Viklund help Valkyries sweep season from the offensive line

“They did that (adjusted) really well again and, playing the same team three times in a row, things got a little heated but it was a great matchup and a great game and some great back and forth and lots of great contact inside but it was dang hot,” Viklund told paNOW.

And heated it got with two separate incidents that resulted in ejections from the game; Valkyries’ Danaye Holynski for throwing a punch late in the third quarter and then the Riot’s Josie Shannon for contact after the play early in the fourth.

Viklund (65) takes a hit and keeps on moving on the four yard line during a Valkyries attempt to run in the ball. (Becky Zimmer/paNOW Staff)

The Valkyries dominated the season with a 34-0 shutout win in Regina on July 10 and a 42-7 win in Saskatoon on July 16.

A non-COVID season for the team would include trips to Manitoba to take on fellow WWCFL teams the Manitoba Fearless and the Winnipeg Wolfpack during the Prairie Conference regular season followed by conference finals against the three Alberta teams but Valkyries head coach Pat Berry told paNOW they were fortunate to have the season that they did.

“It would have been, I think, disastrous for the league to go dark for two seasons.”

Along with many of the challenges that all sports teams are facing due to COVID, recruitment was a challenge this year, with both the Valkyries and the Riot playing with much smaller rosters compared to other years, said defensive back and Humboldt original, Rienna Rueve.

The Valkyries continue to work with high school aged football players to prepare them for the WWCFL, said Barry, with the Valkyries helping out in camps further south.

The Valkyries have been great advocates for players under the age of 18 and the players they do have become the best female football players in the country, he said.

“These are the two best club teams in Canada and they’re two of the best club teams in the world. And they’re going to prove it. A lot of these women are going to be on Team Canada, and they’re going to be challenging for a gold medal next year in Finland and they come from right here in Saskatchewan.”

One of these players has already been Viklund. During the 2017 IFAF Women’s World Championship in Langley, B.C., Viklund was part of Team Canada as part of their offensive line. Canada would bring home the silver metal after a loss against the United States.

What started as watching the big high school boys the Carlton Comprehensive High School faced on the football field has become a decade long love for Vicklund.

It wasn’t until she graduated high school that she joined the Western Women’s Canadian Football League’s Regina Riot eventually moving home to Prince Albert and joining the Valkyries.

While joining a football team can sound intimidating for some women, Viklund says the league and the coaches are very welcoming for women of all body types and skill levels. There is a place for everyone on the field, especially women from Prince Albert; Viklund could use a driving buddy as she commutes to Saskatoon and back following practices and games, she laughs.

“I wouldn’t mind having some company at 10 o’clock at night when I’m heading home.”

The team also honoured Prince Albert original, Nichole LaVallee, throughout the game with a memorial display. The former defensive powerhouse died following a car accident on March 7 and was on the roster from 2016-2018. LaVallee was planning to return for the 2021 season.

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Becky.Zimmer@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @Bex_zim

by Becky Zimmer

Viklund help Valkyries sweep season from the offensive line

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