Team of 86...Hall of Fame

WETASKIWIN COMPOSITE HIGH SCHOOL SABRES FOOTBALL TEAM 1986

    Football has been part of the sports program at Wetaskiwin Composite High School dating back to 1929.  Over the decades, there have been some powerful and successful teams.  The 1986 Sabres were one of those special, strong and talented teams.  They were League Champions and played in the Provincial Championships at the Tier I level even though Wetaskiwin High School was classified as a Tier II school that year. 
    The 1986 Sabres played seven league games in the Central Alberta Football League that was comprised of eight teams. They were able to shake off a 27-0 loss to the Stettler Wildcats in their opening game and finished the remainder of the season undefeated.  Statistically, the Sabres ranked highly in offense, defense, and special teams. Most impressive was the Sabre’s passing game.  The team’s passing offense was tops in the league by a large margin as they gained 1434 yards, an impressive 205 yards per game and completed 82 passes of 157 attempts for a 52.2% average.
    In league playoffs the Sabres played Red Deer’s Camille J LeRouge Cougars in the semi-final winning 38-18.  In the final, the Sabres played the Stettler Wildcats winning 23-12.  It was the only loss for the Wildcats that year and the Wildcats went on to win the Provincial Tier II Championship.  It was the Sabres first League Championship since 1979. 
    In the Provincial Tier I Semi-Finals the Sabres played against the Salisbury Sabres who had upset the heavily favored, defending Provincial Tier I champions, Harry Ainlay Titans.  Despite the bitterly cold and windy weather conditions, the Wetaskiwin Sabres took a 13-0 lead but could not maintain it.  The Salisbury Sabres won the game 36-29 and then went on to defeat Lethbridge to win the Provincial Tier I Championship.
The Wetaskiwin Sabres 1986 Football Team laid a very solid foundation for the outstanding Sabres teams that followed, teams that would win six additional League Championships from 1987-1994.
    Members of the 1986 Sabre Football Team are: Daryl Avigne, Barry Besse, Lila Boulet, Russ Clamp,  Jeff Clark, Kelvin Creighton, Melvin Creighton, Jason Demich, Delwin Feldberg, Leroy Fraynn, Clayton Fortin, Greg Gusse, Jeff Gusdal, Pat Hardy, Joel Huberdeau, Jeff Hodgson, Shane Heemeryck, Craig Kelley, Kent Kern, Francis Ledda, Marty McKinney, Necib Moussa, Darren Nichols, Derek Nipshank, Anthony Palmer, Danny Piquet, Ron Plant, Kevin Prather, Scott Reid, John Reimer, Russ Rogers, Trevor Schmidt, Chad Stroschein, Mark Throndson, Terry Verhegge, Don Wallis,  Darren Ware, Mike Ware, Gary Wedman,
Coaches: Danny Gusdal, Don Loov, Kevin Gibson, Adrian Maplethorpe, Trainers: John Reid and Bruce Heggerud Managers:  Kari Trost and Deb Comfort.
    The Wetaskiwin and County Sports Hall of Fame Induction Dinner will take place on Saturday March 23, 2013 at the Best Western Wayside Inn Banquet Room. Banquet tickets are available for purchase at the Wetaskiwin Credit Union. The deadline for purchasing tickets will be March 15, 2013. For further info please check out www.wetaskiwinsportsfame.com