It was an emotional evening on Dec. 13 in Glendon at the Bonnyville Renegades and Bandits annual awards banquet.
The night saw many parents and players leave teary-eyed as Head Coaches Kevin Sartain and Dan Jubinville told stories and recognized the achievements of some great young football players.
Sartain, the Renegades Championship winning head coach, was the first to take the stand.
“We started off our season with a loss by ten points. Then our next game was a tie. Then our next game was the win. Now many of you that were with us the previous season know, that is the exact same way we started the previous season,” said Sartain, “Myself and the coaches were all sitting there thinking it was strangely familiar. Then, from that point in the season, it turned into something else. We had 43 extraordinary young men and one wonderful young lady believe with their heart and soul that if they played with a full heart, clear eyes, passion and love that they could accomplish anything.”
The Renegades would go on to pull off an improbably victory in the semifinals, overcoming a 20-point half time deficit to win the game 38-20. They then went down to Lloydminster and took the league championship 26-20 on the opposition's field.
Jubinville, who addressed a packed Glendon Hall next, was just as excited as Sartain, knowing that 16 players off that Championship Renegades squad will be making the jump up to the Bandits next season.
“Our 2014 Bandits season was a successful one. We were in second place right until the end. Then with our numbers light and players young we had a few key injuries, which made us fall short,” said Jubinville. “The players were warriors on the field, with most of them playing both ways.”
“With hard work and determination and the 16 Renegades players coming up. Watch out for us next year.”
When the evening was all said and done 16 Renegades and 14 Bandits took home some hardware.
A brand new award got the evening off to an emotional start. The Parent's Choice Award, given to a player selected by the parents of the players, was a special award for the Renegades.
Logan Church won the award for one amazing act of kindness. Before the Renegades were set to play in the Provincial Championship a sponsor bought them new jerseys.
Unfortunately there was a mix up and one of the team's starters didn't receive his jersey in time.
This is where the young Church stepped in. Without even being asked, Church gave the jersey off his back to his teammate who needed it.
Those in attendance recognized Church with a standing ovation.
The emotional award was followed by a slew of others.
The Rookie of the Year award went to tailback Duncan Critch. The Most Improved Player of the Year award went to Mason Ward, who had a break out season and was a key contributor on the offense.
The Offensive Lineman of the Year award was a tough one for the Renegades coaching staff to decide on, so the award was handed out to three players. Brendan Smith, Navarone Watchmaker and Tylor Moore were recognized.
Offensive Backfield Player of the Year was handed out to quarterback Miles Debler, while Brodie Gamble picked up the Offensive MVP trophy.
Defensively, seven players were recognized for three awards, as the coaching staff had trouble narrowing down their decisions.
The Defensive Lineman of the Year award was also given to two well deserving players in John Neumann and Jed Kurek, who were described as bringing power and presence to the lineup.
Three players took home Defensive Backfield Player of the Year Award in Tyler Verrier, Coco Berland and Jordan Funk.
The Defensive MVP award was split by a couple of terrific tacklers in Josh Morgan and Elise Sartain.
The final two awards of the night were described as two of the “most prestigious” awards being handed out.
Mason Sartain was awarded the Team MVP trophy, for being the one player that seemed to give the Renegades an extra boost whenever they stalled, while Cedric McCullam won the Renegades Heart and Soul Player of the Year award.
At the same time the Renegades were being recognized, the Bonnyville Bandits bantam squad was also dishing out their yearly hardware.
A total of 14 Bandits took home the eleven awards that were handed out.
The Parent's Choice Award, also a new award for the Bandits organization, saw Steven Sawchuk get recognized.
The Rookie of the Year Award went to Seth Papirny, while the Most Improved Player of the Year award was handed out to Jacob Cardenas.
On the offensive side of the ball, three players received trophies.
The Offensive Lineman of the Year went to Eric Tellier, with the Offensive Backfield player of the year award being handed out to Aaron Goulet.
The Bandits Offensive MVP was Evan Fritzler.
Three defensive players also won awards.
Mason Wild took home the Defensive Lineman of the Year trophy with Matthew Nahirniak winning the Defensive Backfield player of the year award.
The Defensive MVP was Koleton Jubinville.
When going through the selection process for Bandits team awards. Jubinville said there were 14 names that came up and only ten were able to receive trophies. Not wanting to leave these players unrecognized, the coaching staff added four honourable mention trophies.
Cadence Gislason, Darwin Beck, Riley Rancier, and Steven Sawchuk were named as honourable mentions, after receiving votes for several awards, but not coming out on top.
Another new award this season was the Fan of the Year Award, which was given out to the fan, which the teams felt had the biggest impact on them over the course of the year. Katie Goulet took home this award.
