Melfort native and Regina Thunder offensive lineman Logan Ferland came a long way from the second-year player he was in 2016 (Facebook/Regina Thunder Football Club).

By Aaron Schulze

Ferland For The Win

Melfort’s Logan Ferland wins Prairie Football Conference’s Outstanding Offensive Lineman award

Oct 29, 2019 | 10:00 AM

In his fifth and final season in the Canadian Junior Football League (CJFL), Melfort native Logan Ferland had high expectations of himself.

One of the 22-year-old veteran’s goals was to win the Prairie Football Conference’s (PFC) Outstanding Offensive Lineman award.

On Friday, Oct. 25, it was mission accomplished, as Ferland got the recognition he wanted when the PFC announced its major award winners.

“At this point in my career, as cocky as it sounds, I was kind of expecting it,” Ferland told northeastNOW. “I felt I had a really good season, and looking across the league I felt like I was one of the more dominant linemen this year. It was definitely an honour to get, but I was pretty hopeful and confident I would receive it.”

Ferland played his high school football at Melfort and Unit Comprehensive Collegiate before playing his first season with the Regina Thunder in 2015. Even after multiple seasons of competitive football, he admitted the 2019 season felt different.

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“It’s a weird feeling for sure to be in your last year, and honestly it’s the most nervous I’ve ever been for each and every game,” he said. “Just knowing this could be your last game against this opponent or at this field, it made you want to play that much harder to make your fifth year go out with a bang.”

With every game seeming like a milestone, Ferland said he couldn’t sit back and smell the roses of his final year on the gridiron due to his rigorous schedule.

However, the memories surfaced following Ferland’s final CJFL game, the Thunder’s 20-17 semi-final defeat at home on Oct. 20 against the Edmonton Huskies.

“I sat on the field for a while, took it all in and thought ‘wow, those five years flew by,’” he said.

While Ferland’s CJFL career is over with hardware in hand, his football career could still be in the beginning stages.

Ferland has been on the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ practice roster for over a year, and he intends to work out hard during the final weeks of the Canadian Football League (CFL) season to impress the coaching staff and management.

“They keep it pretty quiet there,” Ferland said on whether the Riders have told him about their future plans with him. “Obviously focusing on the games ahead is a big priority, so they usually leave talks like that to the end of the season. But there’s going to be a lot of movement happening before next year.

“There are four or five linemen on their contract years, they’ve got three plus guys over 30-years-old, and they’re looking at developing players. I hope I can be one of those guys they want to develop.”

The Roughriders conclude their regular season on Saturday, Nov. 2 at Mosaic Stadium in Regina against the Edmonton Eskimos at 2 p.m.

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aaron.schulze@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @SchulzePANow