The 2013 season abruptly came to an end for the St. Paul Lions on Nov. 9, when the team met a heart-breaking defeat at the hands of the Sylvan Lake Lakers, 30-26.
While the Lions held a 13-7 lead after the first half, the team fell victim to a pair of fumbles on kickoff returns to start the second, and the Lakers converted on both opportunities. Sylvan Lake later forced another fumble, which led to a Lions safety and an injury to quarterback Brenden McKay.
“When you think about how hard we fought, we were down by 10 points twice in the game, and at the end of the game we were right there, we were real close to being able to pull it out,” said Lions Coach Todd Tanasichuk. “Between Brenden (McKay’s) injury and those three turnovers in the third quarter that cost us 16 points, and some of our other boys were pretty beat up too. We just couldn’t overcome all of that, but we almost did.”
Despite the drastic shift in momentum and the frigid temperatures, the Lions stuck to the game plan and continued to press for a comeback. After cutting the lead from 30-20 down to 30-26, the Lions came up just short on the final drive, turning the ball over on downs only 20 yards shy of the end zone.
“I’m very proud of the boys. We lost the right way on Saturday,” said Tanasichuk. “Even though we lost we lost the right way, with class and dignity and character right to the bitter end. There was such a strong will to win on that last drive, it was great to see. I thought we were going to do it, I really did, but it’s tough.”
While the Lions fell short of claiming its first provincial championship, this particular group of players has accumulated a good deal of accolades in their junior football careers, with back-to-back Wheatland Football League Championships topping that list.
“It feels pretty good being the second team to go back-to-back, being one of the only people to actually do that is a nice accomplishment that you have on your back,” said Lions running back Taylor Joly.
One aspect of this Lions team that seemed unanimously agreeable amongst coaches and players is the fact that this team has bonded to the point of being “a brotherhood,” as McKay aptly phrased it.
“I’ve never been on a team where everyone has been so close, everyone is friends with each other, and that’s why we won, I think, because everyone is so close,” said McKay, adding that while the season-ending loss was a disappointment, he was honoured to have played through it as a Lion.
“It’s always going to be tough in your last year of football. Win or lose in provincials it was going to be sad, but we were more than a team, we were like a brotherhood.”
Tanasichuk agreed, saying that football is a sport that requires players to rely heavily on the efforts of their teammates.
“It’s such a team sport, we talk about how if 11 guys do their job and one guy doesn’t, well that can wreck the play for you,” said Tanasichuk. “It’s such a team sport where everybody has to work together and do their job in order to have success on any given play, and I think that makes the boys a little more inclined to buy into the team concept and to hopefully treat each other well.”
Dave Thomson said that being a part of the Lions brotherhood has been an incredible experience, and knowing that the ride is over was the most difficult part of last week’s loss to Sylvan Lake.
“That was probably what hit me the hardest, just the fact that I’ve been with these boys for four years now. This was my fourth year and it was the last time I’m ever going to be able to suit up and play with them again,” said Thomson. “They are really life changing people, all of them. It’s like a real band of brothers there, you can’t get much closer than this group of guys that we’ve got.”
Thomson added that after he and his teammates won a Wheatland Bantam Football League championships in their Grade 9 year, the players tossed around the idea of going to repeat championships at the next level.
“It’s something special because it’s not very often that it happens. They say it’s the rarest thing to do in sports. We used to joke around about it in Grade 9 after we won the first championship then (as Bengals), we joked about how we’d go and we’d run the league in Grade 11 and Grade 12,” he said. “It’s one thing to say it but it’s another thing to go and do it. It’s something special to be able to do that with my boys.”
Tanasichuk pointed out that the team will now be cut in half, as 16 of the 32 Lions will be graduating at the end of this school year.
“We can’t replace these guys, it’s going to take some time. We’re going to be rebuilding next year and we know that,” said Tanasichuk. “We’re certainly hoping that those young Bengals will come out and play and we’re hoping that all our guys will stick with it, and I think most of them definitely will. We know that the challenge next year is going to be tremendous, but we’re going to play to win like we always do.”
Last Wednesday the Lions held a year-end locker cleanout and Wheatland championship celebration. After packing up the locker room, the Lions got together to watch film of the WFL championship game, and painted the team’s fifth white tile to lay on the locker room floor. The Lions have one white tile for each WFL championship victory resting on the clubhouse floor.
“Some people would look at that and say it’s such a goofy thing, but there’s so much work that goes into having a white tile on the floor. We bust our butts here. We’re so demanding of these kids and they buy into that,” said Tanasichuk. “To be a St. Paul Lion is not easy, it takes somebody with character to finish not just one year but to graduate and play four or five years with this program, it really shows a lot about your character. So when you win something, it means a lot to just brush that tile with a little bit of paint. You know what’s gone into it with all the hard work and the dedication and the sweat and the work in the weight room.”
A number of Lions made a point of thanking their coaches, Tanasichuk and John Lumby, for the dedication they showed in helping the Lions achieve success.
“They’re the best coaches I could ask for. They’ve put in so much time for us to be successful and I really appreciate what they’ve done for us,” said McKay.
The Lions will host its annual awards ceremony on Dec. 10 at St. Paul Regional High School.
