Trojans look to sack juggernaut Crusaders

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This article was published 10/11/2015 (3935 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

For almost 20 years, the beat of Winnipeg high school football’s top title has drummed mostly on a two-part rhythm: Oak Park. St Paul’s. Oak Park. St. Paul’s.

It was the Oak Park Raiders who won it all last year, stopping the Crusaders’ WHSFL championship streak at three seasons. The last time a team that wasn’t the Raiders or Crusaders won the John Potter AAA division was in 2008, when Churchill completed the feat. No team other than those three has won the top trophy since 1998.

Now, that familiar rhythm is changing. These days, the powerhouses of high school football beat in threes: St. Paul’s, Oak Park — and Vincent Massey Collegiate of Winnipeg.

It will be Vincent Massey that squares off against St. Paul’s in the Anavets Bowl Friday night, battling for the right to lift the league’s prize at Investors Group Field. For the Trojans, that means an intimidating opponent, no doubt — but they’re hungry to take another shot at the St. Paul’s juggernaut.

“We’re confident, but not overconfident,” said Trojans captain and defensive back Matt Lemay, one of the seniors on a largely Grade 11 squad. “We know that it’s going to be a challenge, and it’s going to be a battle right to the end. And we are ready for the challenge. We appreciate that they are ready to battle with us.”

The teams’ first meeting, in the first week of the season, was crunching and tight. The Crusaders survived 13-7, by far the smallest victory margin of their typically undefeated season. And the Trojans know these Crusaders are mortal, having watched Oak Park pull off the last-minute upset in the WHSFL final last year.

There’s something else that informs their confidence, though. In its seventh season of operation, the Vincent Massey program is ascendant. The varsity roster now includes many alumni from the last two WHSFL junior varsity championship teams; it opened the campaign ranked among the top 20 high school programs in the nation.

That’s a boon for the league, which has long wrangled with how to balance the dominance of its elites. It’s also good for the young athletes on those teams, to have their mettle tested against closely-matched competition. Longtime St. Paul’s head coach Stacey Dainard was the first to agree.

“It’s huge for the league to have consistent high-level programs and high-level teams,” Dainard said. “It’s important for us as well. Other people will say, ‘It’s not good for the league that you guys are always there.’ I’ll say, ‘you’re right, but it’s not our job to lose.’ Lots of teams have risen, and it’s great to see Massey there. We had a great game against them earlier in the year.”

It’s not just about the football. Since arriving at the school in 2009, Trojans coach Kelsey McKay set out to build a program that engages the players in heart and mind, as well as body. It’s a multifaceted approach, one that saw Vincent Massey players take a more active role in the commuity — and even their own families.

This season, the Trojans held a Tribute to Mothers week, where coaches served a meal to their own moms alongside the young players; it was capped by a half-time presentation, where the teens presented their moms with heartfelt written letters and a rose. It was, McKay said, a powerful moment.

The next week, the Trojans did the same for fathers, culminating in a presentation where Grade 12 players’ fathers presented their son with a senior game jersey and a personal speech. One father reminisced about teaching his son to read; another spoke about his pride to see his son representing his family and First Nation.

‘It can’t just be a game, we don’t think so… our team has gotten stronger, because our kids really believe that this is special’

“I think I cried the whole hour we did this,” McKay said. “Those are things that, in some ways for males, it’s very tough to express. We try to do that with our kids. There’s gotta be a human side. It can’t just be a game, we don’t think so… our team has gotten stronger because our kids really believe that this is special.”

After all, it’s the character lessons that linger, long after football playing days are done. McKay learned that first-hand as a young athlete at Churchill High School, under the famously heartfelt tutelage of now-Bisons head coach Brian Dobie. “Oh, it trickles down,” McKay said. “I don’t forget some of that stuff, for sure.” When it comes to the field, what McKay is counting on is the family-oriented approach will help build a consistent legacy, one that will fuel competitive Massey teams for years to come. Already, some of the very first Massey football players are returning to the program to help coach; Lemay plans to do the same.

That’s the long view, though. The short view is focused on 7:30 p.m. Friday night, when they’ll kick off their biggest challenge yet. Each team has a rising Grade 11 starting quarterback, in Riley Naujoks for the Crusaders and Massey’s Andreas Dueck; each team has a stout defence. It could be a thriller.

“We obviously believe that we can win,” McKay said. “They’re obviously very, very good. We expect just an outstanding game. The crowd will not be disappointed.”

melissa.martin@freepress.mb.ca