Bengals down Bandits 32-21 in Lakeland bantam football battle

The St. Paul Bengals defeated the Bonnyville Bandits in the latest bantam football battle of the Lakeland.

The Bengals edged out the Bonnyville foes 32-21 on Regional Field on Saturday afternoon.

Bandits head coach Robbie Cole said after the game that they were outcoached in the first half.

“We got outcoached in the first half for sure. We needed to make some adjustments that didn’t happen quick enough on offence, but the second half was good. We came out hard. There was a few unfortunate calls and a couple of big plays that got called back so it’s tough when that stuff happens,” said Cole.

The Lions jumped out to a two-touchdown lead at the end of the first half with a last-second TD right before the clock hit triple zeros.

Lions quarterback, running back, and linebacker Ryan Fodchuk liked his team’s performance in the first two quarters.

“We’ve been executing well and defence has been shutting it down and getting offence to get the ball again. We’ve been successful,” said Fodchuk.

“It’s always a war against Bonnyville. It’s always a tough game and one of the better games of the year,” he said.

Coach Robbie Cole agreed.

“When St. Paul and Bonnyville play it’s always that one notch higher fighting for the ball. There was a few unnecessary roughness penalties because it gets pretty gritty. St. Paul has got some big kids. Some of our kids have to hit them hard, they have to get in there. It’s tough to play with that edge,” said Cole.

After the Bandits started to find their mojo in the second half, they couldn’t rebound from the deficit built up in the first half, as St. Paul’s size kept them pushing all game long.

The Bandits head to Vegreville on Saturday to continue their season, while the Bengals play the Cold Lake Ravens who hope to field a squad.