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Buccaneers win on and off the field

Jeffree Rogers of the Central Alberta Buccaneers tries to push through a tackle by his Airdrie Irish opponent during Saturday evening AFL action at M.E. Global Field. The Bucs defeated the Irish 77-10. (Ashli Barrett, Lacombe Globe)

Jeffree Rogers of the Central Alberta Buccaneers tries to push through a tackle by his Airdrie Irish opponent during Saturday evening AFL action at M.E. Global Field. The Bucs defeated the Irish 77-10. (Ashli Barrett, Lacombe Globe)

Ashli Barrett – Lacombe Globe – Wednesday, July 27, 2016

The Central Alberta Buccaneers clinched first place in the AFL with a dominant 77-10 victory over the Airdrie Irish this past weekend.

Now 7-0 on the season, the pirate crew is off to its best start in franchise history. While their record is perfect – they’ve clinched the number one seed heading into playoffs – the team is still playing with a hard-working, determined mindset as though they have a long way to go before they reach the top.

According to Head Coach Devon Hand, they do.

“The end goal is the national championship,” said Hand. “Until you get there and you’re crowned, that’s the focus.”

The Bucs charged to an early 32-0 lead in the first quarter, and were out in front 63-3 at the half. Receivers Josh Blanchard and Jesse McPhail were major contributors, making four and two touchdowns each, respectively.

As the game wore on, however, the Bucs defence began to ease up allowing the Irish to sneak in a touchdown.

“Not once have we played four complete quarters with lights-out, three-phase football,” said Hand. “As scary as that is, it can get a lot better.”

It was a sentiment echoed by quarterback Brandon Leyh.

“We haven’t played a full game yet,” said Leyh. “We’ve got to keep the foot on the gas peddle.”
Leyh, who was knicked up in last week’s game against the Gators, threw for four touchdowns before being pulled for precautionary reasons.

Still, the Mount Allison University alumnus said things felt good with the team.
“I’m on the same page with the receivers. They’re making crazy plays week-in and week-out,” he said. “Offence is rolling along, defence is starting to get back to where they were last year, and things are starting to come together.”

Receiver Jamal Henry is just one of the players Leyh has developed some chemistry with, and a key component in each of the Bucs wins.

“Jamal’s pretty special to say the least,” Leyh said. “I can’t really say enough high praise for a guy like that. No one can cover him in the league, so it makes it easy.”
While there are still things for the Bucs to work on, however, Hand said it was nice to be ranked first in the AFL.

“It does [give us confidence]. It lets you know that you’ve arrived on the scene, and that’s been the whole goal since I took over. It was nice to see, but it goes back to the first point,” he said.
“Nothing matters until you win it all.”

In addition to the win, the Bucs won the off-the-field fundraising battle against the Irish, collecting more than $1,200, and a combined total of more than $1,500 for the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation.

The Bucs, along with the rest of the league, will now have a week-long rest before closing out the regular season at home against the Edmonton Raiders Aug. 6.

The Raiders are currently tied for fourth place in the league, and will be looking to not only improve their position, but exact revenge on the Bucs who knocked them out of the playoffs last year.

“It’ll be an interesting game because we’ll get them the last game of the year,” said Hand. “Not looking too far ahead, but I believe we’ll see them again in the second round.

“It’s an important game.”

Kickoff against the Raiders is 6 p.m. at M.E. Global Field.