Murray Wood: Who's hot... and who's not
Every Friday, Murray Wood takes a look back at the week's news and decides who's hot... and who's not. This week's list ...
Everywhere he’s gone this month, St. Brieux School student Hayden Weber has been asked about “the catch.”
The play has garnered the Grade 12 senior not only a lot of attention in his community, but national recognition on TSN and CTV as NFL Canada’s Way to Play Award winner.
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“I’ve been getting a lot of congratulations and people saying good job,” Weber said. “It’s been a good week.”
In an Oct. 9 game against the Lanigan Lazers, the St. Brieux Crusaders running back made headlines with a spin-around, one-handed snag on a wheel route to bring the ball in.
Remarkably, Weber only saw the ball enter his field of view just moments before he made the catch.
“The sun was in my eyes, actually,” Weber said. “I couldn’t really see it, but I just stuck my hand out there and snagged it.”
Crusaders head coach Tate Johnson remembered the play vividly, and the reaction from the sideline after Weber’s reception was pure amazement.
“I just remember turning to my assistant coach and going, ‘wow, that was unbelievable,’” Johnson said. “It’s probably one of the best catches I have ever seen in high school football.”
The play was captured on video and submitted to NFL Canada by Weber’s mother Lindsay for the weekly honour, with Weber’s catch chosen to be featured on TSN and CTV platforms live last Sunday.
According to Hayden, it was special for his mom to be involved in his highlight-reel catch being shown across Canada.
“My mom has always been there for me when it comes to football,” Weber said.
“She’s been to every single one of my games. She hasn’t missed one, and she’s really good at capturing the moments.”
While the Crusaders suffered a 66-8 loss to Lanigan that day, Weber’s catch has resulted in a major win for the St. Brieux program.
As the Week 6 recipient of the Way to Play Award, Weber netted St. Brieux School a $3,000 grant to be put towards new equipment for the Crusaders football team.
Johnson said that money will make a big difference for the program, especially being a small-town team which often doesn’t have the budget for new gear.
“It means that we don’t have to constantly be looking for where our funding is coming from,” Johnson said.
“We can purchase some new helmets, new practice equipment, so that our guys have everything that they need in order to compete at the highest level.”
Weber added it’s the part of his award win which he is the most excited about.
“It felt good knowing that I can give back to this football team and our football program,” Weber said.
“Hopefully, (it will) get the young guys more involved in the game and know that small-town guys can still make an impact on their sport and do good for their school.”
Weber is set to wind up his high school career with the Crusaders this fall after becoming a two-way player with the team as a running back, lineman and middle linebacker.
Johnson said it will be tough to say goodbye to Weber from the St. Brieux program after this season.
“He is a guy who will not be denied,” Johnson said.
“He gives everything on every single play, does everything that we ask of him. He’s a workhorse and he’s been special on the team for the past few years.”
The Way to Play Award was created to reward Canadian high school tackle football programs in developing players with strong footwork, blocking, tackling and vision on the field.
St. Brieux’s win also was able to highlight their six-man format according to Johnson, in being able to provide quality football for smaller schools which might not be able to field a full 12-player roster.
“It’s a great, fast game,” Johnson said.
“Fast-paced, high-scoring. To see it more recognized, it’s a great thing to see because we’ve got a lot of great athletes who play six-man football. To get more attention on it, might give them more opportunities to play after they graduate.”
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