‘It still doesn’t feel real’ St.Clair Saints football team win the National Championship

The St. Clair Saints football team won their first Canadian Bowl since 1999. 

Over the past weekend, a massive matchup between the St Clair Saints and the Okanagan Sun, a team from British Columbia, played in the Canadian Bowl. It is one of the oldest tournaments in North America. The first junior championship game was played in 1908 in Montreal.  

With over 2500 fans in attendance at Acumen Stadium located in Windsor, the environment was electric. 

 In the first half, the Okanagan Sun had all the momentum, leading the game 22-9 in the third quarter. A couple of adjustments were made by the Saints and the momentum would shift in their favour. Ryan Najim, one of the key players on the Saints’ defense, believes the teamtalk at halftime gave them the morale boost for the second half.  

“Sitting back in the locker room, talking to coaches, talking to each other as players, you know understanding, hey if we’re able to get our stops on defense, then offense will get going”, said Najim. 

Najim, a four-year veteran for the Saints, being in situations like this was not new to him. 

“It’s my fourth year here. We’ve taken a loss to Okanagan in the past, so that’s what makes this win feel a little bit better. I’ve seen it in the loss to Saskatchewan last year and Okanagan two years ago. When we would go down, we would kinda turn on each other”, said Najim.

This time the Saints would keep composed and stay supportive of each other. 

The Saints would eventually score 28 unanswered points and win 37-22 to get their hands on the Canadian Bowl. A majority of Windsor-Essex citizens heard about the amazing victory. Julia Rubino a student in Windsor said she was very proud of the Saints Football Team. 

“ I heard all about the game on the weekend. They had an amazing third quarter, and it’s so cool to see the Saints finally bring the title back to Windsor,” said Rubino.

 Emotions were high throughout the game and the final outcome went to Windsor. Celebrations among the players, coaches, and fans happened all night-bottles of champagne popped and cigars were lit. 

“Doing it at home just felt even better. Still doesn’t feel real, but you know getting over that hump finally after 25 years, it felt amazing”, said Najim.