By: Mike Still (@mikestill94)
Feature photo: Vaughan Lloyd shortly after signing with Manitoba.
Vaughan Lloyd knows a thing or two about how to adapt and thrive on the football field.
For example, Lloyd — a running back since his community football days with the Fort Garry Lions — was forced to sit out his grade 11 season with Vincent Massey after transferring from St. Paul’s. Instead of feeling sad for himself though, he chose to take mental notes on his opponents by “just watching the game and seeing what people did well and didn’t do well and adding it to my game.”
When Lloyd’s senior year rolled around, a new challenge was thrown his way. Former Midget Football League of Manitoba Offensive Player of the Year Breydon Stubbs was brought into the fold at running back and naturally, only one player would get the spot.
Lloyd was fully ready to compete with Stubbs for starting time. The two went back-and-forth in the spring before Massey head coach Kelsey McKay made an executive decision on the first day of summer camp, moving the former to slotback.
Interestingly, this wasn’t the first time Lloyd was shifted to the position.
“In U16 when coach [Kelsey] McKay was the head coach, he actually moved me to slot then,” he says.
“When I was younger, I was more nervous about a suicide ball or just trusting the quarterback to get me the ball versus just being handed the ball at running back. But especially this year with [senior quarterback] Jackson [Tachinski], who I’ve played a lot of football with over the years, we have a really good relationship and I know the throws he can make and how good he is. It made playing slot this year a lot more fun.”
Lloyd’s first week at slotback in his senior year against Oak Park offered a tantalizing taste of what was to come. He demonstrated his speed and route-running abilities, hauling in two receptions for 96 yards, with both grabs going for touchdowns.
“After the Oak Park game the first game of the season I thought the season was going to be something special for me. That game was when I really knew that slotback would be fun.”
The following week against Massey Brandon, Lloyd continued with his impressive yards per catch average, going off for 160 yards on four receptions, with three resulting in majors.
Two weeks into the season, it appeared that the converted running back was primed for a record-breaking year. But the following week, tragedy struck.
Lloyd was throwing the ball around with some of his teammates before practice like he usually did, when his knee gave out while he was trying to break on a ball.
“At first I wasn’t really sure what happened, because I’ve had multiple injuries to this knee before so I didn’t think it was much of a concern,” he says. “I ended up getting an MRI done, went to some doctors and that was it.”
Lloyd was diagnosed with a fully torn ACL and meniscus, seriously de-railing the momentum he had created just a few weeks ago. But instead of accepting the injury, he chose to fight through it. That week’s contest was against St. Paul’s and there was no way he was going to miss a rivalry game against Division 1’s perennial powerhouse.
He wore a soft-shell brace for the matchup, recording two receptions for 27 yards while noting that he didn’t feel the injury that much, despite it occurring less than a week prior.
But the following week against Dakota, Lloyd was given a different type of brace by the doctor that essentially made it feel like he was playing on the injury with no protection. He had one reception in the contest before sitting out the next month.
He returned to the lineup in memorable fashion in the Division 1 ANAVETS Bowl against St. Paul’s, producing countless big-time plays in both the run and pass game as Massey won 28-25.
“To be completely honest, I didn’t really think about it,” Lloyd says of playing with a severe knee injury.
“Personally I think it was the amount of rest I had. I basically sat out the next 3-4 weeks and all the coaches thought my season was over. I’m honestly very happy with the game I played and how I performed.”
Lloyd will have a chance to continue his legacy in 2019 with the Manitoba Bisons, a team he committed to last October. He’s particularly excited to line up with some fellow Division 1 alumni who are a few years his elder.
“I’m really excited to play with Shae Weekes (St. Paul’s) , Brody Williams (St. Paul’s), Abdul Gassama (Massey) and Brayden Saville (Massey). When I was in grade nine, these were all guys that I looked up to and trained with. I never thought I’d be anywhere close to them and now It’s crazy to think that I’m right up there with them, so that’s exciting.”