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Voyageurs clinch third seed for playoff push

The Bonnyville Voyageurs secured the third seed for their upcoming playoff run with a win against the St. Paul Lions at Walsh Field on Oct. 6. The game started off with good pressure from the Voyageurs defence.
Reid Skrypichayko (31) recieves some blocks from his team as he carries the down the field
Reid Skrypichayko (31) recieves some blocks from his team as he carries the down the field

The Bonnyville Voyageurs secured the third seed for their upcoming playoff run with a win against the St. Paul Lions at Walsh Field on Oct. 6.

The game started off with good pressure from the Voyageurs defence. They forced Lions to a three and out on the first drive. The Voyageurs were able to get to the punter and force him to punt the ball only 10-yards, which gave Bonnyville great field position.

On the ensuing drive the Voyageurs scored their first touchdown of the game. The birthday boy, Reid Skyrpichayko ran the ball into the end zone halfway through the first quarter to give the Voyageurs a 7-0 lead.

Bonnyville kicked the ball short with hopes of retrieving it. The Lions would recover, but were forced to another three and out and only held the ball for 50 seconds.

The Voyageurs didn't get on the board again until the eight-minute mark. After Arrien Gerlach sacked the St. Paul quarterback to get the ball back, the Voyageurs moved downfield and ended the drive with a short run from Triston Smith.

With the score now 14-0 the Voyageurs got the ball again with under a minute left in the quarter. Bonnyville attempted a field goal to extend the lead. The kick was blocked by the Lions defence to end the quarter.

At the 3:10 mark of the second quarter Silas Fagnan completed a 75-yard pass to Zach Hesson. He carried the ball to the end zone for a touchdown. The lead continued to increase, as it was now 21-0.

Two minutes after that, Hesson came up big again for the Voyageurs. The Lions were set to punt. A bad snap sent the ball over the punters head so he was forced to throw. He looked down field to try to complete a pass. Hesson stepped in front of the throw, intercepted the ball, and carried it 60 yards down the field for his second touchdown of the game. The extra point convert was blocked to make the lead 27-0 for the home team.

On the ensuing kick off the Lions took a penalty that gave the Voyageurs the ball back. On the first drive of the play Fagnan came up big again with a 40-plus yard pass play to Skrypichayko.

With 4:45 remaining in the half the Lions tried to gain some momentum. They carried the ball the length of the field but were unable to score. They picked up a single point on a penalty in the end zone from Bonnyville. The score was 34-1 at the half.

It took six minutes of the quarter for the Voyageurs to score again. This drive lasted around three-minutes. The Lions took some penalties, which resulted in 25-yard field goal from Fagnan.

Four minutes after that Evan Poole scored a touchdown on a run play.

The Voyageurs ended the third quarter with a 43-point lead.

The St. Paul Lions got on the scoreboard 2:17 into the fourth quarter to make the score 44-8.

Just a few minutes later Fagnan looked downfield and hit Skyrpichayko with another pass. He then jukes the defenders who were covering him and carried the ball into the end zone.

After shutting down St. Paul again defensively, Matthew Nahirniak would run the ball in to make the lead 42.

The Voyageurs kicked the ball to St. Paul. Fagnan, who was having an incredible game, forced a fumble on that return to give Bonnyville the ball again and on the drive would find Evan Fritzler downfield for another Voyageurs touchdown.

Hesson, who was also having an outstanding game, intercepted another St. Paul pass on the next drive and again Fagnan completed a 60-yard pass and run to Aaron Goulet. This was his fifth touchdown pass of the game.

“It takes a team to do what I did, all the credit goes to every player here that's wearing blue,” Fagnan said about his performance during the regular season, where he broke single game passing records.

The final score was 63-8 for Bonnyville.

“I thought they played really well, we didn't know what to expect but, we saw them at our fall jamboree in Camrose and it was a tie,” said head coach Larry Godzuik. “I think we had too many offensive weapons for them to challenge us.”

This win secured them the third seed in the standings for playoffs.

“I feel really good, I think we're going to do really well and I think we might make it to the finals,” explained Hesson.

“We've got some good match ups, all teams we can play with, and we can beat,” said Skrypichayko. “We're gunning for league finals, and the championship is what were here for.”

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