Last Thursday evening, the St. Paul Bengals and the St. Paul Lions held their annual St. Paul football awards night at St. Paul Regional High.
Members of both teams, together with family members and friends, coaching staff and a host of volunteers were treated to a night of slideshows, silent auctions to raise funds for the football clubs, and also to cheer and honour the winners of awards ranging from Most Valuable Player to Rookie of the Year.
Speeches were given by the coaching staff thanking their wives for their support, and players also had opportunities to thank their coaches for the lessons they learned on and off-field throughout the football season.
“These are lessons that we will take with us in life,” said Philippe Bergeron of the St. Paul Lions, in a touching speech thanking the coaching staff of the Lions. “Because there will be times in the future when we will lose battles and get knocked down, but we will always remember what you taught us, and that is to be men.”
Bergeron went on to say that men get back on their feet and keep on fighting, and that the lesson he learned from the coaches while on the team is to be a better person.
Todd Tanasichuk, head coach of the Lions, thanked the life-partners of the coaching staff by saying, “They do a lot of things at home while we’re on the field to turn these boys into men.”
He also took the opportunity to give special mention to the parents of the players. “They’re great kids, and we enjoy it, although sometimes we get a little frustrated.
“But it’s the victories that aren’t on the scoreboard that keep us going back,” Tanasichuk continued, adding, “As a coach, we love to see these guys rise to the challenge.”
During the night, both the Bengals and the Lions also extended their gratitude to many of the local sponsors who helped out the team financially throughout the year.
Some of the sponsors also donated items ranging from NHL jerseys to Edmonton Oilers’ game tickets to a 40-inch big screen LCD TV for the silent auction to raise funds for the next football season.
At the end of the awards ceremony, members of the Bengals football club were given a last opportunity to hold up their Wheatland Bantam Football championship cup, which they won after beating the Lloydminster Chargers decisively in the championship game at St. Paul back on Oct. 30 this year.
The Bengals went on to the provincial bantam football championship for the first time in St. Paul football history, but lost the provincial finals to the Calgary Colts on Nov. 20.
