The road to the Alberta Football League final was going through either Calgary or Fort McMurray for the Central Alberta Buccaneers. That was a given once the Bucs locked up third place in the AFL and then beat Edmonton Stallions in a playoff game last weekend 20-17.
Instead of the short trip down the QE2 though the Bucs will now make the trek up north to tackle the Monarchs August 29th for the right to play in the AFL final.
The actual highway north is one thing but the road the Bucs have taken to this point in the season has been anything but smooth according to Head Coach Devon Hand. But he views this as a positive.
“We’ve had all kinds of weird, adverse stuff challenge us and we’ve battled through some tight games this year but I think we’re more battle tested than our opponents.”
He underlines the fact the Monarchs have been crushing other teams, posting lopsided wins (including a 33-9 win over the Bucs) so he feels they have not faced the adversity the Bucs have all year long.
It’s a scenario he’s preached to his players during practice and one which he thinks may work in their favour.
“If we can hang in there and keep it close until the fourth, we’ve been through so much crap that we’re resilient at this point in my opinion. So if we can hang in there with these guys to the point where they’re challenged in the fourth, I would bet my lunch that they’re going to struggle with that because they’ve never seen that. They’ve never had to do that yet, especially at home.”
It’s an interesting take on the upcoming game. This season for the Bucs echoes the adage of what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. If that is the case then the Bucs should be loaded with superhuman strength given the way things have played out.
Injuries of course play a large part in any teams’ success or failure and the Bucs have had their share but you can also add personnel issues to the mix. Some key people have jumped ship for one reason or another. Hand says all of this has really galvanized the room instead of ripping it apart.
“I wish I could have videotaped our sideline against Airdrie and then compared it to how we were against the Stallions,” he said. “We did take a couple of penalties but nothing like we have in previous games. We were very supportive, very positive.”
The Bucs have been their own worst enemy at times this season with penalties which killed promising drives or gave life to the other team’s offence. The discipline to stay quiet when dealing with a call has also been an issue, tacking on more penalty yards after a call goes against the Bucs. Hand hopes he has an answer to that problem.
“They’ve (players) lost the responsibility to speak to the officials,” he said.
“ So I preached all week long with the three ups- so the play was finished and it was get up, shut up and huddle up.”
If they can tame that animal and stay close to the Monarchs then the coach feels strongly things can go their way.He believes he has a championship team in its infancy, just learning how to do things the right way.
Hand says it doesn’t matter where they play this game but he looks at being the underdog on the road as a good thing.
“They (Monarchs) look at the scores , you know we beat the lowly Stallions by three, there’s no respect for us,” he said. “So I’m hoping we kind of sneak under the radar and sock it to them. They’re not expecting us to come out all ornery and ready to go.”
So this road trip is being viewed as a business trip by the Bucs. It just remains to be seen if they leave Fort McMurray having closed the deal.
