Tuesday, May 9, 2023

Roughriders’ Johnson enjoys giving back to game of football

By Darren Steinke
Gordie Howe Sports Complex

Evan Johnson, left, helps coach at Playground To Pros.
Evan Johnson will always have his calendar open for Playground To Pros and tries to make room in his busy life to give back to the sport of football as much as he can.

Johnson is best known for suiting up as a right guard on the offensive line of the CFL’s Saskatchewan Roughriders. In Saskatoon, he is remembered for taking the field from 2012 to 2016 to play in the trenches on offence for the University of Saskatchewan Huskies Football Team in the U Sports ranks.

During the off-season, Johnson makes his home in Saskatoon with his wife Dallis and son Maverick. He trains for the upcoming CFL campaign at Ignite Athletics at the Indoor Training Centre on the Gordie Howe Sports Complex grounds. Having obtained an engineering degree at the U of S, Johnson also works with Pinter & Associates Limited, which is a Saskatoon based company that provides a wide range of engineering services.

Along with training on the football front, Johnson plans to always have his calendar open to help coach with Saskatoon Minor Football’s annual Playground To Pros camp that is usually held in April. The Playground To Pros camp helps develop skills and fundamentals for young football players at the grassroots level. This year’s Playground To Pros camp ran from April 11 to 13 at the Indoor Training Centre.

“It is awesome,” said Johnson, who stands 6-foot-4 and weighs 290 pounds. “I love coaching.

“The kids are awesome. This is my second year with Playground To Pros. I had it circled on the calendar for a long time.

“I was just waiting to get back out here. I just have such a good time with all the kids. It is a good time.”

Johnson said his experiences at the Playground To Pros camp have been rewarding.

“I like teaching them new skills,” said Johnson. “I like having those lightbulb moments where they kind of get it.

“Football is obviously a difficult sport. It has lots of adversity and lots of physicality to it. Some kids really get it.

Evan Johnson, second from left, gets a chuckle while overseeing a drill.
“Some kids learn it along the way, and it is just kind of fun to be part of their journey.”

On top of helping out with Playground To Pros, Evan and Dallis, who is originally from Canwood, Sask., donated to the Saskatoon Valkyries of the Western Women’s Canadian Football League last year to cover the fees for one player. They donated to the Huskies last year too and plan to donate to both the Valkyries and Huskies again this year.

Dallis played defensive back for the Valkyries from 2016 to 2020 and helped them win WWCFL titles in 2016 and 2019. Evan helped out as an assistant coach with the team during that time. Dallis also served as a Valkyries board member in 2020 and 2021.

Evan would like to help out a little more on the coaching front, but he is doing as much as his hectic life will allow at the moment. He also enjoys taking part in the Rider Reading Program that the Roughriders run through the Saskatchewan Roughrider Foundation.

“The Roughriders do have a program called Rider Reading, where players are able to go to different schools and different communities,” said Johnson. “I was able to spend a week going around Saskatchewan visiting different schools, reading to the young kids and kind of teaching them the importance of literacy and kind of the joy that myself and others get out of reading.”

One of Johnson’s great joys has been the fact he has played for the Roughriders the past two seasons. He broke into the league in 2017 with the Ottawa Redblacks, who selected Johnson in the first round and ninth overall in that year’s CFL Draft.

Johnson began starting with the Redblacks as a rookie and helped them make the Grey Cup game in 2018, where they dropped a 27-16 decision to the Calgary Stampeders. In February of 2021, Johnson signed with the Roughriders as a free agent and later agreed to an extension with the team in December of that same year after the club fell 21-17 in the West final to the eventual Grey Cup champion Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

Evan Johnson enjoys coaching the next generation of players.
“You know what they say there is no place like home,” said Johnson, who parents Marlon and Laurie reside in Regina. “I love being back in Saskatchewan.

“I was born and raised here. I plan to grow my family here. Saskatchewan has always and will always have a special place in my heart especially being a Roughrider and being able to do these things and give back to the community and just be around it.

“I still have family down in Regina too. I’m Saskatchewan through and through, and this is exactly where I want to be.”

During the off-season, Johnson said it has been a huge help to be able to train at Ignite and work with the coaches there to prepare for the upcoming CFL campaign.

“I love Ignite,” said Johnson. “I love the Gordie Howe Sports Complex.

“This indoor facility has been awesome for us as well. It really gives us a chance to elevate our training. We have guys from all across the league from all over the place, we come here.

“We train together. We compete with each other. We make each other better, and I can’t think of a better facility to facilitate that.”

Johnson and the Roughriders will be on the Complex’s grounds on Saturday, May 20 as the Roughriders hold their annual Green and White Day at Saskatoon Minor Football Field. Roughriders President and CEO Craig Reynolds, Vice-President, General Manager Jeremy O’Day and Head Coach Craig Dickenson will give the Roughriders State of the Nation address and host a fan question and answer session at 1 p.m.

The Green and White game follows at 3 p.m. The afternoon will be great for families as there will be many kids’ activities include face painting, music, inflatables, performances by the 620 CKRM Pep Band, the 620 CKRM Rider Cheer Team and Gainer the Gopher. Following the Green and White game, fans are invited to line the fences for a player autograph session.

The Roughriders will hold rookie camp from May 10 to 12 at Griffiths Stadium at the U of S and open main training camp at that same location on May 14.

Evan Johnson, second from left, hangs out with a group of coaches.
While the Roughriders missed the CFL post-season in 2022, Johnson believes the upcoming 2023 campaign will be a great one for the team. Johnson will once again be blocking for veteran quarterback Trevor Harris. The two were teammates with the Redblacks in 2017 and 2018.

“It is optimistic,” said Johnson, who will turn 29-years-old on August 21. “It always has to be at this time.

“We’re starting up some meetings, and getting some things going. We’re getting the playbook figured out and distributed. We’re just chomping at the bit to get going here now.

“The countdown is on, and we can’t wait to start up camp in Saskatoon here.”

Spring season happenings finally hit high speed

By Gordie Howe Sports Complex staff
Gordie Howe Sports Complex

Haley Girolami makes a catch for the Valkyries on May 7.
When spring arrived, it arrived quickly, and the outdoor facilities sprung into action on the Gordie Howe Sports Complex grounds.

For the longest time, it seemed like winter was content to just hang around. As of April 20, most of the outdoor facilities at the Complex were under the cover of snow. Around that time, football groups were getting practices and training sessions done in snowy conditions at Saskatoon Minor Football Field.

With the snow development, baseball and softball teams along with some football groups continue to train and hold modified scrimmages in the friendly confines of the Indoor Training Centre waiting for the weather to warm up.

At the start of the final week of April, spring conditions finally took hold. Football groups were able to use Saskatoon Minor Football Field in dry conditions. The mix in weather created the opportunity to put together a variety of indoor and outdoor pictures for our photo roundup.

Our lead photo comes from the Saskatoon Valkyries WWCFL regular season opener on May 7 with a catch from star receiver Haley Girolami. Girolami hauled in nine passes for 111 yards and scored one touchdown in a 34-7 win over the Regina Riot.

The first part of our photo roundup features scenes from Saskatoon Minor Football’s annual Playground To Pros camp held at the Indoor Training Centre just before the midway part of April. Players of all skill levels had a huge amount of fun developing skills and fundamentals.

The photo roundup goes from there all the way to seeing the first action on the softball diamonds with a Saskatoon Selects under-19 team practice on May 1. Softball league action got going about a couple of days later.

Saskatoon Minor Football’s North Sask Academy started with league action, and SMF oversaw league action with the Rush High School Female Flag Football.

These photos capture some of the memories that are made on our grounds. In this photo roundup, all of these pictures were taken by our Communications Coordinator in Darren Steinke.

Without further ado, here is a selection of 13 shots we hope you enjoy.

Break on through

A young running back gets out of a tackling attempt while staying in bounds during a gauntlet drill at the Playground To Pros camp held on April 11 at the Indoor Training Centre. The young players at this camp run by Saskatoon Minor Football improved their skills quiet quickly.

Bullet pass

A quarterback at the Playground To Pros camp fires a pass to a receiver on a crossing route on April 12 at the Indoor Training Centre. The Indoor Training Centre allows for a variety of drills to take place at once, which is big for a camps like Playground To Pros, which develops skills.

Deep ball snag

A receiver shows textbook technique in hauling in a deep pass on the final day of the Playground To Pros camp on April 13 at the Indoor Training Centre. Players look forward to the final day of the camp as they get to show what they learned in a series of scrimmage games.

Coaching up the kids

Riley Pickett, who is a defensive lineman for the British Columbia Lions, gives a group of players instructions before calling a defensive play during a scrimmage on the final day of the Playground To Pros camp held on April 13 at the Indoor Training Centre. A number of players from around the CFL helped with the camp. Pickett is also an alum of the CJFL’s Saskatoon Hilltops and the University of Saskatchewan Huskies Football Team in the U Sports ranks.

Off to the races

A Saskatoon Phantoms base runner takes off on the base paths during a scrimmage between two Phantoms squads on April 22 at the Indoor Training Centre. As a snowfall earlier in the week delayed outdoor practices, teams like the Phantoms enjoy being able to use the Indoor Training Centre to get work in.

In for the flag football sack

A defender from Bishop James Mahoney High School get the flag of a quarterback for a sack in a Rush High School Female Flag Football game on April 24 at Saskatoon Minor Football Field. The players from the Rush league jumped into the season with lots of energy and enthusiasm.

Looking the ball in

A receiver tracks the ball into his hands at a Saskatoon Minor Football North Sask Academy practice on April 24 at Saskatoon Minor Football Field. The North Sask Academy program showcases some of the best players in Grades 8 to 12 from Saskatoon and area.

High point interception

Saskatoon Valkyries linebacker Emmarae Dale makes an interception during a drill at a team practice on April 27 at Saskatoon Minor Football Field. The defending WWCFL champion Valkyries are known for getting maximum results at their practice sessions.

Outdoor practice at last

An infielder makes a catch at third base during an infield fielding drill at a Saskatoon Selects Under-19 team practice on May 1 at Glenn Reeve Field #4. The Selects practice was one of the first outdoor sessions to take place on any of our softball and baseball diamonds this year.

Night time special at Bob Van Impe Stadium

It doesn’t matter the night of the week. For the softball/fastpitch community, it is always a joy to play under the lights at Bob Van Impe Stadium. In this game from May 4, a Dry Creek Penguins pitcher sends an off-speed pitch to the plate to keep a batter off balance. The Penguins beat the Saskatoon Padres 9-2 in this encounter.

Cool under pressure

A quarterback fires a pass downfield while under pressure from a defensive lineman during league action for Saskatoon Minor Football’s North Sask Academy on May 5 at Saskatoon Minor Football Field. Players in the academy league are drafted to teams, so you will often see players from the same school teams going head-to-head.

Eyolfson delivers again for Valkyries

Star quarterback Alex Eyolfson had another big game for the Saskatoon Valkyries in their WWCFL regular season opener on May 7 at Saskatoon Minor Football Field. Eyolfson completed 23-of-36 passes for 275 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions in a 34-7 victory over the Regina Riot.

Gang tackle Valkyries style

A number of players from the Saskatoon Valkyries defence gangs up to tackle of Regina Riot running back Bethany O’Toole on May 7 at Saskatoon Minor Football Field. The Valkyries defence held the Riot to 96 yards of net offense in a 34-7 win to open the regular season for both clubs.