The Central Alberta Buccaneers hopped on the bus for their first long road trip of the 2016 season. They were matched up against the 2-0 Lloydminster Vandals - both teams hoped to remain undefeated at the final whistle.
The Buccaneer offense wasted little time getting rolling; after the initial kickoff, the pirate offense needed only two plays before they found that Vandal endzone. It wouldn’t be the last. “I thought we made a lot of big plays on the offensive side of the ball,” said Buccaneer QB, Brandon Leyh.”We have a ton of playmakers; it seems like only a matter of time until one of them break one loose.”
While the Buc offense was firing on all cylinders, their defense was slow to start. The Vandal offense was able to run the ball deep into Buc territory several times in the first quarter. “Lloyd came out really hard. I think we were taken back by it to be honest. They hit hard throughout the game,” said Leyh. However, the Vandals’ early momentum was slowed each time and they were limited to a single field goal. The Buccaneer defense rallied for the remainder of the game and played with more consistency.
After the final whistle, the Bucs were victorious with a convincing 65-3 win. They are tied for first in the AFL with a 4-0 record (Calgary Gators are 4-0 as well).
Looking forward, the Bucs have a long road ahead of them before they compete for the AFL championship. While they have had success in the first half of the season, they cannot rest on their laurels. “We need to clean up the little things. Penalties are killing us; we have to be the more disciplined team going forward. We have the pieces but we have a long way to go.” The Bucs enter a bye week where they can practice, rest, and heal any injuries. Their next game is set on July 9th in Calgary against the Wolfpack.
During the Bucs’ bye week, the team is holding a fundraiser for their National Championship aspirations. Big Bend Market in Red Deer is donating a portion of all sales on June 25 to the pirate squad. Not only will customers enjoy Big Bend’s gourmet meat, they will be helping the Bucs immensely.
For more details on the Bucs, visit the team’s facebook page, follow their Instagram/twitter @CABucs, and visit www.cabucs.com.