Slater Leads St. John’s to Best
Record in two Decades
By Scott Taylor, Photo credit Phil Starr/Phil Starr Photography
Ryan Slater has every reason
to be proud of his son, Rain.
He’s a polite young man who
loves his family and does well
in school.
He’s also 6-foot-4, nearly
300 pounds and might be the
best all-around lineman –
both offence and defense – in
the Winnipeg High School
Football League.
Although the football
season ended early for
Slater’s St. John’s Tigers, after
the team lost to Dryden
in the Currie Division
semifinals, it was still a remarkably
successful season at St. John’s.
In fact, the last time the St. John’s
Tigers had five wins in a season, Kim
Campbell was Prime Minister, Meat
Loaf had the No. 1 song in Canada and
the Winnipeg Blue Bombers just went
14-4 and were headed to the Grey
Cup. This year, thanks in no small
way to the toughness, size, ability and
heart of Rain Slater, the Tigers went
5-1, finished tied for first in the Currie
Division and reached the playoffs for
the first time in more than a decade.
By the way, Rain Slater is just
15-years-old.
“He’s such a nice friendly young guy
but he’s also quite impressive on the
football field,” Ryan said of his son.
“Recruit Ready has turned him into
a beast. I have recorded every game
this season and no one can stop him.
When St. John’s has the ball within the
opposition’s 10-yard-line, they call
for his slot and he clears the way to
the end zone for the quarterback or
the runningback. The team has really
come together. It has great chemistry
and great coaching and they fan base
is growing.
“Remember, until this season, St.
John’s had two wins and a tie since
2011. That adds up to about 23 losses.
This season they lost their first game
14 / sportslife
Rain Slater and his grandmother
and have now won five in a row. Rain
has had another growth spurt and is
now 6-foot-4 (he started the season at
6-foot-2) and now weighs 300 pounds.
He’s faster than ever.”
Primarily an offensive lineman,
the quiet, humble Slater has played
almost every offensive snap and two
series on defense. In those six plays,
he has two sacks.
However, many people believe
Slater should be playing in the Triple
A Potter Division with St. Paul’s or
Massey or Oak Park. Slater, however,
loves St. John’s for a whole lot of
reasons.
For one thing, the team is 75-80
per cent First Nation and Metis. For
another, it’s a team loaded with Rain’s
friends and family. According to his
dad, River Fontaine, Xavier Nepinak
and Jordan Thomas are “all blood
relatives.”
Before the season started, Rain was
contacted by Canada Prep in Ontario.
Canada Prep is the school UND
runningback Brady Oliveira attended
before coming back to play his final
year of high school at Oak Park.
However, Rain declined, saying he had
committed to St. John’s when he was
in Grade 7 and was going to keep his
word.