The Central Alberta Buccaneers continue to power through the AFL after a 67-0 victory on the road against the Grande Prairie Drillers.
“It was nice to go out to Grande Prairie and get a good road trip in. We travelled light and played heavy,” Offensive Guard Vince Roth said.
The Bucs’ were expecting more of a fight from the Drillers, considering the difference in personnel.
“We went up there with none of our regular quarterbacks and we were missing about half of our starting defence,” Roth said. “They had a full roster. Grande Prairie has struggled with numbers in the past but they had about 30-35 guys, so at the beginning of the game we expected it to be a little closer and it certainly looked like it was going to be but (Josh) Blanchard got comfortable in the pocket and we walked away with it.”
The Alberta Football League, with the Bucs’ and the Fort McMurray Monarchs both collecting wins, is beginning to look like a two-team league but Roth said that can change in a hurry.
There was big surprise over the weekend when the Wolf Pack went up and beat St. Albert, who we expected to be Number 3 in the league. The constant flux in the AFL continues,” he said.
The Bucs’ now have a bye week before hopping back on the bus for their second game of the season against the St. Albert Stars.
“Honestly I don’t expect a whole lot as far as excitement goes,” Roth said. “You saw what we did to them at home and we travel well as a team.
“As the season goes on, it seems like they are having some issues which will work out well on the scoreboard for us.”
Even with more work to be done in the interim, the Bucs’ are eyeing up their matchup on Aug. 11th against the Monarchs.
“If we can manage to win that game by 23 points, we secure home field advantage right through the finals and should everything go our way — we will host the national championship,” Roth said. “That is what we want to do, that is what we need to do and that is the direction everyone is pointing right now.”
Roth said the mixture of team chemistry and talent will play to their advantage the rest of the season.
“That family culture took us further than we expected to go last season, based on who we had. With the talent and culture this year, we are poised to do some things with the last part of the season,” he said.