3 inducted into SRSS Sabres football hall of fame

Players key to some of the best Steinbach Regional Secondary School Sabres’ football seasons were honoured during the program’s awards night Dec. 5.

Isaac Dokken, Ethan Gruninger and Jayden Martens were all inducted into the SRSS football hall of fame, receiving a memorial mini-helmet with their number on it.

All players were a part of the 2019 team which finished first in their division in the top tier of the Winnipeg High School Football League. While they fell short in a memorable semi-final against St Paul’s, it was the first season SRSS was a true contender for the top prize in Manitoba high school football.

Martens was a leading receiver for the program which relied on a strong passing attack to generate offense, with program coordinator Jamie Peters noting Martens had great physical attributes and a good work ethic. Martens played on the first-ever SRSS junior varsity team.

“Jayden was more than a pretty-boy receiver,” Peters said.

“(Head coach Stephan) Fedus challenged and pushed Jayden to become a better blocker, and in his senior season I have many memories of watching Jayden lock onto a player’s pads, lower his screws below his helmet and run his seam to the endzone.”

Martens was a Division 1 all-star and top offensive player for SRSS in 2019.

“I love every part of football,” Martens told the crowd, which included current players and parents.

“Over my time in Sabres football I learned what it takes to put the work in the off-season, thanks to Fedus dragging me there for three years. By grade 12 I started to understand the benefit of working out and also the benefit of blocking, extending runs and dominating people, and what an advantage that is.”

Helping protect quarterbacks so they could get the ball to players like Martens was Ethan Gruninger. Peters described Gruninger as “an absolute unit,” who helped lead a strong offensive line.

“There are no fancy stats that I can list that talk about how good Ethan was during his time as a Sabre,” Peters said.

“All I can say is without him and players like him that sacrificed glory or stats to block for their teammates, none of the other stuff happens.”

Gruninger was a two time league all-star for his play on the field, and earned the program’s legacy award for his work throughout his entire time playing football.

“He always thought of others before himself,” Peters said.

“He led by example and was always the first one to clean up, carry things or help organize things for the program.”

Gruninger said he loved the sense of community football brought him.

“I’ve built friendships that have lasted far beyond high school years,” he said.

“Through trust, hard work and shared goals, this program taught us the true meaning of teamwork, the importance of dedication and the relentless pursuit of excellence.”

Peters said Dokken had his favourite on-field moment of all time, even playing it twice in the video showing highlights from all three players. Dokken knocked down two would-be blockers en route to a spectacular tackle for loss.

Dokken was a four-year varsity player, with coaches not wanting to see the dominant defender anywhere near a junior varsity field. Even in varsity practice coaches didn’t allow Dokken to play all-out against teammates.

In 2019, he played on both sides of the ball, helping out with offense in addition to his outstanding defensive skills. He was the division 1 player of the year and was an all-star on both offense and defense.

“Dokken is a special young man who pours his passion into football,” Peters said.

“He cares about his teammates and is always willing to do what is necessary to take care of those who are close to him. This virtue extends on and off the field.”

Dokken has played three years for the University of Manitoba, notching a career-high 44 tackles in 2022. Peters noted Dokken is hoping to find a future in professional football.