The Sooke Pre-atom Seahawks 2014 season ended with a disappointing play-off loss to the Gordon Head Raiders on June 15 in Langford. But the loss took nothing away from the young Seahawks’ great year.
Sooke started the season with two losses in their first three games, but finished with four straight regular season wins. Their 5-2 record placed them second in the seven team league. The Seahawks also finished third in points differential, one point behind the second best team, and 70 points better than the fourth best.
Individually, 15 of 20 Seahawks were playing their first season of football. Nineteen players had at least one carry, and nine reached the end zone for a touchdown or a convert.
Football is the ultimate team sport, but six players received individual recognition for their exceptional caliber of play. Three awards (Most Valuable Offensive Player, Most Valuable Defensive Player, and Most Valuable Lineman) were voted on by the players, and two (Most Improved and Sooke Seahawk Award) were voted on by coaches.
Hunter Swift capped off an impressive season by unanimously winning the Defensive Player award. Swift dominated both sides of the ball, but his sure tackling and overall leadership helped glue Sooke’s defense together.
Taggish Page was voted the team’s Most Valuable Lineman for his outstanding play at centre and nose tackle. It was Page’s first season at centre, one of the hardest positions in youth football, and he excelled.
On offense, there was a two way tie. Quarterback Connor Keys and first year speedster Maliki Allen split the award with five votes each. Both scored multiple touchdowns and made big plays through the season.
Xzander Adams got the nod as the Most Improved Player on a roster that showed great improvement across the board. And Brody Reinsch won the Sooke Seahawk Award as the player that best exemplified the character and talent that defines a Sooke Seahawk.
It was the team’s depth though that helped it win so many games. First year players Wesley Cornwall-Johnsen, James Mullen, William Daoust, Austin Warren, Weston White join Swift, Keys and Reinsch in moving up to Atom next season. Christian Kaisinger, Michael Lundell and Gabe Nelson will be expected to step into leadership roles as senior Pre-Atoms, while Dayton Planes, Logan Bainbridge, Mitchell Sutherland, Trystyn Schroeder, Khiran Rheault, and Heath White showed the future is bright for Sooke football.
Submitted by Nathan Lowther