DARREN STEINKE
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Sean Davis participated in almost every play for his team, so it was only natural he would be named the most valuable player of the Rangeland Football Conference.
On Wednesday at Medicine Hat College, this Grade 12 fullback and linebacker for the Crescent Heights Vikings earned the conference’s top individual honour. Davis became the first Viking to be named MVP since quarterback Mitchell Bohonos back in 2002.
“I never played football to get awards,” said Davis, who stands 5-foot-11 and weighs 205 pounds. “I was in it to play the game and just for the love of the game.
“This is just an added bonus on top of being able to be a part of this team and be a part of this game.”
Davis showed off his durability this season. Besides playing offense and defence, he was on all the Vikings special teams units. During Crescent Height’s four regular season games, he only missed one play.
In his senior year, his performance at linebacker took a huge leap forward. He credited the improvement to Rod Metz’s return to the program as defensive coordinator.
“The skills that he brought to the table for me were unbelievable,” said Davis. “Everything improved.
“He got us in the weight room, and that helped a lot. He is a warrior. He is the biggest warrior on the team.”
As for his football future, Davis admitted he doesn’t know what is in the cards.
“I really don’t know,” said Davis. “Whoever will take me, that will be good for me.”
Buffalo stampede
While the MVP award helped top Davis’s high school career, the Brooks Buffalos walked away with a large number of the conference awards.
Out of the five major awards, three went to the Buffalos, who won the conference title. Defensive back Cyril Iwanegbe was the rookie of the year, Brennan Levie claimed the lineman of the year award and linebacker Ethan Pauli was the defensive player of the year.
Besides those honours, the Buffalos also had 10 all-star selections, which led all the schools in the conference.
The Brooks players did enjoy the moment, but it was obvious their attention was still focused on what was to come. On Saturday, they will host the Cochrane Cobras at 1:30 p.m. at Brooks Junior High School in a provincial tier three regional semifinal.
“We are going to have to take them on and actually play a full game,” said Pauli, whose team has a 10-1 overall record.
Standing 5-foot-6 and weighing 160 pounds, Pauli has developed a reputation for being a sort of field mouse linebacker. He has also been with the Buffalos, since the team was brought back to life in 2006, and he wants to finish things off right.
“It would feel great, if we won provincials this year,” said Pauli. “We had a lot of Grade 10s, when I was in Grade 10. Now we are a full Grade 12 team.”
