Grant Park game highlights SRSS spring football camp

It was a gorgeous day for football May 22, as Steinbach Regional Secondary School made the trip into the city to play the Grant Park Pirates for a pair of exhibition games.

The varsity team came out with a 40-26 come from behind victory, powered by a massive performance from Wade Anderson and the offensive line. While exact stats weren’t available immediately after the game, SRSS football program coordinator Jamie Peters estimated Anderson finished with over 400 yards on the ground.

“That offensive line is all returning players,” Peters said, as the Sabres broke open a fifty-plus yard touchdown in the background.

“Coach (Stephen) Fedus is probably the best offensive line coach in the province, probably even going up to university all the way down to amateur. He’s great at what he does and the technique that he puts in. That group is pretty impressive.”

The SRSS football team has been busy this spring, practicing multiple times a week. Peters said the camp is a chance for kids to try football without needing to commit to a full season without playing before.

“We’re really happy with the turnout,” Peters said, sharing 130 students signed up for spring camp.

“It’s the biggest turnout we’ve had in the last number of years… Football is not for everybody and some of the kids find that out.”

Grade 8 players are included in the camp, as they prepare to make the jump from middle school to SRSS in the fall.

Grant Park and Steinbach’s football programs have developed a strong connection over the years.

“Our schools are similar in terms of our football background, and we’re close with their coaching staff,” Peters said.

“It’s always fun to get together with them and play some games.”

The Winnipeg High School Football league will look a lot different next year. After experimenting with geographical divisions, the league is moving back to a tiered system, with 12 teams in the top division. Schedules will be based on pre-season seeding.

Steinbach will certainly be in that top tier, after finishing as a top-eight program and playing in the post-season for two consecutive years. The team is still chasing teams at the top of the province, as Dakota, Oak Park and St Paul’s have dominated the league over the past few years.

“We’re happy with 12 teams in that division, we think it gives a really good top end, a good middle and the bottom is competitive,” Peters said.

“The reality is sometimes the top two or three in the high school league are in a tier of their own and four through 10 are much closer… I think it’s good to be exposed to good football.”

Peters is hoping to see Steinbach one day win a top division title in football, noting the SRSS is the largest school in the province when it comes to number of students.

Steinbach’s high point came in 2019, when they finished as a league semi-finalist in the top division.

“Our players are working hard, our coaches are working hard,” Peters said, noting the program had 40 players commit to a strict off-season workout routine.

“We’ve got to keep finding athletes, we’ve got to keep finding tough, strong kids, we’ve got to keep finding kids that want to commit to the weight room, want to commit to the film room. Football isn’t easy. An old coach used tell me ‘if it’s easy it’s not worth doing.’ These kids have to continue to work.”

The junior varsity team, which plays nine-man football, lost 38-30 to Grant Park. Spring camp ended with a jamboree against other high school programs in Winnipeg May 28.