The Bonnyville Voyageurs celebrated the completion of another Wheatland Football League season on Dec. 3 by honouring the players who were key contributors throughout the year.
Nine players were presented with awards and eight graduating players were presented with jerseys on a night that saw the Voyageurs, their family and friends celebrate the season.
The four most prestigious awards the team handed out were Offensive and Defensive Player of the Year awards and Offensive and Defensive MVP trophies.
The Player of the Year awards go to two players who put forth the best statistical seasons on either side of the football.
This year the Voyageurs had a unique situation on their hands when it came to their offense.
After just four games starting quarterback Reid Skrypichayko's season was ended with a finger injury. While he only played in half as many games as other players on the roster, Skrypichayko's 516 rushing yards were best on the team and fourth best in the league.
Overall the multi-tool player recorded two passing touchdowns, three rushing touchdowns and a combined 863 yards over the course of four games, making him the easy choice for the Voyaguers Offensive Player of the Year.
His injury had a huge impact on the rest of the team's offense and opened the door for Justyn Davidson to take over the quarterback position.
“We somehow managed to convert a former offensive lineman, who thought he was a linebacker, into a quarterback,” said head coach Larry Godziuk.
Davidson saw time in seven games during the season, starting four of them, collecting 556 passing yards and four passing touchdowns to go along with 50 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns.
“Once the opportunity was there Justyn really embraced it and did a fantastic job,” said Godziuk.
For his contributions Davidson was named the Voyageurs Offensive MVP.
On the defensive side of the ball, two graduating players were honoured for the impacts they made during their final season.
With 24 tackles and one fumble recovery, Jonas Church was awarded the Defensive Player of the Year trophy.
“He was always so reliable over the three years,” said coach Patrick Coyle. “He was somebody who I could always put into a shutdown position.”
The Defensive MVP award was given to Isaac Amalia. The Voyageur defender racked up five sacks, including three on back-to-back-to-back plays in a game against the Cold Lake Royals, to prove his worth on defense.
“He is tenacious. He loves going after the quarterback,” said Coyle. “He has been a fantastic kid to coach the last three years. You could always rely on him.”
Bonnyville's high school squad went 3-3 during the regular season, which included winning all three of their homes games under the lights at Walsh Field.
The team was short on numbers, fielding a roster of 24 players throughout most of the season. By the end of the year they had 27 players.
The small roster allowed some younger, less experience players to step up and have an impact.
Aaron Goulet won Rookie of the Year, Cam Zelisko took home the Special Teams award, Most Improved was Taylor Smith, Offensive Lineman of the Year was Arrien Gerlach, while the Defensive Front 7 honours went to Cole Malishewski.
