Five football players from Carlyle helped make team history as they catapulted the Moosomin Generals to second-place in the Manitoba Football League in a season-ending final against the Dauphin Clippers on Saturday, Nov. 5 in Dauphin, Manitoba.
Team captains- running back Louis Halbgewachs and linebacker Nathen Schmidt- along with their teammates safety Halen Duhaime, defensive lineman Zach Faber and fullback Jarred Valentine were part of a 22-player Moosomin roster.
The final score was 34-8 for the Clippers, and Halbgewachs says, “Last year at the end of spring season, I honestly thought we could get first. But this season, a lot of guys got banged up and we had a shortage of guys, too.”
“It's nine-man football,” adds Halbgewachs. “And when you play with less than twenty players on average against teams like Dauphin and Neepawa who have 40 to 50 players... It makes me proud of my team for getting as far as we did.”
“We had a lot of guys on the field who could hardly walk, due to injuries. But I'm so proud of the guys for not quitting, even though we were losing.”
“With Moosomin being the only team from Saskatchewan in the league, you're not just playing for that team, you're playing for Saskatchewan.”
“I just think it's cool that these guys from Carlyle make up a third of the team and they're the leaders of the team, because of the respect they bring to the team and to the game.”
Veteran Zach Faber-who has been with the team for four years-agrees. The defensive lineman says, “We've never, ever been near the semi-final before this. That's why this season was so amazing. We lost a bunch of good players who graduated and we had a bunch of new guys coming in. It was incredible.”
“I would really encourage more kids-guys and girls- to play football. As soon as I came, the team welcomed me and others with open arms. There are players from Moosomin and all of us from Carlyle, but there are also players on our team from Redvers and Rocanville and from Elkhorn, Manitoba. We really came together as a team and part of that is because of our captains. They really helped to motivate us.”
Fullback Jarred Valentine says: “I knew it was a good game and even though we didn't finish in first place, everybody gave it their best.”
Safety Halen Duhaime says that the tone was set from the start of the season. When asked, Duhaime says one of his most memorable moments of the season was: “Probably when we were playing Souris and Nathen (Schmidt) slammed a guy during our first game. It kind of hyped everyone up.”
Schmidt-who has played his final season with the Generals as he prepares to graduate this year, says as team captain: “This was the first time the guys ever made it to the final. I was happy because everybody played hard and helped to make (team) history. Everybody gave it their all and over the regular season, our defense only let in 70 points and our offence scored 270 points. I feel confident that next season, the team can win the championship.”
“They'll be so much better; it's unfinished business.”
“Our goal next year is to win the championship,” adds Halbgewachs. “As a team, we want to make an actual impact and leave a legacy.”
