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Central Alberta High School
League Champions
Provincial Tier I Semi Finalists
Football has been part of
the sports program at Wetaskiwin Composite High School dating back to
1929. Over the decades, there have been some powerful and successful
teams. From 1975 to 2006, Sabres teams won 10 league championships and
one Provincial Tier III Championship. According to the coaches and key
individuals behind the football program of that era, the 1986 team was
the strongest and most talented.
(Click Photo to view Team and Names of Players)
League Champs Rank High in
Offense, Defense & Special Teams
They were League Champions
and played in the Provincial Championships at the Tier I level even
though Wetaskiwin High School was classified as a Tier II school that
year. Since that time, the ‘tiering‘ of Alberta high school football
has changed somewhat but in 1986, the Tier II designation was based on a
school population of 400-799 students and Tier I schools had over 800
students. Other than the Raymond Comets, very few schools “opt up” to
a higher division, especially from Tier II to Tier I as this means
competing with Edmonton and Calgary High Schools with enrolments well
over 1250 students and thus considerably more athletes to choose from.
Prior to the season, the coaches of the 1986 team asked the players if
they would consider competing at the Tier I level. The players happily
accepted the challenge and the mantra, “To be the best in Alberta, we
will compete against the best”. In doing so, the 1986 Sabres were
certainly not outclassed.
The 1986 Sabres played
seven league games in the Central Alberta Football League that was
comprised of eight teams. They were able to shake off a 27-0 loss to
the Stettler Wildcats in their opening game and finished the remainder
of the season undefeated. Statistically, the Sabres ranked highly in
offense, defense and special teams.
Unpredictable Offensive Schemes Difficult to Stop
The Sabres offense was the
best of the eight teams. They ranked first in: first downs, points
scored and total yards gained. The offense gained a total of 3062
yards, averaging 437 yards per game. Most impressive was the Sabre’s
passing game. The team’s passing offense was tops in the league by a
large margin as they gained 1434 yards, an outstanding 205 yards per
game and completed 82 passes of 157 attempts for a 52.2% average. The
team that ranked second in passing gained 695 yards and had a 42.4%
completion average. The balanced and unpredictable offensive schemes
of the Sabres made them difficult for the opposing team to stop.
Defensively, the Sabres
ranked second in the league. After having 27 points scored against them
in the opening game, the defense had 47 points scored against them in
the remaining six games, less than 8 points per game. Two players on
opposing teams were quoted in the press: “The Sabres are the hardest
hitting defense in the league, they are aggressive and they are
physical. They read and react very well to the offensive plays being
run against them."
Sabres Hardest Hitting Defence in the League,
In league playoffs the
Sabres played Red Deer’s Camille J LeRouge Cougars in the semi-final
winning 38-18. In the final, the Sabres played the Stettler Wildcats
winning 23-12. It was the only loss for the Wildcats that year and the
Wildcats went on to win the Provincial Tier II Championship. It was the
Sabres first League Championship since 1979.
In the Provincial Tier I
Semi-Finals the Sabres played against the Salisbury Sabres who had upset
the heavily favored, defending Provincial Tier I champions, Harry Ainlay
Titans. Despite the bitterly cold and windy weather conditions, the
Wetaskiwin Sabres took a 13-0 lead but could not maintain it. The
Salisbury Sabres won the game 36-29 and then went on to defeat
Lethbridge to win the Provincial Tier I Championship.
Six Sabres were selected
to the twenty-six member CAFL All Star Team, the most permitted per
team. Three offensive players and three defensive players were selected
from the Sabres. Those six and four other players from the 1986 team
went on to play Junior and University football. Two individuals were
members of the team that won the BC Junior Championship and the
Armadale Cup emblematic of the National Junior Championship. One of
those players went on to win the Canadian Interuniversity Sport Western
Championship and the Vanier Cup, emblematic of the CIS National
Championship.
The Wetaskiwin Sabres 1986
Football Team laid a very solid foundation for the outstanding Sabres
teams that followed, teams that would win six additional League
Championships from 1987-1994 and who would play well in Provincial
playoffs. The outstanding 1986 Sabres along with their exceptional
coaches, managers and trainers are being recognized by their induction
into the Wetaskiwin and County Sports Hall of Fame.
Members of the 1986
Wetaskiwin High School Sabres Football Team are:
Daryl Avigne, Barry Besse,
Lila Boulet, Russ Clamp, Jeff Clark, Kelvin Creighton, Melvin
Creighton, Jason Demich, Delwin Feldberg, Leroy Fraynn, Clayton Fortin,
Greg Gusse, Jeff Gusdal, Pat Hardy, Joel Huberdeau, Jeff Hodgson, Shane
Heemeryck,
Craig Kelley, Kent Kern, Francis Ledda, Marty McKinney, Necib Moussa,
Darren Nichols, Derek Nipshank, Anthony Palmer, Danny Piquet, Ron Plant,
Kevin Prather, Scott Reid, John Reimer, Russ Rogers, Trevor Schmidt,
Chad Stroschein, Mark Throndson, Terry Verhegge, Dan Wallis, Darren
Ware, Mike Ware, Gary Wedman,
Coaches: Danny Gusdal, Kevin Gibson, Don Loov, Adrian Maplethorpe,
Trainers: Bruce Heggerud and John Reid
Managers: Deb Comfort and Kari Trost
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