Cats Football team holds its annual ceremony

To close out the season, The Whitecourt Cats Football team held its annual dinner and awards ceremony last Thursday evening at the Whitecourt Seniors Circle. It was a strenuous season as players had been on the field practicing two hours each day, five days a week since the start of the season in August. The Cats have been pushing hard and, for the past two years, have qualified for the Provincials with this season finishing on the A-side of their league.

Cats Football is 30 years strong and, as Head Coach Kevin Babiuk says, “It takes a community to run a football team, not to mention the dedication and commitment put forth by both the parents and players.” In addition to making the team, success is in the number of volunteers who step forward to assist either behind the scenes or coaching as assistant coaches Derek Schlosser and Vince Mireau have done for many years along with Jordan Potvin, alumni of the Cats, who joined the coaching ranks in 2019.

Babiuk recapped the season by saying, “It was a great season taking four league game wins and three losses not including the exhibition games played. The players had a good time and developed as a team. They put a lot of hard work into it, and I believe they liked seeing that it paid off for them, making it to the top division in our league. The kids are proud of their achievement, and they should be.”

For many of the players, the end of the 2019 season marks the end of an era as 11 players who are finishing Grade 12 will be moving on to pursue further studies or careers. The Press caught up with some of them to get their views on the past few years with the Cats.

Keegan Johns #68 who joined the Cats in grade nine, and in grade 10 moved to play linesman said, “I loved football. It’s great bonding with teams, and I made a few friendships along the way. After graduation, I will be leaving Whitecourt and joining the army.” Quarterback and safety Kevin Blain hung up his #15 jersey after playing with the team for the past three years and said: “I’ve made many new friendships along the way that will be with me for a long time to come.” Another third-year player, Daniel Paquette, who wore #11 proudly as a wide receiver and quarterback, added, “My experience on the football team has been not only great but learning how to play the game. It teaches you a lot of life lessons from determination, grit, and respect. I will be heading to university in 2020 and will miss the team as I spent five days a week with them.”

Another player who’s been with the team since grade nine, Noah Guthrie #66, said, “His years on the team have been really good. I was able to develop a great bond with the other players. The coaches did a great job, taught us the game, and turned us into young men. It’s a great sports play. It does suck that I won’t be coming back to play next season, but I’m hoping I can stay involved with the Cats by coaching. We’ll have to see what happens next season.” Defensive tackle Caleb Ochsner #52 started with the Cats in Grade 11. “I’m going to look back on this experience and be happy about it. The coaches have been outstanding, and they know what they’re doing. It will be weird not coming back next season, but I have to enjoy what I did for the time I did it.”

Finally, Head Coach Babiuk added a few words to the Grade 12 players leaving by saying, “We always appreciate them and every time the players move on, we do miss them. They put a lot into the game, we’re hard on them, and they put a lot of blood, sweat, and tears into the program. We also know they’ve benefited from it and grow from it. They are all a great bunch of kids.”

Before the banquet came to an end, All 33 Cats Football team members received a special certificate of recognition for their talents displayed during the 2019 season. Along with that were six awards handed out to individual football players that showed exceptional sportsmanship and were voted on by their team peers. The awards given were Defensive End Linebacker Keegan Johns; Linesman/Defensive Noah Guthrie; Offensive Lineback Receiver Wyatt Millar; Defensive Back Jaden Dibben; Most Outstanding Player Kevin Blain; and Rookie of the Year Pearson Amiot. The last award, and chosen by the coaches, is the Coaches Award given to Runningback Noel Tapp.