By: Mike Still (@mikestill94)
Feature photo: Lucas Daviduik with the Matt Sheridan Lineman of the Year award.
After claiming their second consecutive Midget Football League of Manitoba (MFLM) title this past October, the St. Vital Mustangs were honoured with four of the league’s six major awards this past Thursday.
Converted soccer player Owen Brown, who didn’t take up the sport until a few years ago, took home his second consecutive Special Team’s Player of the Year award. The Mustangs kicker/punter led the MFLM with 38 total points, including going six-of-eight on field goal attempts.
Brown — whose older brother Findlay had a strong season kicking for McGill in 2018 — will be part of the UBC Thunderbirds roster this fall while also attending the highly acclaimed Sauder School of Business. More on him in a future article.
“I have had an overwhelmingly positive experience with the Mustangs,” Brown said when discussing his three-year MFLM career.
“The coaching staff and team have all been incredibly supportive, even in my first year coming into the league as a pure kicker, which had rarely been seen before. I could’ve easily been shrugged off, but everyone on the team was incredibly welcoming and really made it as good of it’s experience as it could’ve been.”
Earning the Matt Sheridan Lineman of the Year award, which has previously been won by current Blue Bomber and former Falcon Football Club member Geoff Gray — was fellow Mustang Lucas Daviduik, who led the MFLM with five sacks this past year.
The Beausejour native, who started playing the game five years ago — beginning with the Sunrise Coyotes — has accrued 63 tackles and 7.5 sacks over the past two years. He hopes to continue his playing career next season either in the Manitoba Major Junior Football League, or with the Winnipeg Rifles of the Canadian Junior Football League.
“To me, winning this award is just another step in a long road of football I have yet to come, either playing in the future or coaching. Looking back on [my career], it’s been quite a journey. Five years doesn’t seem like that long of a time to me anymore, and if I could go back and re-live it I would.”
Also earning major awards for the Mustangs were Abdulrahman Mudasiru, who was the league’s Rookie of the Year, as well as Drey Warde, who was the Offensive Player of the Year, after collecting 438 yards on the ground and five scores.
The President’s Award, given to a player who has “a team first mentality on the field and in the community” went to Falcon Football Club’s Lukas Kornelson, while Defensive Player of the Year honours were handed out to North Winnipeg Nomads defensive back Matteo Urciuoli, the brother of current Maples defensive back Adamo and second cousin of Rifles running back Brandon.
“I’ve never played nine-man football before, so I wasn’t really used to it at first,” the former Maples DB said of the transition to the nine-man game.
“The first game I was a bit off, knowing there’s a lot more open space for people to fly around with, but once I got used to it, I loved it.”