His high school career may have come to a close, but Melfort’s Finn O’Flanagan isn’t done playing football.
O’Flanagan took the nest step in his football career by committing to play for the University of Saskatchewan Huskies next fall.
During a phone interview with the Daily Herald, the Melfort Comet’s offensive lineman expressed plenty of excitement about the opportunity.
“I’m looking forward to it a lot. I didn’t really think I’d come this far, but it ended up happening. It’s going to be a great opportunity to do such things. Just to be able to play for that team that I’ve always wanted to play (for). I want to see how they would mold me as a player and just how we all perform together. It’s going to be pretty fun.”
At the university level, O’Flanagan will transition to playing the 12-man game similar to what is played in the Canadian Football League (CFL). Throughout his high school career, O’Flanagan played nine man football with Melfort.
O’Flanagan says he is excited for the challenges the transition will provide.
“For some people it’s a lot different, for my position it’s quite a bit similar. I’ve played 12-man before so I’m not too worried about the transfer over, but it’s going to be a lot more competitive and I like it.”
In his final season of high school football, O’Flanagan experienced plenty of success on the gridiron. During conference play, Melfort posted a perfect 6-0 record outscoring their opponents 342-85. In the playoffs, Melfort defeated Fort Qu’Appelle, Lumsden and Tisdale en route to winning a provincial championship.
O’Flanagan says he learned a lot while playing for Melfort under head coach Dave Rogers.
“We’ve just got such a good program. Moving up from this little town to the big city, it’s pretty great to be able to do something like that for my hometown. It’s really moulded me and I know a few others as players, so it’s just super exciting to see how we’re all going to play out, especially at the university level.”
O’Flanagan indicated he plans to study engineering in the fall.
The Melfort offensive lineman is one of three Comets who will continue their football careers after graduating this spring. Receiver Brodie Taylor will be joining the University of Regina Rams, while Comets RB David Goudy has committed to the Regina Thunder.
sports@paherald.sk.ca
