2011 FOOTBALL BANQUET REVIEW

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On November 17^th, 2011 the Fridley Tiger football family got together one last time to celebrate the accomplishments of the just ended season, honor the graduating seniors, and look toward next year’s goals. The football team held its banquet at the Faith Redeemer  church and had a fine potluck dinner, with the main course provided by the Zza Factory of Fridley.

 The banquet began with a review of the 2011 season by head coach Adam Fischer, which included coach’s thoughts on the offensive accomplishments of this year’s team. Coach Fischer noted that while the final win/loss record didn’t reflect it, the team made big strides offensively in 2011, setting several team and individual records. Dick Crandall, the Tigers’ defensive coordinator, continued the year in review with his thoughts on the Tigers defensive performance in 2011. Coach Crandall observed that though the defense had its struggles, they were playing their best football at the end of the year, which speaks volumes about the character of a team moving through a difficult year, and for the future prospects of a young team learning to play with one another. The year in review was concluded by Coach John Swanson, who provided a look at this year’s Freshman team, and what we can expect from our promising group of underclassmen.

 After taking a look at the team in review and awarding all Fridley football letter winners, the banquet shifted its focus to the team’s inherent leaders, the 2011 senior class. This year’s class included 16 seniors.  Each senior was introduced and greeted on stage by their respective position coach. In addition to coach Fischer and coach Crandall, assistant coaches Justin Reese, Dan Nalepka, Kyle Fearing, and Darrion Branscomb each introduced the seniors they worked with over the past few years. The coaches also provided a little insight regarding each player’s character, accomplishments, and distinctive personality.

Finally, the banquet concluded with an award ceremony. The ceremony consisted of a mix of internal and external awards, headlined by Fridley’s three All Conference performers: Kenben Parker, Tom Leighton, and Michael Murray. Chad Olsen, Stephen O’Leary and Detavious “Tay” Tanner also received All Conference Honorable Mention. Internally, the team voted on a number of different awards, honoring contributors from all equally important aspects of the varsity football program. A review of the team awards is listed below.

2011 Fridley Football Team Awards

Scout Team MVP:                    Brian Oomrow

Most Improved:                       Chatram Hector

Special Team’s MVP:             Dom Neisz

Lineman MVP:                          Stephen O’Leary

Defensive MVP:                       Detavious Tanner

Offensive MVP:                       Michael Murray

Team MVP:                                Chad Olsen

Senior Award:                           Chad Olsen

Booster of the Year:               Kathy Backstrom

By: Jake Fischer