Jasper’s high school football team celebrated a successful year, Nov. 26, at the team’s annual end of year banquet, held at the Marmot Lodge.
The Glaciers finished the regular season of the Alberta six-a-side football league with just a single loss, easily securing first place in their division. After serving the Buck Mountain Mustangs a 52–14 defeat in the quarterfinals, their season ended with a 55-24 loss in the semi-finals to reigning provincial champs, the Rimbey Spartans.
It was the team’s best finish in its three-year history, and an important step forward after the surprising walloping they took in the first round of playoffs last year.
The Glaciers saw record signups to the program this season, and at the banquet Coach Fred Kreiner pointed out that with only a few Grade 12 players leaving the team, next season is looking incredibly promising for the Glaciers.
But the night was really for celebrating the achievements of this season, and coaches had high praise for a number of the athletes.
Kreiner gave Emerson Ostrander and Jack Hilworth the offensive player of the year prizes. He gloated that Ostrander was “just faster than everyone else,” and said there’s no other Grade 10 running back in the league that can touch Hilworth.
On the defensive side, Jeff Wadsworth gave Dylan Mooney and Jake Delorme defensive player of the year awards, praising their fearlessness and discipline on the field.
“I think we had some of the hardest hitting guys out there,” he said.
Wadsworth also presented Ryan Pickle and David Broemeling with the rookie of the year awards, telling Broemeling he was going to be “a real playmaker” in years to come, and praising Pickle’s ability to make plays despite limited time on the field.
Jake Melanson and Erik Paukstat also picked up most improved player awards.
For team captain Martin Kreiner it was an emotional night. The Grade 12 student will be moving on next year, and after accepting the Award of Excellence, the 17-year-old reflected on his already lengthy football career.
“Tonight marks the end of my 11th season of football. That’s more than two thirds of my life. Now I bet most parents here haven’t had the same job for 11 years straight,” he said.
He talked about the coaches, players, mentors and best friends who have inspired him over those years, and listed all of the accomplishments they helped him achieve.
“But it’s not about what I got out of football ... it’s about how the game got into me. And I owe that to all of you,” he said.
“That is not just trophies, medals and championships: that will last forever.”
Trevor Nichols
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