Thursday’s year-end banquet for the Prince Albert River Riders marked one of the last time that this season’s pee wee and bantam programs will be together under one roof.
Some of the players will be jumping up a level in the local minor football program, others will be adapting to suiting up in high school football leagues and a few will have taken to the field for the final time.
“I told the players tonight during my speech that this group will be totally different if they are to be in the same place again, but they all created some wonderful memories together,” Prince Albert Minor Football president Bob Coffin said. “What they’ve done this year will be with them for the rest of their lives.
“When you talk to the coaches for the high school programs like Carlton, St. Mary and Birch Hills, what we do here to help our players learn the game and become better people has them a step ahead of where they would be in some other places.”
It was another successful campaign in the Kinsmen Minor Football circuit for the River Riders programs, as the bantam team reached the semifinal round and the pee wee squad finished in fifth place.
“Our coaches did a tremendous job in developing the kids and making them the best that they can be, not just as individuals but as teammates,” Coffin said.
The award winners from Thursday’s banquet are as follows:
Pee Wee
- Matthew Gendron Memorial Top Offensive Lineman – Owen Ferchuk
- Top Running Back – Nicholas Workman
- Top Receiver – Quincy Caisse
- Rookie of the Year, Offence – Adam Peterson
- Most Improved Player, Offence – Bladen Dogniez
- Most Valuable Player, Offence – Sullivan Smith-Windsor
- Top Defensive Lineman – Miller Childress
- Top Linebacker – Jared Reeder
- Top Defensive Back – Sawyer Elphinstone
- Rookie of the Year, Defence – Matt Muller
- Most Improved Player, Defence – Colton Middlebrooks
- Most Valuable Player, Defence – Raelynn Sande
- Most Valuable Player, Special Teams – Gage Prodaehl
- Team Spirit Award, Offence – Nickolas Henderson
- Team Spirit Award, Defence – Max Obrigavitch
- Max Clunie Memorial Award for Team Leadership On and Off the Field – Bohdan Dogniez
Bantam
- Top Defensive Lineman – Ethan Laughren
- Top Linebacker – Landon Mudjar
- Top Defensive Back – Aiden Polowski
- Rookie of the Year, Defence – Kaelan Leblanc
- Most Valuable Player, Defence – Scott Adamko
- Top Offensive Lineman – Jakob Ferguson-Dodge
- Top Running Back – Kaiden Keddie
- Top Receiver – Charles Spitzack
- Rookie of the Year, Offence – Tyrell Morr
- Most Valuable Player, Offence – Matthew Tysiaczny
- Most Improved Player – Vaughn DuGray
- Heart of a Beast Award – Jaxen Worthington
- Rod Elliott Team Leadership Award – Koltin Fyrk
