The WHSFL Pre-Seas
By Scott Taylor, with WHSFL Commissioner Rick Henkewich and a panel of WHSFL Coaches
Photos by Jeff Miller and James Carey Lauder
Winnipeg High School Football League
commissioner Rick Henkewich is
often left speechless by the play of the
athletes in his league. And for those
who know Henkewich, that’s somewhat
hard to imagine.
Still, as he and his panel of coaches
select the Top 10 players in the
province every year, they pretty
much nail it. So, speechless or not,
Henkewich and the WHSFL’s coaches
have a pretty good idea of the players
who can really play and those that are
just enjoying their time playing high
school football.
In fact, last year’s list ran pretty close
to form. No. 2 Mason Bennett and No.
6 Brady Oliveira earned scholarships
to the University of North Dakota;
No. 3 Derek Dufault was provincial
defensive player of the year and is off
to the University of Manitoba; No. 8
Zack Williams will play at the U of M
this year; and No. 9, quarterback Ethan
Diakow led Oak Park to the WHSFL
Triple A Potter Division championship.
“I’m amazed at how talented and
physically gifted these young athletes
are,” said Henkewich before sitting
down to determine the Top 10 players
in the WHSFL for 2015. “I don’t think
we can narrow it down to 10, but if you
want to do it, well we’ll give it a shot.”
Henkewich gathered together a
group of the top coaches in Manitoba,
went over the scouting reports,
checked all the stats and then tried to
come to consensus on the best players
in the province.
It wasn’t easy.
However, Henkewich has never
been a quitter so, on top of a list of
19 honourable mentions, he and his
coaches plus a few outside advisors,
have pieced together a list of the most
skilled, most exciting and most gifted
players in the province.
And that’s what we have for you
here at Sports Life. It’s our first annual
look at the Top 10 high school football
players in Manitoba. And while we
know that not everybody will agree
with our inaugural list, we also know
that no one will say that any of these
young men “can’t play.”
Fact is, the list is exceptional and for
your satisfaction, we present Sports
Life Magazine’s Second Annual list of
the Top 10 High School Football Players
in Manitoba.
Jalen Burley: RB/DT/
DE – Vincent Massey
Winnipeg: It’s hard to believe,
but this third-year high school varsity
player, who transferred to Massey from
Murdoch MacKay, is only in Grade 11. He
was a runningback at Murdoch, but after
an all-star summer with Team Manitoba
as a defensive end/tackle, this versatile
player can go both ways if asked. After
three years with the Manitoba provincial
program, he was a U-18 DE in 2015, a U-16 RB in 2014 and a U-16
RB in 2013. His coach, Kelsey McKay says: “Jalen is a versatile athlete
who plays both sides of the line. He had a very good 2015 spring
camp, anchoring our defensive line on the strong side, as well as
playing part-time at running back.” This kid is a stud.
22 / sportslife