The Lloydminster Vandals are very proud to be preparing for their 12th season in the Alberta Football League, and are looking forward to many more years of hard hitting, Senior Men’s Football action in the Border City.
The Vandals were formed back in 2004 by a former Lloydminster High School, and Okanogan Sun Alumni, Jeremy Tomlinson. This was a huge year for the AFL as they also granted franchises to Grande Prairie and Medicine Hat, boosting membership to 10 teams and in doing so took the next step towards respectability among the Alberta football community. There was some skepticism among the league that maybe Lloydminster was too small of a city to support an AFL franchise, but after a 2-6-1 record in that inaugural season, the Vandals quickly showed that they were here to stay. By year 2 they had made the playoffs, and were climbing higher in the standings each season even securing some home playoff games. But still they could not manage to win the big games against the elite teams in the Alberta Football League.
That all changed in the spring of 2008 when the Wainwright longhorns franchise folded. With the addition of roughly a dozen talented AFL veterans, mostly on Offence, to compliment the Vandals opportunistic Defense, the team made huge strides and played in their first ever AFL championship. As great of a year as it was the Vandals would not be Champions in 2008, losing to the powerhouse Calgary Wolfpack at McMahon Stadium. However this rise to the top tier of the league was not just short term as the Vandals went on to play in the league championship 3 times over the next 5 yrs. After finishing first overall in the AFL and losing in the playoffs to the eventual champion Edmonton Stallions in 2009, Lloydminster would get back to the league title game in 2010. This time it was the Calgary Gators they were facing, and playing in front of their own fans, they were not going to be denied winning 52-26. No longer looked upon as the small town team from Lloydminster, the Vandals had become the 2010 AFL Champions, all this in just their 7th season in the league. They went on to lose in the CMFL championship game held in Lacombe that year, to the Sault St Marie Steelers 32-0.
The loss in the Canadian National Championship game in 2010 showed that even though they were now an elite team in the AFL, to take it to the next level and win a CMFL title, would take some doing. With a lot of hard work both on and off the field, by 2012 the Vandals had built themselves a powerhouse team of their own. Lead by 2 time AFL MVP Jared Valleau at QB, they finished the 2012 season Undefeated and earned a trip to the Canadian National Championship for the second time in 3 years. This time the Vandals hosted the National Championship game in the Border City, and were victorious over the NFC’s Toronto Titans 25-19 capping a perfect season (9-0), becoming only the second team in the history of the AFL to be able to call themselves, C.M.F.L. National Champions.
Glen Dembicki, President/GM
Home: (306) 825-4196 Cell: (780) 808-0152
Email: [email protected]
