Prairie toughness a perfect fit for St. Mary’s Huskies

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This article was published 16/08/2024 (737 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Saint Mary’s University football program is trying to find its way back to national prominence and will lean on a group of Winnipeg players to do it.

Head coach Steve Sumarah’s recruiting efforts have repeatedly taken him from Halifax, N.S., to the Manitoba capital since he was rehired by the Huskies in 2022.

There are five Winnipeg talents currently on Saint Mary’s roster — quarterback Te Jessie, linebacker Zach Chiarotto, kicker Ethan Nagler, defensive end Liam MacDonald and his brother, offensive tackle Kiernan MacDonald — and each is expected to play a pivotal role on the team over the next couple of years.

“We are definitely a national-based recruiting program,” said Sumarah, whose team opened training camp this week. “The thing that I’ll say about the Winnipeg guys in general is, you’re getting good football players. The guys that we zone-in on are guys that basically want the opportunity to leave out west for a different experience.

“Once we find these guys, what we find out of the Winnipeg kids… is that they’re just tough kids. You kind of laugh when you say it because it sounds so typical — how can a kid from Winnipeg be tougher than a kid from somewhere else? — but they really do have that Western toughness to them that really is something that we’re looking for on our team.”

It’s been years since the Huskies had time in the spotlight. The program hasn’t posted a winning season since 2018-19 and hasn’t won the Atlantic University Sport conference since 2010.

Sumarah successfully led St. Mary’s in his first stint from 2006-11, capturing four first-place conference finishes along with one Vanier Cup appearance in 2007, when they lost to the U of M Bisons.

The MacDonald brothers are projected to be the biggest contributors this season. Liam is the Huskies’ starting defensive end and a team captain entering his third year, and Kiernan, who played in eight games in his first year, is currently in a camp battle to be the team’s starting right tackle.

The St. Paul’s graduates are separated by two years — Liam being the older sibling — and despite both playing football from a young age, had never been on the same team until Kiernan arrived last season.

Now, the MacDonald brothers are lining up against one another in practice each day. It’s an opportunity neither has taken lightly.

“I make sure to always give him a little bit extra,” said Liam, who is listed at 6-4, 250 pounds.

“It’s awesome. I’m obviously the older brother, so I have to make sure I can always beat him. It pushes me, and he’s obviously super talented, he’s a great player as well and he’s my best friend. Having him out here is awesome and it makes it feel like home. It’s very competitive, I’ll tell you that. We go up against each other directly all the time, so it’s been great having him out here.”

While Kiernan was the more recruited player coming out of high school, Sumarah has been impressed with the growth he’s seen out of Liam and what the next couple of years hold for the QB-monger.

“Quiet leader, but a leader nonetheless,” said Sumarah. “And is somebody that has worked his can off all summer. He looks in phenomenal shape and he’s ready to be a dominant force out here.”

Sumarah also believes he landed the quarterback to lead the Huskies back on the winning path this offseason when he successfully recruited Jessie to the Maritimes.

He will need to wait to see his star pivot in action, though.

Jessie, who dominated the Canadian Junior Football League with the Westshore Rebels in Langford, B.C., for two seasons, underwent shoulder surgery during the offseason and will miss the 2024-25 season.

Jessie declined an interview due to his playing status this season.

Sumarah’s sales pitch to Jessie was trickier than usual, as he worked simultaneously to repair their fractured relationship. The two go back to 2021 when Sumarah recruited the talented gunslinger out of St. Paul’s to Carlton University in Ottawa.

Jessie redshirted his only year with the program and then left, owing to what he called “political stuff that was going on,” which he revealed in a previous conversation with the Free Press.

“We started talking again, and there was probably some hesitation on his side at first, like, ‘That wasn’t a great experience for me’ and… I think once he saw what we were building here, he was excited and felt like he could be a major player,” said Sumarah, adding Jessie has developed by leaps and bounds since he first recruited him.

“The numbers, and just his poise and maturity, you really could see how those couple of years had helped him become what I would consider one of the most sought-after recruits in the country.”

Sumarah isn’t the only person Jessie has reacquainted with. Liam MacDonald played with the quarterback when St. Paul’s went on to win the AAAA provincial championship in their Grade 12 season.

Fond memories, indeed, and Liam is confident they will create some more once Jessie is healthy and at the helm.

“I remember Coach Sumarah telling me in my exit meeting (last year), and I had to stand up and shake his hand and thank him for getting Te out here,” Liam said.

“His determination to win is always what I remember. He was a guy who was willing to do whatever it takes. If he had to throw for 300 yards to win a game, he would do that. But if he had to put his shoulder down and run over a linebacker and get those extra three, four yards to get the first down and get the touchdown, he was always willing to do that.

“It was whatever it took to win with Te, which is the kind of mentality we want here.”

joshua.Frey-sam@freepress.mb.ca

X: @jfreysam