Receiver playing out final high
school season with Bears
By Darren
Steinke
Gordie Howe Sports Complex
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| Ben Blackburn is one of Saskatoon high school football’s best players. |
His father David was a receiver for the University of Saskatchewan Huskies Football Team from 1989 to 1994, which included being a member of their 1990 Vanier Cup winner as U Sports champions. Ben’s older brother Brady is currently a receiver for the Harvard University Crimson.
Ben’s
oldest sibling in sister Lucie is a flag football player and was a member of
the U of Saskatchewan Huskies Women’s Track and Field Team. Ben’s mother
Lariene is also an alumna of the U of Saskatchewan Huskies Women’s Track and
Field Team.
Looking at
his family tree, it comes as no surprise that Ben is the sure-handed Grade 12
pass catcher with the Bears and arguably one of Saskatoon’s best high school
players at the moment. When asked who might be the best football player in the
family, Ben quickly sided with the women.
“I want to
say me, but Lucie is pretty good at football,” said Ben, who can make magic returning kicks as well. “I bet if my Mom tried
to play football, she’d be pretty good too.
“It is
probably one of the girls, honestly. It is probably one of the girls.”
While football runs deep in his family, it wasn’t the sport Ben played
seriously at first. Once Brady began playing football, Ben wasn’t too far
behind.
“We were
all the hockey family,” said Ben, who stands 5-foot-9 and weighs 170 pounds.
“Brady started playing football, and I was like, yeah, I want to play football
too.
“I’ve
played football since Grade 7 and just fell in love with it ever since.”
Ben said one of the things he liked most about football was there was
always an opportunity to become an even better player than you are in the
present day. He also loves the relationships he has built with his teammates
over the years, especially the players on the Bears.
“The team,
the guys are so great,” said Ben, who will turn 18-years-old on November 9. “We
had a great team this year and all years past.
“It is just so fun to be around.”
One of Ben’s biggest early highlights playing for the Bears came when he got to be part of the senior team as a Grade 9 student in 2023. That was the one high school season Ben got to play alongside Brady, who was in his Grade 12 campaign that year for the Bears. The pair made lots of great plays on the Saskatoon Minor Football Field turf located at the Gordie Howe Sports Complex.
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| Ben Blackburn (#4) listens to instructions on the sidelines. |
“I was just a youngin. It was just great energy. It was a battle every practice.
“And just
having him on the team, it really helped me just like with my confidence and
him just showing me the way.”
Now suiting up as a Grade 12 senior, Ben’s ties to the Bears have become
deep.
“It has
been amazing,” said Ben. “It is just a family at this point.
“The
coaches, it is not like they’re freaking 60 and just kind of bossing us around.
It is really super cohesive and lots of energy. They focus us.
“They want
us to get better every practice and just push us to be the best we can.”
Bears head coach Will Redl has been a long-time teacher at Aden Bowman,
and one of his blessings has been working with Ben and his family members over
the years.
“Well, Ben
is like the third Blackburn I’ve had the opportunity to teach and coach,” said
Redl. “I had his sister and his brother and him being the youngest of all.
“He is just
another Blackburn to me. He is really driven. He has a desire to be the best at
whatever he does, and I think he has obviously proved it.”
Redl said
Ben does lots of things well when it comes to the sport of football.
“I think as an individual, obviously, his speed,” said Redl. “He works a lot at it.
“To be as fast as he is doesn’t just happen. His desire to catch every ball and to work like that. Albeit, he is a smaller player, but he plays bigger than his size.
“I think as
a teammate though that is what stands out even more is that he is not secluding
himself from his teammates or trying to distance himself. He wants to be a part
of things, and he leads in that way too.”
Away from
the game, Redl said Ben and his family are outstanding.
“All the
Blackburn kids are great kids,” said Redl. “They’re wired the right way.
“They
understand sport and that it is not always going to go their way. They have to
still be good people off the field or court. I think it comes a lot as a family
and Ben (Blackburn) just does that every day.”
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| Ben Blackburn (#55) is part of Aden Bowman’s track and field program. |
“I think it is really beneficial,” said Blackburn. “I think I can see my speed translating onto the football field.
“It is just
another thing to push myself and just try to win. You’ve got some buddies on
the track team, and it is just a great time. I know in the past my long speed
wasn’t great, but then track really helped.
“I just
kind of put it all together and still hope I can get faster.”
As the 2026
high school football season enters its final weeks, Ben said it doesn’t seem
real that his time with the Bears is nearing an end.
“It is
crazy,” said Blackburn. “It seems like yesterday it was that Grade 9 team.
“It is sad
in a way, but it gets to this time. We’ve just got to go as far as we can.”
He is pumped his family has been with him for his whole journey in the
sport and naturally credits them as being his biggest influences in helping him
along the way.
“My
brother, his work ethic is like no one else,” said Ben. “He has really
instilled that in me.
“Just the
support I get from my parents and my sister, it just really pushes me. I think
it just makes me a better person overall.”
As for
playing football beyond high school, Ben said at the moment he prefers to soak
in everything living in the present.
“We’re just
going to ride out this season,” said Blackburn. “We’re waiting on a few things.
“Hopefully,
I’ll be playing football somewhere next season.”
Redl
believes Ben will get his chances to continue the sport after high school and
will be in the game for a longer term of time.
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| Ben Blackburn (#4) wants make a few more end zone visits this season. |
“I think he
(Ben) will reap some of the benefits of that.”
To see the 2026 schedule for high school football, check out the Saskatoon Secondary Schools Athletics Directorate site at sssad.net/schedule/.
