For Bonnyville’s Fagnan family, they’ve seen three of their sons play for the same university football team.
Following in the footsteps of his older brothers, Jeremy and Isaac, Silas Fagnan announced his commitment to play football at St. Francis Xavier University (StFX) next year.
While he had three schools showing interest in him, being able to play alongside his brother at the Nova Scotia university was a major component for Silas.
“I’ve seen the program and how amazing the facilities are, and they’re doing upgrades even now. But, the biggest factor was definitely the family aspect, and the chance to play with my brother,” he said.
Silas learned a lot about the team through Isaac and Jeremy, which helped him make the decision.
“If I were looking at a university that no one had played at and no one had heard of, I’d know nothing about going (there). I have two brothers (at StFX)... and I’ve gone there, seen how things work, and seen how the program works compared to going into the unknown,” explained Silas.
Isaac will have the unique opportunity to play with two of his brothers at a university level, which he didn’t consider when he originally decided to go to StFX.
“It’s definitely the culture and how the coaching staff structures their teams. For me... a big deciding factor was Jeremy signing prior to. Just a chance to play with your brother, at that point I wasn’t even thinking of Silas playing with me... The fact that we never got to play together in high school, but at a university level, for brothers to be able to play together is an opportunity I felt like I just couldn’t pass up,” detailed Isaac.
Silas will only be playing alongside one of his brother’s next year. His eldest brother Jeremy won’t be elligible to play for the university football team. Instead, Jeremy will be focusing on tryouts for the CFL Combine, where collegiate-level athletes have the potential to be drafted to the league.
Since Isaac is three years older than Silas, they didn’t think they’d have the chance of playing on the same team.
“Back when I played junior and Silas was in high school, we would toss the ball outside and say ‘man, wouldn’t that have been cool if we could play together?’ We thought it would never happen, that the age gap was too big, and here we are now,” Isaac expressed.
Silas added, “I think it will be great. There’s a chemistry from a while ago, and we’re not going to have to wait to get things going.”
While he’s excited at the prospect of playing alongside his brother, he’s disappointed it means his days of Bonnyville football are over.
“That was where I learned everything about the sport. It’s where I made so many friends, and it’s where I fell in love with the sport. That’s sad in the fact that you have to move onto a new chapter, and start fresh in a sense.”
