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Thunderbirds take the field

A well attended football bantam spring camp, one of the top-five defensive linemen and last year’s top rusher in the quarterback spot have the Westlock Thunderbirds in high hopes this year.

A well attended football bantam spring camp, one of the top-five defensive linemen and last year’s top rusher in the quarterback spot have the Westlock Thunderbirds in high hopes this year.

Head coach Jon Kramer said the team’s experiment with a bantam practice-team surpassed his expectations, bringing in 21 kids eager to practice.

The bantam team is encouraging enough, but the Thunderbirds high school team drew 44 players out to play, in addition to nine coaches.

“The idea for bantam was hatched just after last season. It was just incredible to see the players and the coach come out of the woodwork and get the program going,” said Kramer. “The energy is fantastic with the kids. They show up and are excited to be playing football. We’ve got maybe four or five we could use on the high school level if they were old enough. It will pay off long-term for the program.”

Taking up the quarterback mantle from graduate Curtis Vesley, Aiden Walker will be leading the offense. Last year he lead the Thunderbirds to their lone win against the Athabasca Pacers and filled in the rest of the season as a runningback, banking 112 yards rushing and 77 receiving.

Now with him as the main nucleus of the team, offensive coach Shayne Frith-Smith said his willingness to run with the ball should take the team far.

“He’s done his homework. He’s done all the runningback camps,” he said. “It’s going to be exciting to see how he runs the game.”

Also bringing fire to the offense is Robert Bokenfohr, who lead the Wheatland Football League (WFL) in Rushing last year, accumulating 552 yards through a 1-2 season with the Thunderbirds.

On the defensive end of the ball, the Thunderbirds will be lead by Tristin Gross, who will be getting extra reps this summer as he plays with Team Alberta at the 2018 Football Canada Cup July 15-22, playing alongside the other four best defensive linemen in the province.

“We’re hoping he’ll play a bit of runningback for us too, which will be good. People like to get out of his way when he starts coming. Tristin has been really good at getting a lot of the Barrhead boys engaged and out. So we’ve got a lot of Grade 12s out who are playing their first year,” said Kramer. “The guys have been working really hard over the last few months and you can see they’re a lot bigger and tougher.”

The Thunderbirds will need all the strength they can muster. This year Westlock is the lone team west of Edmonton in the WFL and with the competition including long-time Wheatland dynasties like the Bonnyville Voyageurs, the Cold Lake Royals and the Wainwright Commandos, the Thunderbirds are keenly aware they will have to punch above their weight every play.

Fortunately they will be getting a lot of practice, first attending an eight-team spring jamboree hosted by Bonnyville May 28 and then heading to Fort Saskatchewan for a non-WFL exhibition game against the Falcons June 8 to help their neighbours christen their new arena.

Spring Camp wraps up May 31. Regular season action will kick off with the St. Paul Lions coming to town Aug. 31. Friday Night Lights is planned for the end of September, with Cold Lake planning to make an appearance.

Frith-Smith said he liked what he saw from the Thunderbirds so far.

“We have a good squad. I’m really excited,” he said. “I have high expectations for them.”

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