PIT Football hit multiple registration milestones in the Winter. A record 160 teams competed for a record 31 divisional championships. The Winnipeg High School League (WHSFL) division also had a record 20 high schools participate in our u18 Flag Football divisions. Manitoba is the top province at many touch and flag football events, and it shows with the amazing levels of participation in non-contact football. With all the talent converging on the Winter season, expected, championship games were very tightly contested with most coming down to the final plays and/or decided by just a single point! Check out some of the top plays from championship weekend.
WHSFL Flag Football Division 1
Kelvin Clippers 33 Dakota Lancers 32
The two top teams in the WHSFL Flag Division didn’t disappoint, going toe to toe and deciding the game on the final play.
Lead exchanges were the norm as both teams seemed to have the game locked up at various times in the game. Kelvin took the final lead with just over a minute left on the clock. Dakota still had one more shot, and on the final play, quarterback Khaleel Hosein hit his receiver at the front cone of the end zone on a bang-bang play. Had Dakota won the game? Had Kelvin made the stop before the pylon? After discussion, the officials ruled a stop and Kelvin wins a nail biter and the bragging rights to go along with being the top division champion.
WHSFL Flag Football Division 2
Dakota Lancers JV 35 Vincent Massey Trojans 9
Dakota didn’t leave empty handed as their JV team, which had moved out of the JV division because of their unparalleled skill at that age group, took the Division 2 championship in a rout over Vincent Massey.
Dakota was led by the 18 points of Peytn Clark and the six sacks from game MVP Preston Benjamin, who kept the Vincent Massey quarterback in check all game.
Jack Pierre continued his amazing season, with two interceptions for Vincent Massey. However, it wasn’t enough on this day as Dakota JV solidified their program as being one of the best in Manitoba after capturing both a tackle and a flag football provincial championship.
WHSFL Flag Football Division 3
Grant Park Pirates 40 Kildonan East Collegiate Reivers 16
Grant Park underwent one of the hardest schedules in the league and it showed when the preseason favourites surprisingly won only a single game during the regular season.
That said, Grant Park knew when to turn on the jets and as they cruised to victories over the top seeded St. John’s Tigers and then the second seeded Reivers from Kildonan East. Grant Park was led by the three interceptions and six touchdown passes from Ben LaRose-Short. Despite that amazing stat line, it was his teammate Luca Chiappetta who took home MVP honours after scoring 31 points and throwing a touchdown to Ben!
Quite the deadly duo who took hold of a second championship for Grant Park in as many years.
WHSFL Flag Football Division 4
Tec Voc Hornets 23 Sisler Spartans 23-9
Tec Voc and Sisler have a storied tackle football rivalry, and that has spilled over into flag football as these two teams played two very entertaining games against one another this season.
Once the winter season chapter was written, Tec Voc had edged their close geographical rivals in both games. Jayden Timbury had two interceptions for the Spartans, including a pick six which accounted for the lone score for Sisler.
The Tec Voc defence played like a stirred-up Hornets nest, and they had to if they were to contain Sisler quarterback and super athlete Sachin Sankar. Austin Cowie had the unenviable task of trying to contain Sachin and did so with aplomb, sacking the Sisler quarterback twice, both times in the end zone for a safety!
WHSFL Flag Football JV Division
Maples Marauders 32 Grant Park Pirates 28
For the second year in a row, the Maples Marauders won the JV division, this time defeating Grant Park in perhaps our best JV final in WHSFL flag history.
Julian Coffell that two interceptions, one for a pick six to lead the charge from the Pirates from Grant Park cove. But it was Trey Westwood who had a pick six of his own, to go along with three interceptions and twenty-five points who put this game out of reach. Trey remarkably finished as the season leader in scoring with 73 points, almost all of which came from the defensive side of the ball! The moral of the story: don’t throw the ball at Trey!
Flag Football Division 1
Dip N Dots 51 Grip N Rip 34
The Dip N Dots took revenge on Grip N Rip, atoning for their regular season 45-27 drubbing. Danny Harris threw dots all night as he led the Dots to victory. On the other side of the field, Zak Kwiatek let er rip for Grip N Rip throwing for five touchdowns.
The difference in this game was the record setting performance by James Teschuk who dipped his way to a record 43 points (seven touchdown receptions and one convert) in a championship game. Maybe someone should cover that guy! Just for giggles, James added an interception to punch the Dip N Dots championship ticket.
Flag Football Division 2
Redeem Team 55 Apex Wolverines 0
The Redeem Team, comprised mostly of Manitoba Provincial 18 and U18 players, showed they can hang with the adults as they put the Wolverines from Brandon into hibernation.
National championship game MVP Riley Hanssen scored 27 points, national tournament MVP Scott Sisson threw eight touchdown passes, and Jack Mclean — the top player on the Canadian National team last year — added three interceptions.
The Redeem Team is packed with skill. Considering these players are all 18 or younger, we may see one or more of these players shooting up the flag rankings and potentially representing Canada at the Olympics one day!
Coed Division 1
Underdawgs 28 Coed Guardians 25
The Underdawgs (formally known as FSP) and the Coed Guardians keep trading Division 1 Coed finals, with the Guardians winning in the Fall, and fittingly the Underdawgs taking home the championship in the Winter.
As per custom between these competitors, the game would be won in the final seconds. In the Winter chapter of this rivalry Kate Watson hit bison standout receiver Payton Yakimishyn with the clock winding down to end the Underdawgs quest for championship glory. In the process, Kate becomes the first female quarterback to throw start to finish and win a Division 1 title! History is made.
Coed Division 2
Honey Dillo Sauce 27 Big Steppas 14
The Dillos had quite the resurgence in the Winter, blowing through their usual Division 3 competition to not only qualify for Coed Division 2, but to be crowned as victors!
Tyrone Oakley sauced four touchdown passes, three to game MVP Ramey Goetz who finished the night with 20 points. The Big Steppas, who finished a remarkable rookie campaign tied for the top seed in the division, were led by the two touchdown passes, interception, and convert by Brett Harrison. However, this wasn’t enough to knock the shells off the Dillos.
No longer will the Dillos be classified as hillbilly speed bumps, but rather the hard armoured defensive balls roaming the touch football tundras.
Coed Division 3
Kinda Athletic 25 Here for More Football 13
Kinda Athletic makes it two consecutive championships taking out Here for More Football in a defensive battle.
The Vankoughnetts (Reid and Ashton) combined for four touchdown passes, a convert, and a touchdown, including the game finale which pushed the score out of reach. Nicole Hodgins replied with seven points for Here for More Football, but that was not enough to stop Kinda Athletic from the repeat.
With two championships in hand perhaps Kinda Athletic should change their name to something more suitable, perhaps the “hyper-athletics”, or “ultra-athletics”, or perhaps “astonishingly athletics”. Whatever superlative you would like to use, opponents should now understand that “Kinda” Athletic is a misnomer!
Division 1
Seafood City 43 MennoKnight GOATs 13
The Seafarers took down the Goats in a biblical battle sea versus land.
The MennoKnights shocked Division 1 by making the final in their first season of the top division of football in the province. The GOATs defence herded offences by stifling passes downfield, evidenced by their seven (yes seven!) interceptions in their semi-final game. That defence had five more interceptions in the final, setting a record for interceptions in a playoff run, however that was not enough to stop the tide of Seafood City.
The seafarers avenged their Fall finals loss and added another trophy to their reef. Edmund Laldin of Google Reviews reacted to the Seafood City win by writing “Fish counter has lots of variety. Chicken, pork, and beef is reasonably priced.” We could not have said it any better Edmund.
Division 2
Guild of Calamitous Intent 35 Rouge Gods 32
Twenty-six points. That was the deficit the Guild dug themselves into with only seven minutes remaining in the game. What ensued in the final seven minutes was the wildest comeback in PIT Football history.
The Guild scored four touchdowns, three converts, and one two-point convert to notch 29 unanswered points in just six minutes. The final touchdown, a Dom Horvath interception return with under one minute left on the clock seemed to conclude the improbable comeback. However, any time on the clock meant more insanity could be cued up. On the first play following the score, the Rouge Gods hit a long streak play down to the Guild 10-yard line. Despite the defensive breakdown, the Guild defence regrouped and held against three-straight red zone attempts to score.
Fans who left this game thinking it was over with seven minutes remaining, missed history being made!
Division 3
Guardians 20 Be Sexy 12
The Guardians were the bottom seed heading into the playoffs but knocked off both the top seed and second seeded teams on their road to victory in Division 3.
While the Guardians happened to be the bottom seed, their three regular season losses were by a combined four points, including one game in overtime! This division had so much parity it wasn’t surprising to see the Guardians win as every game in this division seemed to come down to the final drive.
The Guardians were led by the six points and two converts by Cole Burfoot, who led the Guardians to their largest margin of victory all season – a converted touchdown!
Division 4
Big Baller Brand 33 Awesome Luck 14
The Ballers overcame a lot of injuries to get back to the winner’s circle, beginning a youth movement in the process! The Ballers were led by former national team champions Jarome Penner (14 points) and Justice “oldest 22-year-old in the world” Flett (two sacks).
Awesome Luck couldn’t muster much offence with both teams coming slow out of the gates. However, Big Baller was able to figure out the Awesome Luck defence in the second half to blow the game open.
Big Baller moves up in weight class in the Spring. We will see if the new blend of veteran and rookie players can hang with some of the best the province has to offer!
Division 5
The Rigs 31 Fail Mary 13
The Rigs quarterback Carter Hofer had missed a few seasons football for uncharted reasons but he made a triumphant return in the winter so that the Rigs could have a triumphant return to the winners’ circle. Carter threw five touchdown passes to four different receivers in the championship final including two to game MVP Steven Allison.
Fail Mary also had their quarterback return from injury to lead them to the finals, however, just like in the regular season Fail Mary failed to come out on top and no praying to the football Gods would change that. The Rigs are set to move up divisions in our Spring league with their new/old quarterback at the helm.
Division 6
Trailor Park Boyz 39 Andriys Dream Team 38
Led by former national flag player and Manitoba Bison Jordan Hanslip, the Trailer Park Boyz won the Division 6 title over the Dream Team in one of the best games of championship weekend.
Both quarterbacks had six touchdown passes, both quarterbacks’ leading receivers had 19 points, both quarterbacks were named their team MVPs, and both quarterbacks were within one TD of each other in the overall statistics for the season. The only thing which separated these quarterbacks was one convert.
An amazing aerial display by these two up and coming quarterbacks. It would be no surprise to see these two teams once again competing for the top division prize in the not-too-distant future!
Division 7
Gotham Knights Legends 41 Smells Like Cannonball 30
Gotham Knights avenged their regular season loss to the Cannonball’s who had entered the game with an unblemished record.
Both games between these two teams were closely contested, with Smells like Cannonballs winning the first game on the final drive. It looked like it could be much of the same, as the Cannonballs closed to within a score at the three-minute warning. However, a one play 50-yard strike to Miciah Stone right after the break put the game out of reach giving the Legends their first taste of championship glory in franchise history.
Division 8
RFW & Co. 40 Ricky Bobby 12
The Robson family trio combined for five touchdown passes and 19 points allowing them to shake and bake to the championship.
Chaka Newman had all 12 points for Ricky Bobby but all that got him was thrown out of Applebees. As the sage adage states “If you are not first you are last”. RFW & Co will be first to the alter for their polygamous marriage (I’m Not Sure What To Do With My Hands), and Ricky Bobby drops from second to last in the division.
Division 9
Post Dig Picks Route 33 Truth Finders 25
The Truth Finders run and gun offence put teams on their heels all season. The bombs were thrown steadily and often, with receivers coming down with those bombs readily and regularly.
A record number of times in the winter season, former national flag champion Scott Sisson put the ball up for his Bison receivers at the end of the half or the game to snatch victory from defeat, including a final play Hail Mary victory vs Post Dig Picks Route in the regular season.
The Post Dig Picks Route had a game plan to avoid going up for the 50/50 balls (which were 90/10 for the Truth Finders to be real), and instead force the incompletion via knockdown. This “live to see another throw” strategy served them well as they limited the chances of the Truth Finders. This gave PDPR QB Kevin Cortens enough leeway to hit former league MVP Armi Warha for three of his five touchdown passes and lead his team to the promised land.
Division 10
Homer Hawks 27 Bleue’s Clueless 26
On paper this looked like an easy victory for the Homer Hawks as they had eviscerated the clueless ones during their regular season match. However, the wily vets had a game plan that they executed well in the finals, keeping the Homer Hawks high powered offence off the field with some very long sustained drives. However, the Bleue’s didn’t have a clue how to stop former Manitoba Provincial team champion Simon Winses who had three interceptions, of which two were returned for touchdowns. Doh!
Division 11
Edgeatrons 33 Show Us Your TDs 0
Part AI, part transformer, part decentralized currency, all football team.
The Edgeatrons came a long way from the first game of the season where Show Us Your TDs, showed the Edgetrons plenty of touchdowns in a rout. The Edgeatrons returned the favor in this game, as MVP Cole Davies went off for four touchdowns, three more than needed to show the door to Show Us Your TDs. The Edgeatrons bank-free method of transferring wealth or ownership of any other commodity without needing a third party, may serve them well in the future as they continue to build championship equity.
Division 12
Moneyball 14 Mongos Boys 13
It has been a few years since Moneyball last hoisted the championship trophy and they weren’t going to be denied.
Moneyball was led by former league MVP Brayden Sul who had eight points, six of which came on the backend of an interception return for a touchdown. Moneyball played some tremendous defence ending the night with three interceptions as a team.
Mongos Boys were looking for their first PIT championship. While there were denied on this day, this group of up-and-comers will be standing on the championship podium sooner rather than later. And whether you consider yourself an omnivore, carnivore, vegan or vegetarian, you can find the flavour combination to satisfy any championship appetite at Mongo’s Grill.
Division 13
Nomads NoDads 29 Notorious 6
The nomadic ones wandered their way to the championship against the Notorious in a victory no one saw coming outside wayfarers inner circle.
The Nomads needed a tiebreaker to sneak into the playoffs. Once there, drifters took down the undefeated Lizard Kings then the second-seeded Notorious who had only lost one game all season (two now). Draygan Pilgrim led the walkabouts with four touchdown passes, two to fellow Bedouin Colby Driskall.
Hopefully, the Nomads can find a spot to settle down and enjoy the spoils of their victory.
Division 14
Buns a Glazing 19 Banda Makers 18
The Banda Makers might be good at making Banda, but they were no match for the glazers of buns!
In yet another game that went down to the final plays and was decided by just a single point, no game showed the parity of the league better than this one.
These two teams were so evenly matched that they combined for the same number of interceptions, sacks, touchdown passes, and touchdowns. The only thing separating these two teams was the single convert scored by Stephen Malzahn in the first half, which held up as the decisive difference. The glazers were found after the game on a confectionery high after consuming their body weight in pastries, crullers, danishes, dunkers, and sinkers in celebration.
Division 15
Chicken Pluckers 39 Fusterclucks 18
I wager you won’t be able to say these finals opponents five times fast!
The Pluckers and the Fusters were both new teams in the league, finishing the season as the two top teams in their division. The Chickens defeated the Clucks in the regular season, and unfortunately for the cluckers they were clucked again in the finals. The Solypa brothers plucked three interceptions, 14 points, and four touchdown passes between them to lead the chickens across the road and to the championship.
Former provincial team standout Carter Kutzan clucked out three touchdown passes of his own, but it was not enough for the Fusterclucks to escape the deep frier.
Division 16
Los Amigos Del Huddle 27 San Fran 69ers 6
Que? Los Amigos Del Huddle, a subsidiary of Huddle Buddies Inc. takes home their first PIT championship in style, going undefeated on the season, and avoiding the PIT curse of the top seed in the process.
The friends didn’t take too kindly to the 69ers from San Fran stifling their offence and making enemigos of their defence. Ian Milne, who broke the Division 16 regular season touchdown pass record, continued his torrid pace adding four more TD completions in the final. Those four touchdowns were shared equally among the four receivers on the offence.
Los Amigos wouldn’t be Los Amigos if everyone on the offence wasn’t invited to the championship fiesta.
Division 17
Stranger Things 27 Blitzburg Bandits 7
What are the origins of the Upside Down?
Why does the Upside Down appear trapped in a specific moment in time?
Will Eleven sacrifice herself to save Hawkins from Vecna?
And most importantly, will Nancy and Steve get back together?
None of these questions was answered championship night, but we do know the Bandits entered the Upside Down and didn’t come back. Stranger things have happened, but it is still rare for a team that needed a tiebreaker just to get into the playoffs to ultimately be crowned the champion.
How could this have happened? All hail Vecna.
Division 18
Brady’s Deflated Balls 14 Sun Gods 7
The Sun Gods and the Football Gods do not share the same realm, and the biggest football God of them all is a former patriot and buccaneer named Tom.
Regardless of PSI, Brady’s balls were truer to form than that of Huītzilōpōchtli who wouldn’t know how to stick the pin of the gauge in the inflation hole and turn the valve no matter how many sacrifices on the Coyolxauhqui stone were made during the festival of Panquetzaliztli.
Brady fulfills the prophecy and adds an eighth (and clearly the most important) championship to his legacy.
Division 19
Shower Posse 39 Influencers Present: Reece’s Pieces 25
Who doesn’t like being presented with Reece’s pieces?
We just aren’t sure if those pieces are the oblate spheroid butter confection covered in candy shells that are coloured yellow, orange, or brown? Or those of Reese Braden who put up a stat line that looks like an oblate spheroid.
Andrew Poongavanam showered the Influencers with four touchdown passes and added two more via the run to round up the Posse’s first PIT Football championship. Hershey accepted an offer for use of Reese’s Pieces in the movie E.T., and with the film’s blockbuster success its product sales dramatically increased, perhaps as much as 300%. Currently, sales data have Reese’s pieces down 250%, soon to be more if it is found that Reese Braden has been added to the list of ingredients.
Division 20
Back That Pass Up 38 Southside Rebels 31
Rookies versus the vets, with the vets winning a wild one.
The Southside Rebels, brand new to the PIT, took Division 20 by storm, finishing as the top seed. The Rebels from the Southside lost only two games all season — once to Back that Pass Up in the regular season, and once to Back that Pass Up in the playoffs.
The Rebel army was led by Joshua Kuarsingh and Terrell Feakes, both of which scored 12 points. That was no match for Jamie Wilson, who added another 26 points to his very impressive touch football curriculum vitae.
The Southside Rebels will be a very good team in the league for a long time, but they will have to bide their time before they finally overtake the old-timers from BTPU!
Division 21
Vipers Football 18 TD Twisters 6
Vipers are characterized by a pair of long, hollow, venom-injecting fangs attached to movable bones of the upper jaw that are folded back in the mouth when not in use. Their eyes have vertical pupils, and their scales are keeled.
This Vipers Football team looks nothing like their genus viperidae. These vipers evolved to have legs and opposable thumbs which allowed Wahid Baksh to throw three touchdown passes and intercept three on defence to win the game MVP. Two of Wahid’s passes went to John Aragon (not to be confused with the descendant of Elros Tar-Minyatur).
The TD Twisters defence had three interceptions of their own, but there wasn’t enough anti-venom to avoid the deadliness of the Vipers toxicants.
Redemption Game 1
Churchill Bulldogs 40 Kildonan East Reivers 18
The Bulldogs and Reivers matched up in our first redemption game in the WHSFL flag history.
Both teams were playing for their first win of the season. The Bulldogs got off the schneid by putting up an offensive explosion.
Churchill got better as the season progressed and saved their best games for the playoffs, first losing a close game to the Sisler Spartans, then grabbing their first victory of the season against the Rievers. Churchill was led by 18 points of Brando Soloman and the two-pronged quarterback system of Amir Teame and Casey Brown.
Josh Gill was a force for the Reivers throwing for two touchdowns and scoring another, while Jaxyn Hrysak had two interceptions. However, this day belonged to the Bulldogs as they got out of the doghouse to win the final game of the WHSFL playoffs.
Redemption Game 2
Deadbeats 38 Soup Salad 6
Each season the league offers two teams the opportunity to make good on a season that didn’t fare well.
In this case, the Deadbeats didn’t fill up on the unlimited soup and salad, instead going straight for the main course. Taj Moryl consommé’s the soup slurpers with an interception, three touchdown passes, and 13 points.
Barak Al Dabous niçoise’s the salad eaters for two additional touchdown passes. Tyreese Brenya had a sack and scored a touchdown for the salmagundis’ but clearly there wasn’t enough Worcestershire sauce to make the salad eaters punch above their weight.
Winter MVP
Raza Butt
Congratulations to Raza “Burgomaster of Northbay” Butt who deservedly was awarded the Winter 2024 most valuable player award.
Unlike the Fall season, when we had a three-way tie in MVP voting, Raza (literally) ran away with the Winter award. For his efforts, Raza received a prize package from our league sponsors, including the MVP belt, and a Blue Bomber replica Grey Cup ring!
Raza joins Jason Gibbens as the only two-time league MVPs and puts himself firmly in the running for Blue Bomber season tickets as the overall MVP of the league. That overall league MVP crown will be handed out after our Spring season is completed. Congratulations to our newest MVP on his amazing season.
The PIT Football league is the official touch and flag football league of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Be sure to follow us @PITFootball on Instagram and Twitter, or check out our website www.pitfootball.com
