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Trio of Saints enjoy Senior Bowl experience

Three members of the Sacred Heart Saints senior football team had the honour of representing the southern part of the province at Football Saskatchewan’s annual Senior Bowl competition in Regina from May 16-19.
Senior Bowl game
Three members of the Sacred Heart Saints recently participated in the 2015 nine-man Senior Bowl game. Pictured l to r: Nick Clarke, Christian Flaman and Shane Varjassy.

Three members of the Sacred Heart Saints senior football team had the honour of representing the southern part of the province at Football Saskatchewan’s annual Senior Bowl competition in Regina from May 16-19.

Saints’ linebacker/offensive end Shane Varjassy, running back/wide receiver Christian Flaman and utility player Nick Clarke (defensive back, running back, quarterback, linebacker) all took part in the nine-man Senior Bowl game as members of Team South, and as such were also named as three of Saskatchewan’s top nine-man football players.

Unfortunately the three Saints players came out on the wrong end of a 36-8 loss to Team North, however the loss is just a small negative in a weekend of wonderful positives. “It was really fun, the entire weekend was,” said Varjassy, a seven year football veteran. “Everyone on the team were good guys and we had a good coach.

“We had fun during the practices, during the games and during down time.”

Flaman echoed Varjassy’s comments, but added that it was also interesting to find themselves on the same sidelines as members of the Melville Cobras and Foam Lake Panthers, two teams that Sacred Heart has not gotten along with on the football field in recent years. “It was interesting, playing with the Melville guys especially,” offered Flaman. “I’ve been playing against Melville all throughout my high school career so it was interesting playing with some of them.

“It was a different experience but it was a great one.”

Another great experience according to all three players was the opportunity to play in Mosaic Stadium at Taylor Field. “It was pretty cool to step onto that field. I mean, that’s where the Riders play, where they won the Grey Cup, so it was pretty cool,” mentioned Varjassy.

Clarke agreed with his Sacred Heart teammate, but added that while it was fun to play on the same field as the Riders, it was also much more different, and difficult, than playing in Yorkton, Melville or Esterhazy. “Playing at Mosaic Stadium, that’s obviously a really intense place to play with the Riders playing there and all so it makes for quite a different atmosphere leading up,” said Clarke. “There is that much more excitement and buildup when compared to a high school game at a normal field.

“The game itself was much harder as well. Normally you might play some backups in a high school game and they might not be at the same level as you and you might find it quite easy to play against but at the Senior Bowl it’s the best of the best.”

And although the game ended with a loss for the three Saints players, the loss did come in a game where the best of the best competed.

And this year Clarke, Flaman and Varjassy were three of the best.