Korah football star ready to tackle her competition at nationals

No barrier is too thick for Korah Collegiate’s Lilliana Sawchyn – the high school’s only girl on the senior boys’ football team.

The resilient 17-year-old linebacker is getting ready to represent Team Ontario at the second edition of the Women’s U18 Tackle National Championship in Ottawa next month – also known as the Canada Cup.

Finishing up her Grade 11 year this week, Sawchyn is the only female player from Sault Ste. Marie to make the provincial team.

“I’m really looking forward to it,” she says.

But the road to playing under the nation’s brightest lights for girls’ football didn’t come without hard work and a variety of challenges along the way.

Growing up, Sawchyn enjoyed playing football with her twin brother Ashton on the local youth teams that were dominated by boys.

After taking some time away from the sport in her pre-teen years, Sawchyn put her abilities to the test in other sports like hockey and ringette.

The young athlete was ready to get back into football when she went to Korah in 2020, but her Grade 9 year was quashed as COVID forced the shutdown of all high school sports.

“Missing a whole season seemed like a disadvantage, but it also gave me a lot more time to train on my own,” she says. “That made a huge difference because some people made an effort to improve themselves over that time and some of them didn’t, and it really showed when we got back.”

Having built a name for herself on the junior team in 2021, the linebacker cracked a spot on Korah’s senior boys' football roster this past season – the only girl to do so.

Her Colts squad later went on to win their fourth consecutive OFSAA provincial title.

“It’s a good experience,” she says. “I do think about being the only girl sometimes. Korah has a really inclusive environment in their program, and they’ve made it a lot easier. There’s some big guys for sure, but you just have to deal with it.”

Korah’s senior boys football coach Tom Annett says Sawchyn is one of the strongest female athletes that the school has ever seen.

While being the lone girl on a team full of boys can be intimidating, Sawchyn has thrived in that environment according to the head coach.

“She seems unfazed by that,” Annett says. “It’s just a non-issue. Everyone on the team respects her because she works so hard.”

“When the boys hit Grade 11 and 12 – that’s when they really mature and you see that separation from the male and female athletes. But what Lilliana has been able to do in the weight room I think has really allowed her to still be very competitive at the senior level playing against the boys.”

“She’s squatting, deadlifting, and benching more than a lot of the guys we have on the senior team.”

Although the high school football season came to an end last fall, Sawchyn’s athletics, and ultimately her work to achieve provincial and national success, hasn’t stopped.

In the winter months, Sawchyn competed as a goaltender with her ringette team and the girls’ Soo Jr Greyhounds AA team.

More recently, the multi-sport Korah athlete represented her school at OFSAA again when she competed in track and field for discus.

“Those sports work on fitness, so if you build on your speed in one of them, it’s going to help with the other,” she says.

Looking to take her football talents to a new level, Sawchyn headed to southern Ontario in May for a Canada Cup tryout, and a chance to compete on the country’s biggest stage for young female football players.

Shortly after, the determined linebacker found out that she had made the cut and would get the opportunity to compete as a member of the U18 Team Ontario women's tackle football team in July.

“I’m the only player from the Sault on the girls’ team so it’s really cool,” she says. “My family has been very supportive. Any opportunity that I have and want to take – they’re always in it with me.”

Sawchyn’s parents – Lorrie and Trevor – are beyond ecstatic for their daughter.

“She amazes me,” Lorrie says. “She doesn't hesitate to do things just because she doesn't know anyone, or because she's the only girl in a sea of boys.”

Korah’s football coach describes Sawchyn as a trailblazer for the women’s game, and he has zero doubt that the young phenom will find success in Ottawa next month.

“I think she’ll do great,” Annett says. “The Canada Cup’s the pinnacle, and she’s the only one at the high school level who made it. I think she can compete with the best female football players in the country no problem.”

“I do think we have a good chance,” Lilliana adds. “We have a lot of good players (on Team Ontario) from what I saw at the tryout. I think we can definitely work together well and something could come out of it for sure.”

While girls’ football is yet to be offered at many high schools and universities across the country, Sawchyn describes the Canada Cup as a step in the right direction for growing the game.

“There’s lots of room for it to grow still,” she says. “Even in high school, I’m on a guy’s team which is a great experience. But in the future, they may want to have girls’ teams as it becomes more popular, so there’s definitely some growing to do there.”

“I’m looking to play as long as I can, but really I’m looking for opportunities later on, so whatever comes up I’ll probably take. I’m taking it shorter term and trying to push myself constantly. Wherever I get to – I’ll take that.”

The Women’s U18 Tackle National Championship will feature seven provincial teams and the National Indigenous Team in Ottawa from July 23-29.

Sawchyn’s twin brother Ashton clinched a reserve spot on the Canada Cup’s U18 boys’ team, and he’ll join Colts teammate Kaylob Thibodeau as the squad’s back-ups in Edmonton next month.