The Central Alberta Buccaneers kicked off their AFL regular season on Saturday, June 1st, by defeating their long-time rivals, the Edmonton Stallions, 34-7.
The Stallions travelled south to Lacombe’s MeGlobal Athletic Park to take on the Buc squad. The Buccaneer offense opened up the scoring early in the first quarter. QB Byron Stearns had an excellent game and went for four touchdowns with zero turnovers. His favourite targets for the evening were RB/SB Jamie Blinkhorn and WR Chad Murray, each of whom scored two TDs after pulling in Stearns’ passes. WR/C Tylor Johnson also contributed to the scoreboard by completing two field goals and all four point-after conversions.
The Buccaneer defense swarmed the Stallion offensive line and created havoc in the backfield. Defensive Ends, David Hodgess and Ian Keetch, both recorded multiple sacks and tackles. Noseguard, Francisco “Paco” Zaragoza, made two fumble recoveries. As a result of the intense pressure, the Stallion quarterback was rushed and had little time to throw. The Buccaneer secondary was able to cover these hurried pass attempts and lockdown on the opposing receivers, which resulted in few completed passes. Former Ponoka Bronc, Curtis Pugh, recorded a pair of tackles as well as a fumble recovery.
Next weekend, June 8th, the Lloydminster Vandals travel to Lacombe to battle the Bucs. The Vandals lost their home opener to the Calgary Wolfpack, 79-1.
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