Youth football in Estevan will be well represented on the Sask. Selects Football team next year.
Three players from the Estevan Comprehensive School Elecs were chosen for the Selects varsity team. Safety Hunter Eagles will be in his fifth year with the Selects, defensive lineman James Knibbs is in his fourth year and middle linebacker Kolby Forseth will be on the team for the first time.
Elecs defensive lineman Dustin Dupus will play for the first time in the 14-and-under division, while slotback Chayton Fornwald will be with the Selects for the fourth time on the 13U team. Five players from Penta Completions Estevan Minor Football are scheduled to play in the tournament. Defensive lineman Hamisi Kassanga is in his first year on the 13U team.
Three local players are on the 12U team. Offensive lineman Mercedes Paterson is with the Selects for the first time, while wide receiver Dorian Sifton and offensive lineman Preston Sibley are on the Selects for the second time.
Running back Cooper Pukas, who will be in the program for the first time, is on the 10U team. The local athletes will be travelling to Moose Jaw for practices until the Pigskin Classic tournament from Feb. 21-23, 2019, in San Antonio, Texas.
Selects Football was founded by Zeljko and Deb Stefanovic in 2012. The program started with one 12U football team, consisting of 33 young Saskatchewan football players who trained through the winter and travelled to San Antonio to compete in the International Pigskin Football Classic in February 2013.
Since then, the program has thrived, and winter football in Saskatchewan has become a reality, offering players a chance to train for an extended season and to be able to pit their talent against American teams.
Selects Football has grown from one team to between four and six teams each year. Teams have competed in San Antonio and Dallas, as well as in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. In the 2017-18 season, the Saskatchewan Selects were joined by two Manitoba Selects teams that competed in the first inter-provincial Selects Bowl.
The Selects have won numerous championships at the Pigskin Classic, and dozens of local players have competed for the Selects, winning awards and helping them to titles.
