Richard Froese
South Peace News
The Peace River Prospectors defeated the host High Prairie Outlaws 43-32 in an entertaining game Sept. 9 to kick off the Peace Country Bantam Football League 2023 season.
Peace River co-head coach Josh Scott was proud of his players for the strong effort in the first game of the season.
“They showed up and played football,” Scott says.
“All our new players got a taste of what bantam football is and you could see their nervousness start to fade.
“I believe in this team and what the players can accomplish when they put their minds to it.”
Alexander Kenny scored two touchdowns in the first half and Austin Toner added one for the Prospectors, who led 22-18 at halftime.
Noah Reuther punched in a pair of majors in the second half while Nevin Bettenson added one to secure the victory.
“High-scoring games don’t always tell the big picture,” Scott says.
“It was a hard-fought battle for both teams.”
He credits the Outlaws for a strong effort.
“Usually you see teams start to bow out when the spread gets too big and it takes a lot of effort to get them back into it to keep fighting,” Scott says.
“But the Outlaws weren’t phased and kept digging their feet into the ground and pushing us backwards time and time again.”
The game went back and forth, High Prairie head coach Tyler Bell says.
High Prairie opened the scoring on a touchdown by Trenton Wait-Radstaak before Connor Krystal scored a touchdown on a 25-yard pass from quarterback Tyson Prince-Ladouceur.
The Outlaws scored three rushing touchdowns – two long rushing touchdowns by Rylan Roberts and one from Prince-Ladouceur on a quarterback sneak.
“All the players never quite,” Bell says.
When the two teams met in the 2022 season, the Prospectors blanked the Outlaws 56-0.
“This shows how far the Outlaws have come not only with their skills in football, but the heart and determination they have,” Bell says.
“All our Outlaws never quit, they played sore and exhausted and just kept driving the ball down field and making big tackles.”
After visiting the Grande Prairie Broncos on Sept. 16, the Prospectors are back on the road when they visit the Sexsmith Shamrocks on Sept. 23.
The Outlaws were scheduled to visit the Wembley Bulldogs on Sept. 16.
Upcoming, the Outlaws host the Grande Prairie Norsemen on Sept. 23 at E.W. Pratt Field.
