Richard Froese
South Peace News
Top football players on High Prairie teams were honoured at an awards ceremony March 6 at St. Andrew’s School.
Awards for the 2023 season were presented to the high school High Prairie Renegades and the bantam High Prairie Outlaws during presentations hosted by the High Prairie and Area Football Society.
Players were honoured for their play in the season that ended Oct. 28.
Seven players from the Renegades won awards:
Brody Kit won the Coaches’ Award.
Levi Langevin won the Most Outstanding Player Award.
Lestat Masyk won the Offensive Most Valuable Player Award.
Damon Barber won the Defensive Most Valuable Player Award.
Taggen Willier won the Lineman Most Valuable Player Award.
Zac Dubrule won the Rookie-of-the-Year Award.
Leonard Yellowknee won the Most Improved Player Award.
Five players from the Outlaws’ team won awards:
Cayden Kiyawasew won the 2023 Coaches’ Award and the Most Improved Player Award.
Trenton Wait-Radstaak won the Most Outstanding Player Award and the Defensive Most Valuable Player Award.
Konnor Krystal won the Offensive Most Valuable Player Award.
Ben Lasher won the Lineman Most Valuable Player Award.
Darius Willier won the Rookie-of-the-Year Award.
Renegades’ and Outlaws’ head coach Tyler Bell says each team had a respectable season and looks forward to next season to get stronger.
“Besides recruiting more players for both teams, we’re trying to build up our coaching staff,” says Bell, who will return for his second season as head coach for both teams.
He is ambitious to improve in the 2024 season.
“It will be a rebuild and restructure year for the Renegades,” Bell said as the season wrapped up.
“We will have a number of Outlaws coming up to the Renegades’ roster and we look forward to the new players.”
The Renegades lost 62-6 to the Fort McMurray Saints in the first round the playoffs in the Mighty Peace Football Conference last season.
High Prairie also qualified to play the St. Paul Lions in a Tier IV provincial playoff game after the loss; however, the Renegades were unable to play because of numerous injured and ill players, and unable to safely field a team.
The Outllaws lost 50-12 to the Wembley Bulldogs in the opening round of the playoffs in the Peace Country Bantam Football League.
