St. Paul Football Roars

St. Paul Football had a lot to celebrate on Thursday evening at their awards ceremony. “It was a fantastic year, in terms of what we were able to accomplish,” says head coach of the Bengals, Todd Tanasichuk, “what we’re doing for these kids, hopefully it’s positive and making a difference. That’s what it boils down to.”

The Lions with a 4-1 record during the regular season, saw a few of their players enjoy placements at the top of the Wheatland Football League standings; including Parker Lumby with 319 yards passing placing him in third in the league. Brady Fodness with 2.0 sacks saw him second in the league standings. Making it to the semi-finals in the league, the club lost out to Lloydminster on their Championship run. Lloyd would later move on the represent the north in the provincial finals.

2017 LIONS AWARDS

• DAVE BYRON AWARD FOR MOST VALUABLE PLAYER       PARKER LUMBY
• MOST VALUABLE OFFENSIVE PLAYER                     PARKER LUMBY
• MOST VALUABLE DEFENSIVE PLAYER                      MATT KOTOWICH
• LEADERSHIP                                                                       NOAH VILLARD
• BEST OFFENSIVE LINEMAN                                          DAWSON POLIAKIWSKI
• BEST DEFENSIVE LINEMAN                                          DAVID CAMPEAU
• ROOKIE OF THE YEAR                                                     KYLER TICHKOWSKY
• MOST IMPROVED                                                            BEN FODCHUK
• YAREMKO FAMILY AWARD FOR MOST HEART        BRADEN PAZUIK                                                            
• RANDALL KRYS AWARD FOR MOST VERSATILE PLAYER   HENRI LAIDLEY & ADAM MCDOWELL

As for the Bengals, it was a storybook season for the Bantam club. Going on a tear through the Wheatland Football League, like their big brother, the Lions, the Bengals only lost one game during the regular season…. To rivals the Bonnyville Bandits. It wouldn’t happen again. Meeting them in the playoffs, the Bengals were successful in overcoming their adversaries and then riding the momentum all the way through the playoffs and provincial playdowns. The club earned the right to host the provincial championship game and with a community behind them they were able to excel to hoisting the cup above their heads.

2017 BENGALS AWARDS

• MOST VALUABLE PLAYER                                             ETHAN BOISCLAIR
• MOST VALUABLE OFFENSIVE PLAYER                          MALCOLM STEEVES
• MOST VALUABLE DEFENSIVE PLAYER                          BRETT HALFE
• LEADERSHIP                                                                 LANE PETERS
• BEST OFFENSIVE LINEMAN                                         ODIN SMITH   and DANNY CARDINAL
• BEST DEFENSIVE LINEMAN                                         WADE LEDOUX
• ROOKIE OF THE YEAR                                                  TYLER FOOTE
• MOST IMPROVED                                                         FRANK CARDINAL
• MOST HEART                                                                CHARLIE ROGAL
• CLAUDE VACHON AWARD FOR MOST                         DAMON BUFFALO
  CONTRIBUTION, LEAST RECOGNITION  

To the graduating players, Coach Tanasichuk has a special message, “obviously, we’re going to miss them. They are irreplaceable. I want to thank them for everything that they gave; especially, at times when Coach Tanasichuk was pressing for more. They stepped up and gave it all.”

The St. Paul Football Association has a lot to look forward to for the 2018 season, including the big lights. “Our goals is to have all the funding in place by May and hopefully start the project over the summer,” confirms Tanasichuk. The club did receive some grant money to help the project along, but will be need some more funds to complete the project. Watch for various fundraising projects leading into the installation.