Running back one of Saskatoon’s
most exciting players
By Darren
Steinke
Gordie Howe Sports Complex
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| Aulain Penner drives downfield in the 2023 SHSAA 6A final. |
Every time the running back from Saskatoon’s Holy Cross High School Crusaders gets his hands on the football, the potential for something special to happen is there. When he is handed the ball out of the backfield, he can juke, jive, spin and burst in the mold of Barry Sanders.
When he
catches the ball out of the backfield, he can take the reception all the way
like Marshall Faulk. On kick off, punt and missed field goal returns, Penner
can make crazy happen like Henry “Gizmo” Williams in ducking big guys and high
hurdling small guys.
In the
spring and summer, he continued to do all those things playing in Saskatoon
Minor Football’s North Sask Academy program.
Now, the
Grade 12 student, who will turn 17-years-old in early October, is playing out
his final season with the Crusaders. He is looking to make the most in creating
a last batch of memories with the team.
“It is pretty crazy,” said Penner. “Even though I’ve played
two years of senior before this, it goes really fast.
“Once football season is over, it is just like, you know, it
is hard. It is always like, ‘Oh. I have next season.’ But this year, this is my
last season, so you’ve got to make it count.
“It’s weird realizing that this is my last time ever with
these guys playing on this field for Holy Cross.”
Penner
started playing organized football in Grade 2 first in SMF’s flag football
system due to his cousin’s father being a flag football coach. He had been
playing hockey, but football started to take over as the sporting love that resulted
in Penner playing in SMF’s various programs.
“I played all of SMF five-a-side flag football,” said
Penner. “Then, Grade 6 came around, and I played six-a-side (tackle football).
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| Aulain Penner (#26) breaks out a tackle attempt by a defender. |
Penner
enjoyed playing six-a-side for Blackburn, who was a star receiver for the
University of Saskatchewan Huskies Football Team from 1990 to 1994. Blackburn
helped the Huskies win the Vanier Cup in 1990 and fall in an overtime
heartbreaker in the 1994 Vanier Cup. He would be a receivers coach on the
Huskies 1996 and 1998 Vanier Cup winners.
On top of
having good mentors along the way, Penner’s finds his biggest joys in the game
come from simple moments.
“I like scoring touchdowns I’m not going to lie,” said
Penner. “I like running fast, and I like scoring touchdowns.
“I like beating other people.”
Penner’s
abilities have impressed former CFL player Tom Schnitzler, who joined the
Crusaders coaching staff last season as their offensive coordinator. Schnitzler
took on the team’s head coach role this season after Scott Hundseth retired
from teaching. Schnitzler, who helped the Saskatoon Hilltops win CJFL titles in
2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017, has enjoyed the short time he has coached Penner.
“It has been obviously a very big help to our team,” said
Schnitzler. “He (Penner) is a tremendous athlete and a really good kid too.
“He is a more quiet, softer demeanour guy, but on the field
he turns it up and obviously is a special athlete. He is very fast, very strong
and explosive. We’re going to lean on him a bit this year for sure.”
Schnitzler
said Penner’s most notable strength is his speed.
“He is a sprinter,” said Schnitzler. “He is a provincial
level sprinter on our track team.
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| Aulain Penner has made numerous big plays for the Crusaders. |
Over the
years, Penner has worked on becoming a more physical player, and he believes he
has improved a lot in that department
“I’ve always been like a faster guy on the field, so I
always felt going outside was better,” said Penner, who stands 5-foot-9. “Now,
I’ve gotten bigger.
“I’m around 190 pounds now, so I can go in A-gap. I can like
put the shoulder down and break out of tackles. That’s probably where I
progressed the most.”
Penner said
in KFL he was able to rely on his athletic ability to make plays, but at the
high school level, he has to play smarter as well as being more physical. The
skilled ball carrier said you had to focus more on running plays like the
coaches laid out in order to have success.
“Guys are bigger,” said Penner.“Guys are faster.
“They know how to tackle better and cover better. They’re
smarter on the field, and they’re just smarter people. You can’t just go
outside every time.
“You’ve got to follow your blocks and actually use it.”
Penner
believes he has become a better player and person playing for the Crusaders. With
the storied history the Crusaders have, he said you get motivated to help carry
on the team’s legacy and live up to a standard.
The dynamic
player said he focuses on acting right and playing respectfully. He said the
Crusaders players have fun, but they make sure to carry themselves with class.
In last season’s
Saskatchewan High Schools Athletic Association’s 6A provincial championship
game played at SMF Field on November 11, 2023, Penner learned how to deal with
some adversity. Locked in a 10-10 tie with Regina’s Miller Comprehensive Catholic
High School Marauders, a handoff between then Crusaders quarterback Elias Flory
and Penner was mishandled when Holy Cross was pinned on its one yard-line.
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| Aulain Penner is playing his final high school football season in 2024. |
The Holy
Cross star is aware of Saskatoon’s provincial football title curse at the 6A
level. The last Saskatoon school to win the 6A provincial title was the Aden
Bowman Collegiate Bears back in 2009, when the 6A level was known as 4A. The
levels of high school football were reclassified in Saskatchewan following the
2018-19 school year.
Holy
Cross’s last provincial title win in football came back in 1995. The Crusaders
have lost all 10 of their provincial championship game appearances since their
last title triumph.
“I really want to win it this year,” said Penner. “Last year
was more like I felt bad for the seniors.
“I want to win it this year not as much for me, but for the
seniors last year and just for Saskatoon in general. We haven’t won it in like
15 years, especially Holy Cross. You know, I’m not even just doing it for me or
this school.
“I’m doing it for like all the Saskatoon schools showing
that we can run provincial football down here too.”
Schnitzler
said in the situation of the botched handoff you console the players,
persevere, move on and remember you win as a team and lose as a team. The
sideline boss said the Crusaders coaches were proud of Penner and their players
on the team. Looking beyond this season, Schnitzler believes Penner can have a
long future in the sport.
“You know what, for him, I think it is how far he wants to
take it and commit to it,” said Schnitzler. “I think he is a hard-working kid,
hard-working athlete.
“If he keeps working hard, the only thing that can hold him
back is himself. I think he is on the right track, and I definitely do see him
playing post-secondary football at some point.”
Penner said
the offers to play football at the post-secondary level are coming in, but he
hasn’t made any commitments on where he will go. He aspires to play at the
professional level.
At the moment, he doesn’t want to miss out cherishing his final campaign playing for the Crusaders. Overall, his best memories come from being with his teammates.
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| Aulain Penner (#26) handles reaching the end zone with grace. |
“That has got to be the best time and practices. Practices, they’re hard work, but they’re fun. It is fun being with the guys.”
To see the 2024 schedule for high school football, check out the Saskatoon Secondary Schools Athletics Directorate site at sssad.net/schedule/.
