It was a night of laughter, tears, and celebrating during the Bonnyville Bandit’s year-end banquet.
Players, families, and coaches came together to celebrate the season at Notre Dame Elementary School on Sunday, Dec. 2.
After an undefeated regular season and coming in second in the north division, the Bandits had a lot to be happy about.
“This was a culmination of the whole year, it was a celebration,” noted head coach Mickey Fagnan.
The team made it hard for the coaches to choose recipients in each category, and they decided to hand out ones to players who missed out by one vote.
“It’s difficult to choose young people who excel when you have so many of them. It’s hard to pick an MVP, or award winner when you have the kind of team that we had,” Fagnan expressed.
Honourable mention for rookie of the year went to Harrison Thir, while Cooper Prybysh took home the rookie of the year award.
The Bandit that showed the most change was Liam Tomkinson, he won in the most improved category.
The linemen were up next to be recognized for the hard work they do, with Connor Critch being named offensive lineman of the year. The defensive line gave the coaches some difficulty choosing just one, and Colby Ives and Logan Church were both selected this year.
Donovan Morgan gained an honourable mention for the offensive backfield of the year, and Titus Fagnan took home the award.
Noah Wacthmaker claimed the title of defensive backfield, while Alex Cardinal received an honourable mention.
The spirit awards went to Brandon Potts for great attitude, and Levi Nelson was named the heart and soul recipient.
Offensive MVP award was given to Jaden House, and Darian Keewatin took home the defensive MVP title. The overall team MVP award went to Duncan Critch, who wasn’t expecting the honour.
“It makes me feel accomplished with myself, and I just know there’s a lot of good players on this team that could have won this award, as well. It’s a great accomplishment, not just for myself, but knowing that other people could have got it too it’s a great accomplishment for them, as well,” he expressed.
Fagnan noted the choice wasn’t a difficult one for the coaching staff.
“(Team MVP) needs to be somebody who, without them, would make a tremendous hole on your team. At every level, he’s just the number one guy,” he said.
While the banquet is a time to celebrate the players and their accomplishments, it was also a chance for the team to put a spotlight on the families and volunteers who made the season a success.
“(The families) are exceptional, and that’s why we have an exceptional team. They come from exceptional parents, and backgrounds. If they don’t, we address that and move on. It’s been a great year for us,” exclaimed Fagnan.
