PAGE 19 Thursday, November 2, 2023 MERIDIAN SOURCE
Sports
Raiders to host Friday league final TAYLOR WEAVER EDITOR
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The Holy Rosary Raiders are one step closer to another Alberta Bowl after shutting out the Bonnyville Voyageurs 44-0 in Wheatland Football League semi-finals action at the Raider Bowl.
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We struggled a bit in the first quarter with the snow, but they got rollin’ and ran the ball well.
Sub-zero temperatures tested the will of each player on Friday night, but the effort put in to push through was something Raiders’ head coach Vince Orieux was pleased with. “The performance tonight was alright. The weather was a bit of a factor for the first quarter,” he said after the win. “We had hoped to come out and perform a little better than that; we’ll take the win, but we have to be better, and we have to be able to overcome the elements. It’s a mental piece you have to overcome, and we’ll work on that with the kids.” Friday’s weather may have played a factor in the Raiders’ gameplan, but Orieux explained once the boys got the ball rolling, they were unstoppable. “We struggled a bit in the first quarter with the snow, but they got rollin’ and ran the ball well,” said Orieux. “Quarterback Matthew Fallscheer commands the offense pretty well, and there were some good catches when we needed them. “Brady Hill picked one off the turf. He made a difficult catch and ran it down to the two-yard-line; when we
Taylor Weaver Meridian Source
Theo Mavridis of the Holy Rosary Raiders completes a tackle during a frigid fourth quarter on Friday night as the Raiders hosted the Bonnyville Voyageurs for Wheatland Football League semi-finals action. The Raiders beat the V’s 44-0 and will host the WFL final at the Raider Bowl this Friday night.
needed plays, the kids made plays and I’m pretty proud of them.” With the St. Paul Lions beating the Cold Lake Royals 42-7 in their semi-final, the Raiders now prepare the face the Lions this Friday in the final. The Raiders also rested a number of their starters on Friday to give the rookies some field time, while also saving the starter’s legs for tomorrow.
“We put JR Howdle in with about three minutes left in the third quarter then he played the fourth,” said Orieux. “Matthew started, but with the slow start we wanted to give JR some reps. We had a bye last week and play ed t hese gu y s in Bonnyville two weeks ago for our last regular-season game and it was ugly, it was 54-0. The starters were only
L A U N AN L A R E GEN G N I T E E M OF NOTICE
in for about a quarter and a half; we had to give them some reps tonight.” Orieux explained Fallscheer learned a lot from former Raiders starting QB Matthew Cavanagh last year and has been bringing a lot of what he learned to the field this year. “He’s played quarterback since Peewee, he was on three provincial championship Peewee t eams, play ed in t he
Lloydminster Agricultural Exhibition Association
Tuesday December 5, 2023 7:00pm Bexson Construction Prairie Willow Room Lloydminster Exhibition Grounds 5521 49 Avenue
If you are interested in serving on our BOARD OF DIRECTORS please contact our nominating committee by December 4, 2023: Daryl Hanley 780-808-9460 | Ted Harland 780-872-9230 | Marilyn Napper 306-307-1586
provincial final in Bantam, won provincials last ye ar … th e ki d ’s a winner, and when
he wasn’t playing last year, he was learning,” said Orieux. CONTINUED ON PAGE 21
Zion Verigan Zion Verigan is the Meridian Source’s Athlete of the Month for November. A Grade 9 student at E.S. Laird Middle School, Verigan’s sport of choice is soccer, with badminton being a close second. The Sabres’ coaches nicknamed the striker “Little Messi,” after Argentinian forward Lionel Messi, which he said is probably due to his control of the ball. Verigan says he plans to continue playing soccer in and out of school for the unforeseeable future, but it’s not something he’s looking at as a career. He says his favourite part of the game is the fact it’s more of a gentleman’s sport. “I enjoy that everyone gets together. We all have to be a little more civil with it; it’s a fun sport.”
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