On November 16th, your Miles Macdonell Buckeyes were named the 2019 AA Champions. Better late than never putting this celebration into writing as I feel it's important to chronicle what these fine young men and women accomplished going into the new decade.
The year was an incredible one, built off the hardships, successes, and contributions of years past. In 2017, it felt like this program was at the beginning. Despite having an incredibly talented group of seniors (including Winnipeg Rifle Luke McMillan and Manitoba Bison Braeden Smith), we managed to lose every game. But there was silver lining in that; we recognized the problems of the program, and we recognized the bright future of our players in grades 9 and 10.
Then came 2018, a year for which we cannot be more grateful for our grade 12 leaders who knew this was building towards something great. They took on all the challenges of the year, knowing full well that they were building something greater than themselves, something that, ultimately, their contributions would be to the legacy of. Leaders like AJ Ford, Andrew Glenn, Denroy Johnson, and Lucas Correia (playing for the Winnipeg Rifles, with Darnell Udoh there), bought in, built the program up, and changed the culture.
That culture change is exactly what the coaching staff wanted. We knew we had the talent, we just needed the continued buy in. We ended up recording a number of milestones this year as this was likely the most decorated group of Buckeyes Football ever (certainly the most so during my tenure). I think that would be a great way to comment on the year, so here goes. Here is what the Buckeyes accomplished this year:
31.6 Points per Game
Our offense was an incredible, and a complete threat. Coming into the year, the coaches had high expectations for Quarterback Matthew Graham. Part of that silver lining in 2017 was getting him into games as a grade 9 Qb and seeing incredible flashes of potential. But what made that ball move, what always does in football, was the big bodies in the trenches. More about them in a moment.
League High Passing Tds
By the time the playoffs had wrapped up, the Buckeyes led the entire league in Passing Touchdowns. Grade 12 receivers Miciah Stone and Nathan Udoh led the way (both members of U18 this year, along with Matt even though he played Db). However, the playoff standout at Receiver has to be Quayshone Jordan-Arthur, recording an incredible five receiving touchdowns in our final two games. After taking his grade 11 year off to find himself, he came back an integral piece to a dominant passing attack.
7.2 Yards per Carry
Here's where the big bodies come back. Death Row, Bring 'em Out: Seth McDonald, Carson Chamberlain-Brass, Tim Crozier, Damien Thomas, and Jaden Sawatzky. These five players were the key to the offense. Sure, pass Protection held up, but it was the run game that solidified the Buckeyes ability to dominate and close out games. Fullback Mykola Kruk rounded out the run game, allowing us to pull and move the point of attack as we pleased. Danylo Kruk and Josef Bocaya both filled in when their numbers were called, keeping the ball moving. Runningbacks always had success behind the line, culminating in a breakout Championship game from Favour Analike, who rushed for 173 yards.
4.6 Points Allowed per Game
As a defensive oriented coach, I'm going to gush a little bit here. The Buckeyes defense finished the statistically best in the league, only allowing a grand total of 46 points on the year (and it's worth noting that 12 of those points came off of special teams return tds against us). It's almost impossible to list individuals who stood out in this defense. That's the thing about a great defense: everybody does their job. So I'll talk about some of those individuals later on, during our extensive All-Division Player list. What made this defense great was people buying into the system and, more importantly, executing their jobs. I find it incredible that I basically did not call a defense for the last 4-5 weeks of the year; we studied film, we recognized formations and motions, checked to what we needed to, and finished the job. That understanding of doing what you have to do, to do what needs to be done, culminated in the championship. Evan Rollwagen, our leading tackler and general of the field was held to just 1 tackle in the finals. And that is fine, when you had other players like Championship stand out Billy McCluskey step up. His most iconic series came in the 2nd half. He broke up a deep ball on 1st down, then proceeded to record a massive Sack on the Qb on 2nd down. All because he knew his job, he knew his checks, and he executed them both.
4 Shut Outs, 4 Tds Allowed
Of everything we accomplished this year, the more I reflect, the more I feel this is the most incredible because it requires all three phases of the game (and, as I mentioned earlier, I'm biased). Yes, defense is the primary gatekeeper of points. But Specials can be that difference too. Specials was that difference against Kildonan East, whose pretty much only successful play of the day was an incredible 109 yard punt return (I still think Zach Chiarotto made the tackle on the 1). Offense contributes to shut outs as well, by moving the ball and controlling field position, not giving up safeties (like the only points we gave to Garden City). But ultimately, it comes back to Defense. In fact, the defense only gave up 4 touchdowns all season (three of which were scored by Portage in the two games against them, the 4th by Dryden in the semi-finals). And, since we shut out Dryden week 2, Daniel Mac week 6 (who are we kidding, that would have been a shut out), St Norbert week 7, and St John's in the Quarters, we recorded as many shut outs as we gave up Defensive Tds. And if we want to split hairs further; we only gave up defensive points in 3 of 10 games - Portage week 3, Dryden Semis, and Portage again in the Finals.
7 Second Team All-Division Players:
Mykola Kruk - Runningback. At Fullback, Mykola had a supreme understanding of leverage, positioning, and timing to be a huge part of our run game and pass protection.
Miciah Stone - Receiver. Even though injury slowed him down all year, it didn't slow him down enough to keep him off an All-Division team. His 3 TD performance against Garden City helped cement that.
Jaden - Offensive Line. As a grade 10 Right Tackle, Jaden has accomplished so much in a small amount of time (even confusing the Winnipeg Rifles Head Coach in recruiting, as his ability does not match his age).
Zach Chiarotto - Linebacker. An absolute monster on defense and special teams, no game showed his ability to outwork everyone around him like the first Dryden game (though his read on Portage's Counter Tres in the finals will always stand as my favourite of his for the year).
Ulrich Mbakop - Defensive End. Sure he didn't speak much English, but when you have a motor like Ulrich's, and a desire to take coaching and be great, it doesn't much matter. His second half performance in the championship showed just how far effort will take you on the field.
Anthony Johnson - Defensive Back. Speaking of effort, motor, and attitude, what a perfect example. After some of our corners struggled with deep coverage 1-on-1 in the finals, Anthony asked to take that receiver away; we moved him, and didn't have to worry about it again.
Quayshone Jordan-Arthur - Returner. While he may have exploded in the playoffs, it was his efforts on the back end of punts that put Quayshone on this list. His ability to fearlessly attack punts and catch them in the air made our return game all the more effective, all year.
6 First Team All-Division Players:
Matt Graham - Quarterback. What more can be said about a championship winning Qb. His stat line in the finals speaks to so much: 15/19 (78.9 completion %), for 165 yards and 3 Tds. A Qb Rating of 142.4 (158.3 is perfect), his best statistical game of the year coming when we needed it the most.
Carson Chamberlain-Brass - Offensive Line. One of the most vocal leaders this year, Carson's greatest improvement was in his discipline; he took very few penalties this year, something he set his mind to work on. That and his ability to pull. You never wanted to be the Edge player when 57 is coming your way.
Seth McDonald - Offensive Line. A player we couldn't be happier or luckier to get back this year, Seth is one of the most physically dominant players we've had. His size and athleticism are unbelievable, possibly only matched by his competitive nature; he just keeps getting better.
Nathan Udoh - Receiver. Even after a devastating injury in the U18 tournament, we always knew we'd get him back and that he would be key to our successes. Nathan's resume this year was probably our most accomplished. He played Receiver, Defensive Back, Punter, Kicker, and Returner. He was our emergency Tailback down the stretch, and we moved him where he needed him.
Evan Rollwagen - Linebacker. After playing U18, Evan came back ready to make his mark. And while we had to do what we could to limit him from re-aggravating injuries throughout the year, he established himself as a dominant force, leading the league in Tackles for Losses (especially impressive on a defense that doesn't like blitzing). A pre-snap mind and a post-snap threat is hard for offenses to handle.
Owen Cassie - Defensive Back. One of our top receivers and he didn't even play offense, this spot on the All-Division team is an important one. His ability to ball hawk is one of the best and, more importantly, he might just be the most secure tackler on the entire defense at Safety. To put it bluntly, you don't put up 4 shut outs as a team and not have a stud Safety.
To recap our All-Division players, there are 52 names on AA list (24 Offense, 24 Defense, 4 specials. Miles Mac players earned 13 of those spots, making up 25% of the All-Division teams.
AA Offensive MVP
Matthew Graham was named the AA Most Valuable Player on Offense, for all the reasons listed above, along with his team high 8 rushing touchdowns. Who knows what his numbers would have been like if we let him play all 4 quarters of every game (and let him pass in the second half).
AA Most Outstanding Player
Named by the Bomber Alumni Association, this award recognizes the top athlete of the division. Obviously, that recipient in our division was Nathan Udoh. He was a force all season, once we turned him loose, leading the team in receiving yards, return yards, and field goals.
AA Coaching Staff of the Year
Well deserved by every member of the staff, this is the first time a Buckeyes coaching staff has won this accolade since 2012 (and that was an entirely different staff). Every member of this staff contributed to the success of the team, both in this year and building up to this year:
Rob Anderson - Quarterbacks
Rory Anderson - Offensive Coordinator and Receivers
Troy Campbell - Linebackers and Special Teams Coordinator
Greg Graceffo - Booth and Scouting (with a dash of Defensive Line)
Luke Graceffo - Defensive Line
Josh Huggan - Quarterbacks
Torian Kitt - Linebackers
Ben Lazaruk - Defensive Back
Will Streilein - Offensive and Defensive Line
Cory Warren - Runningbacks
Dan Washnuk - Head Coach and Defensive Coordinator
WHSFL Assistant Coach of the Year
Troy Campbell won this award this year and deservedly so. Special teams made the difference in so many games this year. We recorded 2 kick/punt return touchdowns (Miciah Stone and Quayshone Jordan-Arthur, who had another called back), and averaged 20 yards a return all year. We went 81% on FGs/Converts this year. And, with what probably had the most impact, we had 3 blocked kicks. Specials were a consistent part of our success.
WHSFL Coach of the Year
Dan Washnuk. He's fine.
2019 Harry Hood Winner
In just the 3rd time a Miles Mac player has ever won this award (and many programs have never won), Mykola Kruk took home the most prestigious award in Manitoban Amateur Sport. Though he split it with another well deserving young man, it cannot be stressed enough how amazing it is to have a player from a team be recognized with this league wide award, selected by a special committee. Not only does this player have to be a capable football player, they have to be academically gifted and socially conscious. Mykola captures all of these traits. His mind and his compassion are commendable almost beyond words. His dedication and effort were crucial to the team's success. From a football perspective, very little captures what he brought to the team more than his screen pass catches in the final, and his execution of Connecticut all season. On defense, he utilized film and scouting reports to put himself in position of success as consistently as possible, something our systems relied on.
2019 AA Champions
28-6. That was the loss this team handed to a previously undefeated Portage Trojans. A team that beat every other opponent by a margin of 46.7 points. The only team to have defeated us, in what was probably the most defining moment of our season, Portage won in week 3 after holding us back from a second half surge. As I told the team after that game, Portage didn't want to see us again and, to paraphrase Vince Lombardi, we didn't lose the game; we just ran out of time. But we took advantage of every second in the finals and we seized what we knew to be our destiny.
We didn't have the most stellar beginning to our game. We mishandled the opening kickoff and started on our own 15. We knew they were going to come out in a 60 front and bring pressure to start the game, as they had every game that season. We wanted to take advantage of that cover 0 and hit a home run to start. But a protection bust later, and we gave up a sack to start the game. Then we hit a screen, just short of the yard to gain. One procedure penalty and one shanked punt later, and we were pinned on own 23.
But the defense did what it does. Carson Chamberlain-Brass recovered a fumble on our first defensive play.
After a controversial spot on a 3rd down Qb sneak (some might say we called too aggressive a game as coaches; I'll have to ask my ring about that when I get it), we handed the ball back on our side of center again. This time, we didn't get so lucky. Our game plan coming into Portage was to use their formation and motion tells. Luckily, they had a playbook we were able to zero in on. Based on their formation and on the motion of a 'receiver', we were always able to determine their offense pre-snap down to 2-3 plays. So we decided to hide Cover 0 against them all game, to go athlete on athlete. And, it hurt us early on, but we knew what we could do, and we had faith. But on their 2nd offensive series, they hit a deep touchdown.
That would be the only 6 points they scored.
Special teams started roaring back. Ulrich Mbakop blocked the 1 pt convert try.
Then we started making plays on offense. A simple lead play, right to Jaden Sawatzky and behind Mykola Kruk, popped Favour Analike for his first major yards of the 173 he'd put up. Nathan Udoh turned a broken play into a broken tackle, into a first down and suddenly we were on their side of center. We started to control the field position. After a missed deep shot, our punting came through; we pinned them on their own 13.
Then they hit another deep ball. But it didn't matter. We would bend, but not break, not again. We held in the red zone, with a little help from the officials, and we forced Portage into kicking a field goal. Maybe the nerves of the blocked convert got to the kicker, because he missed it into the waiting arms of returner Nathan Udoh, who took it back all the way past the original line of scrimmage and to our 42 yard line, where we would continue to play the field position game (including emergency receiver Owen Cassie recording a huge 2nd down catch, and a successful Qb sneak).
Favour, Mykola, and Death Row keep the ball moving. Quayshone Jordan-Arthur and Matt Graham caught a lucky break on a tipped potential INT. As the momentum swung towards us, we broke out our fake punt and came up... just short again. But, we had flipped the field.
Portage came right back to the deep ball. Hitting on their 3rd in a row, Anthony Johnson moved over to that position. They wouldn't hit on it again (except for one miracle catch, but that was a different rec). They tried to run their Counter Tres, the play that had dominated us in Week 3. All three linebackers read it perfectly, and Zach Chiarotto cleaned it up. They wouldn't run it again. Then, a Sack as the Cover 0 started to take away the pocket from the Portage Qb. Another good return and we were near center field as the half wound down. Portage's Qb wasn't the only scrambler, as Matt Graham would take off for a first, and we showed them how we ran our Counter Tres. A couple of exchanged punts later, and the officials returned the favour, picking up a pass interference flag that they had originally thrown to end the half.
We had 1 more left game to play, with the mentality that the we had a score of 0-0.
We knew what we had to do in the second half. After a roughing the passer penalty to start our first defensive series, we settled down and the defense went to work. Pressure from Evan Rollwagen resulted in a sack, then a punt. Portage, refreshed from the break at half, held us to a two and out. Then a great specials team tackle from Evan Rollwagen, and great pass defenses from Anthony Johnson and Nathan Udoh led to Portage sending out their own punt unit. Owen Cassie caught it in the air, and the field position battle was back on. A screen to Mykola Kruk turned into a huge gain, coupled with a key run from Juan Ayala Salinas.
Then, we finally hit on our own deep ball. Matthew Graham connected with Quayshone Jordan-Arthur on a 34 yard strike.
One beautiful snap, hold, and kick later (from Jaden Sawatzky, Matt Graham, and Nathan Udoh respectively) and we had our lead on our first points of the game, halfway through the 3rd quarter. As the convert sailed through, I said to Coach Graceffo, in the booth through the headset, "We just won this game." There was no doubt in my mind that our defense would hold them to 0 points.
Even after their miracle catch that took them close to our endzone, we held them. They got to the red zone, but a key batted ball by Seth McDonald on 3rd Down forced the Turnover on Downs. A couple big runs, a screen, and we were right back at center field. Favour Analike and Death Row (Seth McDonald, Carson Chamberlain-Brass, Tim Crozier, Damien Thomas, and Jaden Sawatzky) kept pounding the rock.
Then it was right back to Quayshone Jordan-Arthur, this time for a 37 yard Td pass. After that batted ball, we had taken over on our own 17. Seven plays later, we had Seven points.
With a firm lead, the defense started to dial it up. Billy McCluskey broke up a pass, then recorded a sack for a loss of 8. A dead ball foul pushed them even further back, and a punt off the side of the Punter's foot allowed Quayshone Jordan-Arthur to collect the ball on the Portage 26 yard line. 3 plays later, and Matt Graham hit Nathan Udoh on a money route, with a money ball and money catch, cementing the lead with 8:36 to go in the game.
Zach Chiarotto kept the tone of the game with a punishing special teams tackle. Portage still had life though and came out with a wrinkle for a big gain, changing up their 5r formation. Luckily, the defense settled down again, made our adjustments, and were ready for the next time we had to deal with a bunch set. A sack from Carson Chamberlain-Brass and a defended pass from both Anthony Johnson and Owen Cassie later, they were punting. They bobbled the snap and Ulrich Mbakop was all over the punter.
The yards just kept coming on the ground game, and even though a fumble slowed us down, the final gun was just in reach. Owen Cassie had another pass defended, Evan Rollwagen forced a bad snap, and Zach Chiarotto, then Seth McDonald, each recorded a sack to snuff out that spark.
With the ball in the Green Zone again, Death Row wore them down, and Favour Analike plunged into the endzone from 7 yards out. After the convert, with 1:12 remaining, all we had to do was finish the job.
Fittingly, the defense finished the game in style. A big tackle from Owen Cassie, a pass break up from Billy McCluskey, a strong pursuit from Mykola Kruk and Evan Rollwagen, and finally one last sack from Ulrich Mbakop (the Defensive MVP of the game) and there was only one thing left to do.
Head into victory formation and let Matt Graham (the Offensive MVP of the game) kneel us into our rightful place as the 2019 AA Champions.
