Entering the U18 flag football national championships in PEI in mid-August, Manitoba – despite being a powerhouse in the sport – were underdogs. One of the youngest teams in the tournament and without a big name such as Jackson Tachinski (former ANAVETS Bowl and flag football champion) slinging the rock, there was plenty of uncertainty as to how ‘Toba would do. 

“I think we were definitely underdogs. I think with a couple of the other teams that we had won gold medals with, there was almost an expectation that we would be one of the top teams,” admitted head coach Jon Franklin, a six-time gold medalist in flag as a coach as well as the founder of the PIT Football League.  

“Myself and [assistant coach] Raza [Butt], we preached being the smartest team out there. We were probably the youngest team competing at U18, so we were probably at a bit of a disadvantage in terms of size and speed, so we had to work out ways to win games against opponents that probably had more physicality than we had.”

In just over a month, Franklin and Butt used their bevvy of experience to help the squad transition from a bunch of skilled tackle players with previous flag experience, to a near-unstoppable force. After losing their first two games, they stormed back to win the gold medal, holding off tournament favourite Ontario 46-30 in the final. 

“With tackle, the route tree is a little bit different than what we would see in flag, and obviously in flag there’s no press coverage, so we really worked on running crisp and precise routes and running layers on the field, and making sure that we had receivers at short depths, deep depths and the middle depth, which a lot of teams don’t utilize,” mentioned Franklin. 

“We really wanted to work that middle of the field between the linebackers and the safeties, which often opens up in the flag game.”

Sisson scores MVP honours 

Throwing dimes all tournament for Manitoba was Scott Sisson, who enters his junior season with Grant Park this fall. He was named tournament MVP after going off for more than 2000 yards through the air. 

“I think my confidence and timing were the most important. The first two games I wasn’t confident, but then I realized that my team needed me and I needed to improve on getting the ball there in good time,” he said of his tournament progression. 

“I would throw outs and post corners and lead them into a window, and on the fades and post break ins, only my receivers could catch the balls.”

“Scott really flipped a switch from when we were doing our tryouts and practices to actual game situations. He’s definitely a quarterback who needs to feel a little bit of pressure to succeed, and when that pressure was on, that was when Scott was at his best,” added Franklin. 

“We worked on his route progressions, and I think it’s a little bit different in tackle where often you’re going from your deepest routes to your shortest routes, whereas in flag football it’s probably more advantageous to look for your shortest routes first and then go over top. We worked with Scott on what he should be looking off and looking at on all of his reads, and to his credit he studied that a lot, and come the tournament he was able to implement his reads at a very high level.”

Overcoming adversity 

Manitoba battled plenty of adversity during the tournament. In game three, they lost one of their best defensive players Miguel Reyes to injury, and in the final minutes of the gold medal game, Sisson went down after an Ontario defender charged into his shoulder while rushing. 

Nonetheless, the team rallied. In the final, Liam Hutter’s glue-like hands secured the win in a one-score contest, while captain Jarome Penner was lights out on both sides of the ball. 

Originally just a defender, Penner – who led the team in interceptions – became one the team’s leading scorers on offence after Thane Carlos was shifted from centre to corner to account for the Reyes injury. 

Penner’s best touchdown of the tournament came on the final play of the half against PEI, where he high-pointed a ball with three defenders draped all over him, then used his textbook breakaway speed to make a fourth man miss in space. 

“There were a couple of catches where there were two or three guys on me at the same time,” said Penner. “Just staying in the gym, the vertical helps you a lot out there. I’m only 5’9” and a lot of those guys were 6’3” and I was out-jumping them and getting the ball over top of them.”

Penner’s work ethic speaks for itself, against bigger players as well as in his personal life. His 2021 season was derailed due to a career-threatening infection in his back which ate away at his psoas muscle, and factoring in COVID he hadn’t played competitive football in a very long time. 

Despite being in excruciating pain and unable to walk for certain periods, Penner pushed through with the help of numerous professionals. He was back in 2022, busting his butt with the Winnipeg Rifles as an under-aged player at spring camp, while also playing for Manitoba in the Football Canada Cup. 

“I was on pain meds constantly. It was only like two hours spurts on the pain meds where I was even good enough to shower. During that time I would go to the field and just walk some routes and go to the gym under the supervision of my parents and do just a little bit of weights,” he said. 

“I needed to put myself out there and prove that I’ve been putting in the work.”

The work sure paid off for a Manitoba team that put everything together on both sides of the ball. 

“Our receivers were the best in the tournament,” said Sisson. 

“Brady Fay? He’s a route running god and will go and put his body on the line for a catch. Absolutely lights out play.Riley [Hanssen] played crazy as an outside threat. He has such sticky hands, and he absolutely won us that championship game with his 2 or 3 touchdowns.Liam Hutter and Jarome Penner are absolute dawgs. if they don’t have any offers coming out of high school I’m going to lose hope.”