INNISFAIL – Lillian Watkinson’s great gridiron dream has come true.
The 15-year-old Innisfailian suited up on July 9, took to the field at Regina’s Mosaic Stadium and became a champion with 19 other Alberta girls.
She brought a gold medal back home to Innisfail.
“I was so overwhelmed. Me and some of my teammates went and laid down on the field after the game and just soaked it all in,” said Lillian. “The feeling was like, unreal. It was everything I thought it would be and more.”
Lillian, who was selected to Team Alberta from Red Deer’s Notre Dame Cougars’ program, is the first girl from Central Alberta to play tackle football on an Alberta team for the first-ever 2022 Women’s Under-18 Championship that was played July 3 - 9 in Regina’s new state-of-the-art Mosaic Stadium.
Her Alberta team played five games; the first four against competing squads from Ontario, New Brunswick, Manitoba and home team Saskatchewan. Team Alberta won the first three but were defeated by Saskatchewan in a 14-12 nailbiter.
However, with a round-robin record of three wins and just one loss Team Alberta earned a rematch against the home town favourite Saskatchewan in the gold-medal game.
The first four games were just two quarters each but the gold medal final was a full game, played with each team having just six players on the field, which wasn’t significantly smaller than normal.
“They changed the boundaries. The field was just a little bit less wide. It wasn't much of a difference,” said Lillian. “It was very tiring, and a much higher pace than 12-man.”
However, Lillian and her teammates would not be denied. Team Alberta dominated to claim a convincing 36-12 win; securing the first ever national championship at the U18 Women’s level.
Lillian was jubilant for her entire team. As for her own on-field performance, she admits to feeling proud, and thankful for the support she received back home in Innisfail.
“I had so many people in the community watching me and they were all supporting and texting me and cheering me on,” she said. “I had a lot of people telling me that I performed very well. All the games were posted on YouTube, and I watched some of my plays, and I'm pretty proud of myself.”
Shawn Walter, head coach of Team Alberta, is also proud of his team’s accomplishment, noting the win continues Alberta’s tradition of “trailblazing.” It was 27 years ago in Montreal when the boys’ version of Team Alberta U18 won the first Football Canada Cup on July 15, 1995 with a 10-6 win over host team Quebec.
Walter was also over the moon in his praise of the young teen from Innisfail.
“She was a fantastic player for us. She was someone who we knew was always going to make good open field tackles,” said Walter, emphasizing the importance of her stellar play in six-man football. “One small break or one broken play usually goes for a touchdown.
“Lillian was definitely a real important piece for our team, somebody that we definitely relied on,” added Walter. “She was just a pleasure to have on the team because she has such great character, a great person and just a pleasure to have on the program.”
With Lillian just 15 and with three years left to be eligible for the national tourney, does the head coach want her back next year?
“Absolutely. I absolutely look forward to her trying out again next year and being a part of this program. I think she's already that good and that talented at 15,” said Walter. “Keep your eye on this athlete because I can see her really doing great things.”
