The 2025 Prairie Football Conference season will kick off on Sunday with all six teams in action. The defending champion, Regina Thunder, will be in Edmonton to take on the Huskies, while the Saskatoon Hilltops travel to Winnipeg, and Calgary will face the Edmonton Wildcats.
Regina Thunder linebacker Kenton Effa is ready for the season, and then some. Effa has been practicing with the Saskatchewan Roughriders this summer. I asked the Yorkton native if his opportunity to practice with the riders has resulted in him getting a key to the city of Yorkton.
“I don't know about that. I'd say being given this opportunity to play on the Riders and practice with the Riders has been like a lot of hard work combined with a lot of support from my family, all my coaches through the high school program, and the Thunder. I've had great coaching, ultimately giving me this opportunity to practice with the Riders.
Effa admits that it was eye opening to waking into a locker room with the likes of Samuel Emilus, Kian Schaeffer-Baker, and Malik Carney.
“I've been a rider fan since I can remember, right? That's my first experience with football, my first love, watching the Riders. I've been sitting in the stadium as long as I can remember. So yeah, of course, that first day was really like a dream come true, to be quite honest with you. And yeah, like I'd say, it's becoming a little bit more normal now, and I'm starting to settle in, but those first few days are definitely an eye-opener.
Effa and the Regina Thunder enter 2025 as the defending Prairie Football Conference champions. However, a loss in the national semi-final to the Okanagan Sun has motivated him and his teammates this off-season.
“Yeah. As I'm playing on the Riders, right now, my first and utmost focus is on the Thunder. That's my priority. And my priority is to do everything I can to help our team reach our ultimate goal, a national championship. So yeah, that loss hurt us. And it's fueled us for the off-season. We've had a long, hard months working out at Level 10. We've had 40, 50 guys a night there all grinding. And there's something to be said when you're working hard with your teammates all together at once: it pushes you to be better, become bigger, faster, and stronger, and prepares you for this next season.
As the PFC regular season approaches, Effa will continue to work out with the green and white, which can lead to a long day.
“What my day will look like is I come in at about 7 a.m. and just get my body ready, do some stretching and then have breakfast here at Mosaic. They do a great job feeding the guys, and then I have meetings from like 8 a.m. – 10 a.m. and then at 10:20, we're out for practice until about 1 p.m. Then there's some more post-practice meetings and after that, I'll probably hit the tubs, do some recovery, watch some film.”
That is when Effa switches from the Riders’ green and white to the maroon and white of the Regina Thunder.
“At about 4:30 p.m., there's a team lift with the Thunder, which I'll probably take a little bit easy on. But then we got meetings for the Thunder at 6 p.m. and then 7 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. practice. Then our coach, Dawson, our defensive coordinator, will probably hold us in for more post-practice meetings. So it's a lot of meetings, recovery, and taking care of your body.”
Despite a busy training day, Effa doesn’t want it any other way.
“I've really just fallen in love with the process. That's what you've got to do. You've got to look at it every day. Like it's a long day, but I get to do this. If I weren't doing this, I'd be out laying concrete for the city of Regina. That was my job before I got this opportunity. So you really got to come in every day with just the, like, be gracious and be thankful that I'm where I am right now.”
The Regina Thunder will open their season on the road in Edmonton on Sunday, August 10, where they will take on the Huskies. Effa views it as a way to start the season on the right foot.
“It's going to be crucial. The Huskies, they gave us a really good game last year. They're a great program. Every time we play them, it will be a physical battle. They're one of the most physical teams in the league. So through training camp, we've emphasized getting ourselves ready and really, ready on the defensive side. We've been focusing on stopping the run because we know they're a real physical team with a big O-line and running backs. They're going to be pounding the rock. So we've been getting prepared for that.”
The Thunder's first home game is in week three when they'll host the Edmonton Huskies on Sunday, August 24th. Tickets are available through the Thunder website. And that's the junior football report.
