Some of the players holding up their jerseys at the Prince Albert Minor Football awards ceremony this week. (Submitted photo/Taras Kachkowski)

By Ian Gustafson

Back on the Gridiron

P.A. Minor Football reflects on successful season

Nov 10, 2021 | 9:00 AM

The Prince Albert River Riders held its annual end of the season awards ceremony for the peewee and bantam programs.

The ceremony was held Monday evening outside the Crescent Heights Arena where they gave out multiple awards and reflected on the season.

President of Prince Albert Minor Football Taras Kachkowski told paNOW it felt really good to get back out on the field this season.

“I remember saying after our first game, which we lost, but I didn’t care because it felt good to be back on the field and back having game day and all the things that go along with it,” he said.

Kachkowski said the peewee program did quite well finishing 2-4 in the regular season and won an exciting playoff game 50-47 against the Falcons. He added the bantam team only won one game during the regular season but won their bowl game 20-0 to end the year.

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“At the youth level it’s less about the wins and losses and it’s more about the skill development and we have always believed that if we teach the skills right you know the success will come,” he said. “Maybe not even necessarily during our program but when they move on to high school and some of them possibly are on to college and one of these years possibly somebody might make the CFL.”

He said the life lessons learned while playing sports are also important, especially in football. The value of being a good teammate, showing good sportsmanship, goal setting, and the value of hard work are all lessons Kachkowski said he hopes the players learn while playing.

Peewee Defence Awards:

• Top Defensive Lineman: Owen Myers
• Top Linebacker: Jason Merasty
• Defensive Rookie of the Year: Emmett Kihn
• Most Improved Defensive Player: Emmett Armitage
• PHD Award – Defence: Ryker Burns

Bantam Defence Awards:

• Top Defensive Lineman : Rocky Urschel
• Top Linebacker: Matt Muller
• Top Defensive Back: Hayden Cyr
• Defensive Rookie of the Year: Avery Tessier
• Most Improved Defensive Player: Raelynn Sande

Peewee Offence Awards:

• Top Running Back: Colm Phillips
• Top Receiver: Kris Ruszkowski
• Offensive Rookie of the Year: Nash Noble
• Most Improved Offensive Player: Dexter Reid
• PHD Award – Offence: Marcus Corrigal
• Matthew Gendron Memorial Top Offensive Lineman: Madden Markling

Bantam Offence Awards:

• Top Offensive Lineman: Rueben Veith
• Top Running Back: Cruz Stacey
• Top Receiver: Ryan Pidborochynsky
• Offensive Rookie of the Year: Kayden Charters
• Most Improved Offensive Player: Mason Ambrose

Others:

• Most Valuable Peewee Offensive Player: Bladen Dogniez
• Most Valuable Peewee Defensive Player: Tucker Prodaehl
• Most Valuable Peewee Special Teams Player: Tucker Prodaehl
• Max Clunie Memorial Award (Peewee leadership): Gage Malenfant
• Most Valuable Bantam Offensive Player: Rylan Morrison
• Most Valuable Bantam Defensive Player: Bryce Green
• Bantam Heart of the Beast Award: Miller Childress
• Rod Elliott Bantam Team Leadership Award: Max Obrigavitch

He explained it was nice to get together for their traditional season end awards but had to do it differently this year. They usually have a pizza party inside but this year they celebrated outside by their practice field.

“It was just nice to have everybody get together one last time and celebrate the individual achievements of these people on our team… We’ll wait out the winter and as soon as the snow melts we’ll be eager to head back out on the field again,” Kachkowski said.

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Ian.Gustafson@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @IanGustafson12