The HJ Cody Lakers are rolling after beginning the central Alberta 12-man football season 2-0 defeating the Notre Dame Cougars 33-23 Thursday evening in Sylvan Lake.
This came a week after the Lakers beat the Hunting Hills Lightning in a close battle in Red Deer 26-21.
Head coach of the Lakers Jeremy Braitenback is happy with the win but said his team has a lot of things to work on.
“Being more disciplined we took way too many penalties and kept them in the game and also our responsibilities. We blew some of our assignments and gave them big plays. We got to be better going forward. We’re a better team than what we showed today,” Braitenback said.
The Lakers jumped out to an early touchdown lead in the first quarter and the Cougars would answer the following drive with a field goal. After trading defensive stops Notre Dame claimed their first lead of the game but would miss the extra point 9-7.
The Lakers followed that by going on an offensive rampage and led 26-9 in the third quarter before the Cougars made up some ground late in the game scoring a pair of touchdowns.
Offensively the Lakers looked sharp and Braitenback said they have some talent that made them shine on Thursday including the quarterbacks, fullbacks, and at times the offensive line.
“Really good athletes sometimes can make something out of nothing,” he added.
Sylvan Lake would become too much for the Cougars to compete with and would seal the deal with a rushing touchdown late in the fourth quarter to win 33-23.
The Lakers are feeling great starting the first two weeks of the season undefeated after reentering the 12-man football league for the first time in seven years. During that time the Lakers were playing in the rural league but felt like they could keep up with the city teams. So far Braitenback said he’s happy with his decision.
“I guess we’re making a splash back in with this and hopefully we can keep it going,” he said.
There will be two more games in central Alberta football Friday night with Hunting Hills visiting Lacombe at 4:30 p.m. and Lindsay Thurber visiting Stettler at 7:30 p.m.
Next week HJ Cody will play Lacombe on Wednesday and Notre Dame will play Lindsay Thurber on Thursday, Sept. 29.
