Thomas Herrington of the Monsignor McCoy Colts runs with the ball toward two Crescent Heights Vikings during the third annual Boksteyn Bowl on Friday at the Methanex Bowl. The Vikings won 14-11, winning their third straight Boksteyn Bowl.--NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
The Crescent Heights Vikings and Monsignor McCoy Colts met Friday night with another opportunity to remember a pillar of their programs.
The Vikings and Colts varsity football teams faced off at the Methanex Bowl for the third annual Rick Boksteyn Memorial Bowl, which Crescent Heights won by a score of 14-11.
The Vikings won the first contest in 2021 and will continue to hold onto the old firefighting trophy as winners of the bowl game in memory of Boksteyn’s 35 years with the Medicine Hat Fire Department.
Crescent Heights’ head coach Anthony Anderson was coaching in his first Boksteyn Bowl and says he had some nerves heading into the day.
“Ever since I woke up first thing this morning, I’ve been nervous but I was feeling really good,” Anderson said. “The boys put in a good week of practice and they came out and played well.”
The Vikings and Colts are the two teams Boksteyn helped coach at different times over 36 years before passing away in 2020. The game meant a lot to both teams who had a connection with Boksteyn, with Crescent Heights coach Jason Lebash serving on the same fire department.
“I know for a lot of boys it was really big to them, too, having family members that were firefighters and people they’ve lost,” Anderson said. “For me, it was really big as well because I am still really good friends with Rick’s son, he was really influential on me as well. So there was a lot of motivation to do well.”
Ahead of Friday’s tilt, the Colts honoured Boksteyn with the official unveiling of the sign placed on the grounds of the football field behind McCoy, named the Rick Boksteyn Field.
Colts head coach Jole Krassman was a God child of Boksteyn’s and was proud of his team’s effort in the memorial game.
“No loss ever feels good but if you’re going to lose, that’s how you do it, a close game – 14-11 – could’ve went either way,” Krassman said. “I was super proud of the guys, we battled hard, we played our game, we stuck to the game, we didn’t get down on ourselves and we had a chance to win it at the end. We had a chance on the drive, we had a chance to get in close to tie it, had some big plays. Just a hard fought game and that’s what you want for the Boksteyn Bowl.
Friday marked the second memorial game Krassman has coached in, making his debut at the helm of the McCoy program in 2022. He was appreciative of the game and the Vikings for their effort in the contest.
“I always say the football gods are watching us all the time, they were watching us tonight and the rally flag was wearing blue,” Krassman said. “It comes down to a couple of plays and some big moves, and they ran the ball, they’re a well coached team. Hats off to the Crescent Heights Vikings, they played a heck of a game and they executed really well.”
The Rangeland Football Conference playoffs kick off this week with the first-place Medicine Hat High Hawks, who beat the Brooks Buffaloes 41-6 last week, hosting the Colts on Friday. The Vikings will head to Brooks as well for their playoff matchup.
Krassman and Anderson spoke postgame Friday about the playoffs and their excitement for the second season.
“We’re blue collar guys, we have to come back and be ready to work on Monday,” Krassman said. “We have to get back to the drawing board, learn from this, build on this. Coming off a hard fought game like that, we’re battle ready so you know whoever we get, we’re just looking forward to the experience.”
“With our last week’s win and this week’s win, we’re starting to gain good ground throughout the season,” Anderson said. “So just playing one day at a time, one down at a time, one game at a time, on to the next opponent.”
