Prince Albert Minor Football put on a bow on their fall season with their awards night at the Carlton Cafetorium on Wednesday night.
More than 30 awards were handed to River Rider players over the course of the evening recognizing individual and team achievements.
Joey Hemsworth, the head coach of the Bantam River Riders, says it was a fitting end to the fall season for the organization.
“It’s a great evening. We celebrate all the individual achievements, but also the team achievements that have happened this year. It’s nice to show the kids hard work pays off and reward them with the individual awards as MVP or positional awards. It is a good night, get everybody here, families, and celebrate the year that we have.”
In the Kinsmen Football League Hilltops Division, the Pee Wee River Riders finished with a 4-3 record. In the Huskies Division, the Bantam River Riders finished with a record of 2-5.
Despite the sub .500 record, Hemsworth says he was proud of the development shown by his team.
“It’s a tougher year this year, but we had a lot of growth for sure. We played every down super hard. The kids were really into the games, they came to practice. They tried hard. We were in some close games and just one play here, one play there didn’t go our way. Overall the kids that had a growing season, but by the end, I was super proud of our last game. It went down to the wire and nothing more you could ask for as the coaches or kids to really come out and give it their best.”
The awards night takes place prior to the Carlton Crusaders competing for a provincial title in Saskatoon this Saturday. Several players on Carlton’s roster were a part of the Bantam River Riders team that went undefeated and won the KFL championship two years ago.
Hemsworth says it’s exciting for the entire football community in Prince Albert to have a team competing for a title.
“Tons of kids that went through our program were playing in that game. I was just so proud of those kids. Huge shout out to (Lindsay) Strachan and that whole coaching staff and what they’ve done with all the kids on the team and how well they are playing. I am hoping that they go and perform this weekend and take it home. It’s so awesome for Prince Albert Football to have a team in the provincial final. A lot of those kids started at the Atom level and now they’re playing for a provincial final. I’m super excited for all the kids that have that opportunity to go and win that provincial championship.”
List of full award winners
Top Defensive Lineman: Nolan Taylor, Trent Beatty
Top Linebacker: Liam Moore, Reid Wilson, Regen Green
Top Defensive Back: Alex Taylor, Gabe Smith
Defensive Rookie of the Year: Tristin Lane, Tayten Schellenberg
Most Improved Defensive Player: Tristen Olson, Ben Neuman
PHD Award- Defence: Jce Bober
Top Running Back: Evan Morrison, Cody Wirth
Top Offensive Lineman: Cody Wirth
Matthew Gendron Memorial Top Offensive Lineman: Jace Timm
Offensive Rookie of the Year: Hana Wilson, Izzy Jereda
PHD Award- Offence: Hudson Polowski
PeeWee Most Valuable Offensive Player: Erik Wagner
PeeWee Most Valuable Defensive Player: Laura Wilson
Max Clunie Memorial Award: Jacob Schlamp
Bantam Most Valuable Offensive Player: Dexter Reid
Bantam Most Valuable Defensive Player: Jaxen Storey
Bantam Heart of the Beat Award: Wyatt Charters
Rod Elliott Bantam Team Leadership Award: Dylan Dumais
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