When Football Saskatchewan released its list of players for Team South Saskatchewan it was no surprise that Brayden Jarvis was amongst the YRHS Jr. Raiders who made the team.
After all, Jarvis won gold the year before with Team Sask at the 2012 Red River Cup and that experience led him to being named alongside Lukas Muir and Noah Zerr as the three YRHS players named to the U-16 South Sask roster, something that Jarvis takes as a serious honour.
"Everytime you get the chance to represent yourself and your city for your province at the national level is a huge honour and opportunity that I take really seriously" says Jarvis. "We all love our province and after a disappointing opening to the tournament we knew that we all needed to elevate our play for our province and we came together as a team."
That disappointing start came to the tune of a 26-7 loss to Winnipeg West on Day One followed by a 14-6 loss to North Saskatchewan in the final game of the round robin that eliminated the two teams in the tiebreaker after a three way tie with eventual tournament champions Lower Mainland B.C. and put both North and South Saskatchewan in the bronze medal round despite South Saskatchewan's 14-0 win over the Lower Mainland, a letdown for Jarvis after winning gold the previous year.
"It was a disappointment after the second day not being able to defend the gold we won the year before, but we all came together as group before the medal round knowing that we couldn't lose," says Jarvis. In the bronze medal round robin, Team South Saskatchewan finished the Red River Cup on top, getting revenge on their rivals from the North with a 10-7 win and clinching bronze with a 27-13 victory over Winnipeg east who finished the tournament without a win.
Jarvis, who registered two sacks at defensive tackle was named to the tournament all-star team, an added bonus for what he mentioned was a great and unforgettable experience. "Going to the Red River Cup two years in a row I got to see what playing at an elite level is about at a young age and when I was named to the All-Star team it finally sunk in that I was one of the best players in my position," says Jarvis who will be playing Jr. Football for the Raiders again in the fall.
Lukas Muir, who was named to the tournament's Pre-Red River Cup Players to Watch list for South Saskatchewan, had six tackles according to the Cup's game sheets.
Jarvis, a tailback for the Jr. Raiders will continue to learn his second position at the University of Regina Rams camp starting July 29 before Jr. Raiders training camp for the Regina Minor Football league kicks off on August 6.
