

The game saw a steady cycle of players and non-starters for the Voyageurs, who hopped out to an early lead and kept thrashing along the way.

“Other than the inclement weather with the rain and snow and cold, we got off to a good start,” said Coach Mickey Fagnan.

“Everyone really got a chance to play. Excited the non-starters were effective in the second half of the game. Trying to stay warm and dry is a challenge, but all-in-all it was a reasonable game to play.”

The win puts the Bandits 2-0 for the season. They avenged their championship loss to St. Paul the weekend before.

So far, the offense is clicking – and the defense is showing lots of different looks.

“Our defensive coaching is remarkable. Very creative. The manpower we got is super hyped when they step on the field. They play a real aggressive style of defense. It’s not cookie-cutter. They’ll change it up on the fly. It’s really intelligent,” said Fagnan.

Next weekend, the Bonnyville Bandits have their toughest match of the young season against Lloydminster. It will be their first look at the recently combined Lloydminster bantam football teams.

“It will be a challenge for us. We played a scattered game today with a lot of kids coming in and out. Hopefully we can tune up this weekend and get that in order, and meet them head on. It will be exciting. Hopefully, the weather won’t be like this…it’s tough to play in.”

The Bonnyville Voyageurs won their exhibition against the Lacombe Rams 12-7 on Friday.

Image provided by Game Ready Photography

The 9th annual Scott MacDonald Memorial features triple-header action on Saturday. The Renegades will play the Lloydminster Colts at 2pm. The Bandits will face the Lloydminster Jr. Red Dogs at 4:30. Then Saturday night at 7:30, the Voyageurs will face the (0-3) Westlock Thunderbirds.

There will be charity head shavings at half times, a silent auction, a guaranteed $10,000 50/50 draw. Its goal is to raise funds for regional cancer initiatives.