By: Mike Still (@mikestill94)
Last weekend at IG Field, 29 rising stars of the Manitoba amateur football scene put pen to paper as part of the Winnipeg Rifles 2019 recruiting class.
Winnipeg Blue Bombers general manager Kyle Walters was also present for the festivities and spoke to the aspiring pros, further strengthening the already solid relationship between the two clubs, which includes a handful of Rifles attending Winnipeg’s training camp annually in the spring.
Almost all of the team’s recruits are from the Winnipeg High School Football League (WHSFL), minus defensive lineman Lucas Davidiuk and receiver Riley Desrochers who are both products of the Midget Football League of Manitoba (MFLM).
Davidiuk was also the Matt Sheridan Lineman of the Year in the MFLM after recording five sacks, along with 63 tackles over the past two years.
Offence
Of the 29 recruits, 16 are on the offensive side of the ball with six a piece coming from the running back and receiver positions.
Headlining the running backs group was Fort Frances alumni Sekina Scheibler, who committed to the team way back in November of 2018. He was named the 2017 WHSFL Division 3 Offensive Player of the Year after amassing 1,787 yards and 14 touchdowns. An injury sidelined Scheibler last year, making him even more eager to produce in a big way in 2019.
Other running backs that signed are Ivan Jacque (Sisler), Tristan Lawrence-Richards (Oak Park), Rusty Listmayer (West Kildonan), Nicholas Moore (St. Paul’s) and Darnell Udoh (Miles Mac) — who was a finalist for Division 2’s Offensive Player of the Year in 2018.
The receivers group was led by Timmy Solypa, a product of Murdoch MacKay who has spent the last two seasons with the Kamloops Broncos of the British Columbia Football Conference (BCFC). During that time he hauled in a combined 45 receptions for 677 yards and two scores.
A coaching change this offseason resulted in Solypa looking to explore new opportunities and he seems to have found his niche with Winnipeg.
“Playing here, you see from the scores and the standings that the competition is so much higher,” he says of the Prairie Football Conference where the Rifles are a member.
“There’s definitely some great players here starting and they’re only first or second-year guys. I think this season is going to be a fun one and I’m looking forward to it.”
Other receivers that signed on the dotted line are Desrochers (St. Vital) Ethan Danell (Dakota), Brock Gates (Kelvin), Ethan Schnerch (DMCI) and Ben Harrington (Vincent Massey Collegiate).
Schnerch was a standout during DMCI’s 2017 CanadInns Bowl victory — the school’s first championship in 39 years, while Harrington was a key target for Manitoba Bisons commit Jackson Tachinski during the squad’s undefeated ANAVETS Bowl championship last year.
The other four commits are on the offensive line, led by Division 3 Lineman of the Year Jeremy Hampshire of Elmwood. Also committing to the Rifles were Ron Anderson (Steinbach), Shawn McMillan (Portage) and Division 3 Lineman of the Year nominee Joel Truthwaite (West Kildonan).
Defence
Of the 13 defensive commits, eight come from the secondary. There’s plenty of studs, including three from Massey’s ANAVETS Bowl-winning squad in Keyshawn Gaskin, Brandon Kamenz and Teagan Simon.
Jo-Jo Funk-Clements from River East’s CTV Bowl championship team is also coming on board, along with Kyle Chorney (St. Paul’s), Alex Minor (Grant Park), Tyson Wood (Oak Park) and Andreas Kastellanos (Dakota), who has U SPORTS experience, spending last year at the University of Toronto.
“My goal this year is to make an immediate impact,” says Kastellanos.
“I want to compete from the start of training camp till November. I want to show this team what kind of player and leader I can be.”
The team also secured the commitment of four defensive linemen in Davidiuk (St. Vital), Treyshaun Bollers (Kelvin), Nathan Poetker (Steinbach), and Lucas Correia (Miles Mac), who was a finalist for the Division 2 Lineman of the Year award while also standing out during the Rifles’ rookie camp.
Last but not least was Eric McCutchin, the lone linebacker recruit out of Portage who will have the opportunity to learn and grow within a deep group that includes Bombers training camp invite Cole Sneesby as well as the Hart brothers.