“This is the best team I’ve been on in my life.”
Miles Debler, quarterback for the Bonnyville Voyageurs, described his time with the local football team as a highlight of his athletic career during the annual recognition night at St. Louis Parish Hall on Friday, Nov. 29. Players, friends, and family came together to celebrate the past season and see who walked away with accolades.
“I couldn’t imagine playing on any other team in our league. It’s just a great family around here,” expressed Debler, who was chosen as offensive MVP.
He was among the many players honoured for their work on the field this year.
Head coach Larry Godziuk felt there was a strong sense of belonging for all of those involved in the team.
“I just really feel this year that we had that feeling of family, and that the guys were working for each other,” he said. “We had some players, whether on or off the field who needed a little bit extra help and we were there for them. I think we’ve always had some family, but I just felt that this was the best football family that we’ve had in a long time.”
When the coaches came together to decide who would walk away with distinctions, Godziuk noted they knew who was going to win this year.
“We wouldn’t have been the same team without any one of those guys, and they definitely stuck out and made it easy for us to choose them.”
Newcomer Duncan Critch took home the rookie of the year award, while Jaden House was chosen as most improved.
Mason Ward was this season’s special teams player of the year, while John Neumann walked away with the defensive front seven award, and Josh Morgan was selected as defensive player.
Brady Christians landed the title of MVP.
With this being Christians’ last year as a Voyageur, he was blown away when he heard he was chosen.
“It’s something that a lot of players work a long time for, so it feels good to finally get there,” he said, adding it was a great way to wrap up his time on the team.
“It changed a lot of things for me. It kind of brought me into more of a social person, and I think it really helped me grow more as an individual and an athlete.”
Also ending the season with recognition was Brodie Gamble, who received the coach’s choice for offensive player. The best offensive line player couldn’t be narrowed down to just one athlete so Dakota Gladue and Brenden Smith were both presented the honours.
As the recognition evening marked the end of the season, Godziuk reflected on everything the team accomplished.
“We weren’t given much of a chance to do much, and I thought we did very well with what we had because our players played for each other and that family comes back into play again. They don’t play for me, or for their parents. They play for each other. When you’re in an individual sport, you play badminton for yourself, you play track and field for yourself, and you play gymnastics mostly for yourself. Here, we need 12 guys to play the game and be successful. For the most part this year, we did very well.”
