By: Mike Still (@mikestill94)
Vincent Massey Trojans head coach Kelsey McKay is no stranger to success in the Winnipeg High School Football League (WHSFL). Prior to the 2021 season, he’d helped lead Massey to ANAVETS Bowl wins in 2015 and 2018 and was also the lead man when Churchill was victorious in 2008. And while he acknowledged that each of the championship seasons were all “a little bit different,” his school’s most recent win in 2021 was “a bit more special.”
In considering the context around this past year’s WHSFL campaign, it’s easy to see why McKay would made such a comment. After all, his entire roster (much like the rest of the league) missed out on a critical grade 11 development year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which cancelled the season. With this in mind, his team would be going into ’21 having never played a down of varsity football.
Despite the inability to practice as a team in a tackle setting, the Trojans kept to their grind. Essentially their entire roster participated in two seasons of flag football put on by Pro Prep Academy in order to get reps, and they were just as active off of the field.
“We had such a great group of kids. We had a couple of seasons of flag football and summer workouts, and our guys just stuck with it,” commented McKay.
“They stayed together as a group and we came back, and we were strong. It just was a question of learning the basics and the situational part of football, but in terms of as a team, they were great together, and they stuck together. They were a great group of friends who just really wanted to finish grade 12 and have the opportunity.”
Dominant defence
Defensive back Josh Banman personified his team’s dedication. The senior – who was a captain this past year and only allowed three catches (man or zone) – worked out in his basement almost every day while gyms were closed and put on 20 pounds of muscle. When the season came around, it was evident how much work he’d put in, not only in the passing game but also the run game, where his speed and aggressiveness set the tone for a versatile secondary that also included the likes of two-sport star Caleb Thiessen, Kyle Schepens and Owen Latour.
The front seven was also rangy and athletic, led by captain Max Shippam and fellow ‘backer Grayson Williams, while defensive end Ben Orajekwe – the WHSFL’s Defensive MVP – set the edge all season.
Each of these athletes, along with the rest of the D, made timely plays when it counted. They relied on each other and executed their assignments soundly, which is really what tells the story about this group.
For example, in week one against St. Paul’s, Latour made one of the biggest plays of the game when he forced a fumble that his side recovered. The play was made in the final two minutes of the first half. St. Paul’s was down 4-0 but had driven into Massey territory. Their pivot Chris Clarkson rolled to his right and had some room down the sideline, but was tracked down by Latour. Had the defensive back not made that play, the outcome of the contest (which ended 20-7 for Massey) could’ve been different.
Then, a few weeks later against Dakota, it was the Orajekwe show. Massey entered the contest at 2-1 after another defensive battle the week prior against Grant Park, and needed to defeat the Lancers in order to get some space in the standings for second place.
Dakota loves to stretch out their opposition defensively and had plenty of offensive weapons to do so in ’21, but Orajekwe closed the door on that possibility. He had a forced fumble, a sack, a pass breakup and was nearly un-blockable on contain as the Lancers won 25-5.
Then, in an incredibly physical championship game against Grant Park, it was Thiessen’s time to shine. The Trojans led 11-0 with three minutes left in the first half on the strength of running back Siju Bodunrin and a dominant ground game, but the Pirates were looking to answer. Pivot Solomon Bond aired out a swing pass for running back Coen Graham, however Thiessen read it perfectly and went 30 yards the other way for the pick six that put momentum firmly in Massey’s favour.
“Our defence was probably the best in the league, I thought the whole year,” McKay said. “They gave up 11 points in the first game to Grant Park and that was the most they gave up. Oak Park got 20, but it was late in the game in running time, but against the other team’s top players, they barely gave up any points. They sort of carried our team.”
Thalman and Reid offer chemistry for deep offence
That’s not to say that the offence didn’t do their part. Fellow captains Luke Thalman (quarterback) and Everett Reid (receiver/defensive back/returner) – who have been best friends their entire life and live a block away from each other in Royalwood – consistently found time to get in reps together at the local park during COVID. But that doesn’t tell the full story regarding their chemistry on the gridiron.
When the pair were in grade ten, Thalman severly injured his wrist and elbow after being hit on a roll-out. Three months were spent in a cast, and it took four months overall for the injury to heal. Instead of getting down though, Thalman showed his character by mentoring Reed, who was thrust into starting quarterback duties for the remainder of the year.
“Originally I just tried to stay there and help out Everett at the game,” Thalman recalled.
“I felt there was probably something wrong when [athletic therapist] Madi [Ridgen] had to go sprint inside to get a splint to hold my arm in place. I decided from there that I was going to take a different mindset for that season and to pretty much try to be the best leader that I could, and help out the boys by doing my part off of the field.”
Thalman played a major role in game-planning for his team. Along with aiding Reed, he formed a great relationship with offensive coordinator Jason Huclack, who taught him about the integrity and structure of an offence.
“[Reid] is my best bud and I knew I had to help out him and the team as much as I could, so I’d run through plays with him and what I’d look at, and I’d tell him what I saw during plays. I’d look at all the coverages during the game and I’d try and tell him what I’m seeing and ask if he was seeing it too,” he noted.
“I also called some plays for him, with coach Huclack. It was just a great environment, and us three along with our quarterbacks coach Shane Latour were just awesome together. I ran some indy sessions too, it was great. I was still very involved despite being injured.”
Having been through the ringer together, the pair were more than ready to help foster a team-first approach in ’21. With the powerful Bodunrin in the backfield and a bevvy of weapons at receiver such as Reid, fellow senior Cole McQueen and junior Jalen McDonald, Massey gained confidence each week.
Perhaps their most versatile showing on O came in a 38-7 win in the semi-finals against Dakota. Reid set the tempo with a big return on the opening drive and finished it off with a spectacular catch in the end zone that was facilitated by Thalman. The floodworks opened after that, with McDonald also finding paydirt, while Bodunrin wore down the opposition thanks to supreme blocking from the likes of Odin Peterson, Sean Marchello, Colin Parsons, Josh Tardiff and Tobi Sokunbi.
The week after, Bodunrin continued his momentum, running the rock for over 150 yards in the first half alone, including a drive where he had nine carries in a row as Massey topped Grant Park 25-2 to gain redemption from an early season loss. It was a fitting end to the season for a back, and roster that’d adopted a team-first approach all year.
“[Bodunrin] just had a phenomenal game. This is a championship game, why wouldn’t you want the ball every play? Why wouldn’t you want to be the guy? All year he’s been patient, because we’ve been giving the ball to Everett and to Cole and to Jalen and all these guys, but I said to him this is playoff weather,” remarked McKay. “This is tailback weather right here. Our offensive line took a lot of pride in that. It wasn’t pretty, but those guys aren’t pretty anyways. They’re happy with that.”