The Cold Lake Royals hosted their year end banquet on Friday. It was a jubilant event, that celebrated the players through great jokes and anecdotes. Skill and sportsmanship were celebrated along with a special Royals’ award, the Tumor Ball. Given to kids who would’ve made excellent football players, if they weren’t always injured.

“It’s just a lot of fun,” Coach Kelly Johnson, of the High School Royals, says the ceremonies are meant to be fun for the kids, an event to reflect on the atmosphere that was build over the year, and to honour the seniors that are moving on. “We give our seniors some limelight time. Some of these guys are three or four years in our program. It’s really nice to recognize them, almost like a graduation process.”

Seniors

• Bryton “Thumbs” Bouvier
• Conrad Billette
• Jon Alberti
• Thomas Kell
• Cameron Blackburn (also recipient of the Royals Pride award)

There were so many great memories on the 2016 season for the Royals; including playing an exhibition match on Clarke Stadium in Edmonton against rivals, the St Paul Lions. Great experience for the club and they on 7-0!  The Royals and Lions met again in 2016, this time for all the chips, a playoff battle. A game for the history books, the Royals sadly were defeated 9-2 and knocked down to the B-side of the Wheatland Football League playoffs; which incidentally, worked out in their favour.

Coach Johnson explains his favourite moment of the 2016 season, “winning that last game. You don’t always get to say that you won your last game. That’s something the kids can always hold up.” The Royals went on to take the B-side Championship.

With only five seniors graduating, next year the Royals will have a much older club, a little more experience and be on many people’s watch list. For now, it’s football on TV, football chats, thinking football strategies, and dreaming of football wins for Coach Johnson.

Bantam Royals Awards

Heart & Hustle

• Logan Karenko
• Isaac Thiel
• Dominic Ludec
• Ryan Comeau
• Tumor Ball
• Jared Svoboda
• Ohlin Ingersoll
• Dawson Green

Rookie of the Year 

• AJ Tshilombo
• Dalton Crossman

Most Improved

• Hunter Huber

Defensive MVP

• Dominic Brisebois

Offensive MVP

• Joe Hamel
• Cole Priestley

MVP

• Diego Hatch

High School Royals Awards

Rookie of the Year

• Chris Huber
• Levi Brown (also won All Star)
• Determination Award
• Braeden Wiche

League All Stars

• Anthony Francis

Royals Pride

• Matt Delorme (also won Tumor Ball & Hit of the Year)
• Keith Swan (also won Tumor Ball)

Dedication & Perserverance 

• Liam Blackburn (also won All Star)

Commitment Award

• Nathan Roberts (also won All Star)

MVP 

• Daniel Delorme (also won All Star)