Bombers players bring Grey Cup to Oak Park

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 11/05/2022 (1484 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

CHARLESWOOD

When Oak Park High School principal Troy Scott received a call from Winnipeg Blue Bombers wide receiver and Oak Park alumnus Nic Demski, asking if he could bring the Grey Cup to the school, signing off on the idea was a no-brainer.

“He said, ‘I want to bring the cup back to Coach Nixon before he retires,’” Scott said. “I’ve been to a lot of different schools, and this is really special.”

On the morning of May 2, Oak Park welcomed back Demski and Bombers running back Brady Oliveira, another former Oak Park player. The assembly included speeches from the players, Pembina Trails School Division staff and a highlight reel of Demski and Oliveira’s top plays from their time with the Oak Park Raiders.

Absent from the celebration was former Bombers running back Andrew Harris, another Oak Park alum who signed for the Toronto Argonauts as a free agent in the off-season.

“This is something that we wanted to do. We wanted to make this happen,” said Demski, who was named the most outstanding Canadian player in last year’s Grey Cup in Hamilton, Ont. “Oak Park has a big place in my heart. I love this school, and I got chills watching (the highlight reel). Work hard, be a good person, be determined, believe in yourself and dreams do come true.”

”My time at Oak Park was truly memorable and some of the best times of my life,” Oliveira added. “To this day, I still have friends that I went to school with here. It’s the best school in the city.”

From his time at Oak Park to playing professional football, Oliveira notes being a good person has helped him excel.

“Be a good person and do the right thing when nobody is watching you and good things will always happen to good people,” he said.

The festivities also honoured Oak Park High School coach Stu Nixon, who’s retiring this year after coaching high school football for 35 years (the last two decades have been with the Raiders). Both Demski and Oliveira credit Nixon’s coaching for helping them become two-time Grey Cup champions.

“It was a real joy. I’m just so fortunate to be able to say I’ve coached these guys,” Nixon said. “We have four players in the CFL. I don’t know how many high schools in Canada can say that. And they’re all just good people.”

Knowing Demski and Oliveira wanted to bring the cup back to Oak Park to cap off his coaching career was “flattering and humbling,” Nixon added.

“They didn’t have to do that,” Nixon said. “You try to make a mark, and I couldn’t think of a better way to say goodbye to my time here. I guess if we had won the championship this year on top of this that would have been better.”