For twin brothers Jordin and Drew Boucher, football is more than a pastime. It’s a passion.<\/p>\n
On Dec. 15, the Boucher brothers committed to continue their gridiron journey with the University of Manitoba Bisons in the fall of 2022. The ceremony was held in the Murdoch MacKay library with their mother and father, Greg and Tammy, and grandparents Gilbert and Lenora, as well as staff and fellow members of the school’s football team, present.<\/p>\n “I’m happy we’re staying home and doing it together,” Drew Boucher said following the signing. “We’ve always done everything together, so this will be another great four or five years. It’s gonna be great doing it together.”<\/p>\n “We were actually going to wait until January to make this decision,” Jordin added. “But we did it now because our grandma just got put into palliative care, so we wanted to let her know before she sadly passes away.”<\/p>\n As members of Murdoch’s offensive line, the Bouchers helped propel the team into the Winnipeg High School Football League’s Division 2 final this fall. The team, which featured many players new to tackle football, went 3-2 in five regular season starts, scoring 81 points for on the year, with 65 against before beating Sisler 30-14 in the semifinal before falling 34-21 to Springfield in the final match.<\/p>\n “I think it’s important to note that signing letters of intent don’t just happen. It’s rare,” Brian Dobie, head coach of the University of Manitoba Bisons, said. “These guys outworked pretty much everyone in the province. Being 6-foot-4, 225 pounds or whatever certainly helped their cause. But there are others who are out there in the same boat who aren’t achieving what they have.”<\/p>\n Dobie noted that both boys have put in the time with Manitoba’s U16 program, while continuing to train regularly throughout the pandemic.<\/p>\n “They have drive and passion,” Andrew Westwood, an assistant coach and teacher at Murdoch MacKay, said. “We had a whole year off last year, which turned a lot of kids off. But not them. Not for a second.”<\/p>\n “Through COVID, we were doing anything we could to get back on the field or in the gym, because they were all closed,” Drew added. “We put in a lot of hard work, training with Recruit Ready in the off season, getting in the gym, COVID was tough but we persevered through that and came back this year, made it to the finals.”<\/p>\n “We’re thrilled when kids can use football as a means to get to the next level, or get their education,” added coach and teacher Andrew Mauthe. “Having taught both of them, they’re great academic kids as well as huge personalities on the football field. Seeing them tie this together and move on to the next level is awesome. We’re immensely proud of these guys.”<\/p>\n Drew and Jordin’s parents and grandparents are about as proud of their boys as one would imagine.<\/p>\n “They’ve worked hard to get here and we’ll support them on all their future endeavours,” Tammy Boucher said of her sons. “This is their passion.”<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t