A Holy Trinity Academy Knight was practically blind-sided when he selected the football team’s most valuable player.
“Since I am an offensive lineman it’s really nice to get some recognition,” said Jayce Oancia, the Knights left tackle who was named MVP at the team’s banquet Nov. 27. “I was absolutely surprised. There were a lot of guys who could have won it, like Nick Villarreal, Jonathan Leggett, Aidan Tilley…”
Left tackle is the position made famous by Michael Oher, of The Blind Side fame. Oancia’s job is to protect Knights quarterback Spencer Kiranas’, you guessed it, blind side.
The only people who saw more of the gridiron than Oancia were the guys in stripes. The 220-pound six-foot Oancia also terrorized opposing quarterbacks from the Knights’ defensive line as well as seeing duty on specialty teams.
“I worked really hard this year and I played on both sides of the ball and specialty teams,” Oancia said.
“I kind of know where the coaches are coming from (in selecting me) but it was still a surprise.”
He was also selected the Knights lineman of the year.
Oancia’s been a mainstay with the Knights all three of his high school years after coming up through the Foothills Eagles program.
“Being named a captain this season was a real highlight for me and a big honour,” Oancia said. “We would have liked to have won some more games, but it was great to play with such a fun team.”
He doesn’t know if he will be continuing his football career, but for sure he will be hitting the books.
“I will probably go to school, maybe to the U of S or the U of A, and maybe play some junior football, I don’t know,” Oancia said.
He said he received one letter of interest to play for the University of Regina Rams.
The other recipients for the Knights Awards were: Rookie of the Year, Nick Wiebe; Heart of a Knight, Mackenzie Pickering; Lineman of the Year and MVP, Jayce Oancia; Iron Knight, Aidan Tilley; Nick Beaulieu Award, Cian Booth; Most Improved Player, Malcolm Boone; Knightly Warrior, Tegan Donnelly; Leadership and Dedication, Spencer Kiranas; Student athlete, Nick Villarreal; Special Teams Player of the Year, Nick Villarreal; Co-offensive Players, Nick Villarreal and Spencer Kiranas and Defensive Player of the Year, Matthew Kastner.
