Dakota captures first football title with 28-7 win over Grant Park

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This article was published 10/11/2023 (1029 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

For the first time in school history, the Dakota Lancers have won the ANAVETS Bowl.

Dakota captured the top prize in the Winnipeg High School Football League Friday night at IG Field with a 28-7 victory over the Grant Park Pirates.

“Our school wins a lot in other sports and we’re just happy to put that banner up with the rest of them,” said Lancers head coach Mitch Harrison. “It’s a tremendous feeling.”

Dakota running back Amid Kanu led the way with three rushing touchdowns. The Grade 11 student was named the MVP of the game.

“It feels great. I don’t have any words to explain it,” said Kanu.

Harrison added: “(Kanu) is an absolute baller. I can’t wait to see what he does. He has another year left, so, it’s gonna be crazy. He’s one of the absolute best players I’ve ever been around. He’s so athletic, so dynamic.”

Quarterback Blake Penner was named the offensive player of the game and defensive back Augustine Nkundimana was named the night’s top defensive player for taking an interception back 80 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter to make the score 21-7.

“As soon as I saw the ball, my heart was beating. As soon as I made that turn and saw no one in front of me, it felt amazing,” said Nkundimana.

“I just moved to DB this year and people said I couldn’t do it … All I needed was faith and hard work.”

Dakota went 6-1 in the regular season by outscoring their opponents 357-67. They beat Grant Park 49-0 back on Oct. 19.

The only team the Pirates lost to all season was Dakota.

“We didn’t really think about that. We took them (seriously) as our opponent,” said Nkundimana.

“We didn’t think about what happened the last game. We said let’s think of it as if this was our first time playing them.”

Dakota outlasted the Oak Park Raiders 24-23 in last week’s semi-final to reach the championship game. Grant Park knocked off the St. Paul’s Crusaders 24-21.

“I’m on top of the world right now,” said Penner. “There couldn’t be a better feeling than this.”

Earlier in the day, the Fort Frances Muskies took down the Beaver Brae Broncos 30-14 to capture the AAA crown — the Currie Bowl.

The Muskies jumped out to an early 13-0 lead before the Broncos rallied back with two touchdowns to take a 14-13 lead into the half.

The final two quarters were all Fort Frances with quarterback Parker Booth throwing touchdowns to Hayden Beckett and Griffin Webb.

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca

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