In the interzone playoffs, the zone 9 champ Boissevain Broncos clubbed the zone 10 champ Strathclair Skyhawks 90-37 as Daniel Waldron scored 20. Scott Moffett led the Skyhawks with 20.
In the opening round, held in Rosenort: …………………………………………………… The 4th-seeded Ste. Anne Point des Chenes Les Cavaliers dusted the 9th-seeded St. Laurent Hawks 92-54. …………………………………………………… The 3rd-seeded Hodgson Peguis Wolverines clubbed the 10th-seeded Rosenort Red Hawks 59-22. …………………………………………………… The 6th-seeded Pinawa Panthers crushed the 7th-seeded Treherne Tigers 58-40. …………………………………………………… The 8th-seeded Dauphin Western Christian Mustangs edged the Glenboro Panthers 68-65 as Eric Deal scored 23 on 16-19 from the line. Blair Roberts added 19 and Mitch Darbill 19 on six treys. Real Vallotton led the Panthers with 28. The Panthers (coached by Rick Scott, assistant Devin Lussier, manager Amber Robidoux) also included Darryl Anderson, Nathan Ham, Mike Thio, Patrick Hacault, Jarid Fink, Matthew Craig, Jason Lussier, Jason Richmond, Ian Hamilton and Willem Swanepoel.
In the quarterfinals, the top-seeded Boissevain Broncos stomped the 12th-seeded Grandview Spartans 113-45. The Spartans included Nick McCurry, Mike Stoeckli, Greg Ratcliffe.
The 4th-seeded Ste. Anne Point des Chenes les Cavaliers whipped the 8th-seeded Dauphin Western Christian Mustangs 78-40. “I was quite proud of their effort,” coach Scott Roberts told the Dauphin Herald. “They started the second game a little bit flat, but came up against a very good team, as well. Once they got set up on offence, we were playing good defence on them, but they’re extremely fast and we were having trouble stopping their transition game.” The Mustangs (coached by Scott Roberts) included Blair Roberts, Michael Roberts, Eric Deal.
The 2nd-seeded Carberry Cougars stomped the 11th-seeded Leaf Rapids Sagkeeng Wolves 83-26.
In the last quarterfinal, the Hodgson Peguis Wolverines defeated the Pinawa Panthers 49-32. The Panthers included Adam Donnelly.
In the semis, the top-seeded Boissevain Broncos defeated the 4th-seeded Ste. Anne Pointe des Chenes Les Cavaliers 81-56.
In the other semi, the Carberry Cougars defeated the Hodgson Peguis Wolverines 63-48 after play was called when a Wolverines player and their coach, Allen Bird, allegedly went after a referee. The Wolverines were subsequently suspended from the tournament. Bird alleged that officials were biased against his team because most of the players were native. “I have built up a frustration over many years. It’s not just a one game,” Bird told the Stonewall Argus and Teulon Times. “I’ve been in sports for a long time now and there is a bias out there. I don’t see it getting any better.” Bird’s squad was hit with its 13th foul, against Carberry’s 4 and when he complained, he was ejected. On his way out, he turned back to see one of his starters tossed for leaving the bench. He returned to the gym to question the referee, who, in turn, ran to the official’s locker room and locked himself behind the door. A phone call to the Manitoba High Schools Athletic Association promptly led to Peguis’ disqualification from the tournament. “I don’t condone what I did. I wanna get that straight. I wish it didn’t happen,” Bird said. “But I wasn’t going to leave there without having my say. I was not being treated fair.” The Stonewall Argus & Teulon Times called it a blatant case of racism but Bird said “I don’t know if it’s a racism issue. I guess people call it that. But for me it’s more of a preconceived notion. If you perceive a Native as being an aggressive person and not being skilled at doing something, then you look for that unskilled stuff. You look for that aggression. You have to fulfill that prophecy that you’ve preconceived.” Manitoba High Schools Athletic Association assistant executive director Carey Lasuik, who tossed the Wolverines, said racism is not something he sees as an issue despite what some people may think. “I like Allen. He’s a hard-working man. But I do not agree with that statement whatsoever. It usually stems from the discipline of the team themselves and not the colour of their skin. The rules of the game don’t say that we call a game according to the race or society that a certain team belongs to.” Bird rejected that proposition, saying that his team had even adopted a slower pace in response to the argument that it’s run-and-gun style was the reason they were getting so many fouls called against them. “We were getting a lot of fouls playing run-and-gun, so we slowed up our style to accommodate the officiating. But it didn’t help.” Lasuik said the Wolverines run-and-gun approach led to the fouls. “They are a high-tempo team from what I heard, whether he thinks they calmed down or not, they didn’t in that game. From talking to people who were at the game, I was told there were more fouls being called against his team but that was simply because his team was playing more aggressive and when you do that you get more fouls. It’s as simple as that.” The aboriginal community in Manitoba had been deliberately whether to create their own league for high school sports because of their belief that there was systemic racism in the existing regime. But Bird said he opposed the notion when it was first proposed a few years earlier. “Why should we have to do that? Why can’t we play with everybody else?”
In the bronze medal match, the 4th-seeded Ste. Anne Pointe des Chenes Les Cavaliers defeated the Hodgson Peguis Wolverines by default. The Wolverines (coached by Allen Bird) included Clayton Bird, Cliff Kirkness.
In the final, the top-seeded Boissevain Broncos defeated the Carberry Cougars 68-57.
The bronze medalist Ste. Anne Pointe des Chenes Les Cavaliers: Paul Chaput; Graham Carter; Jean Luc LaFleche;
The silver medalist Carberry Cougars: Brendan Duerkson; Tom Duerkson;
The gold medalist Boissevain Broncos: Daniel Waldron; Brad Neufeld; Brad Reimer; Darren Peters; Mike Peters; Carson Dyck; David Rainnie; coach Darren Hardy; coach Rod Tutkaluke