Darren Yewchyn (born September 15, 1965) is a Canadian former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

who played two seasons with the

Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division (CFL), West division. They play thei ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

(CFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

College of the Siskiyous College of the Siskiyous (COS) is a public community college with campuses in Weed and Yreka in Siskiyou County in Northern California. It is part of the California Community Colleges System, serving as the northernmost college in the state ...

Early life and college

Darren Yewchyn was born on September 15, 1965, in

Windsor, Ontario Windsor ( ) is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada. It is situated on the south bank of the Detroit River directly across from the U.S city of Detroit, Detroit, Michigan. Geographically located within but administratively independent of Esse ...

. For high school, he first attended Miles Macdonell Collegiate in

Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

before transferring to

River East Collegiate River East Collegiate is a public high school located in Winnipeg, Manitoba, that belongs to the River East Transcona School Division. River East has a school population of approximately 1,250 students. The school colours are blue and white and ...

in Winnipeg. He played

at the

from 1985 to 1986, spending time at both tailback and

outside linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the lin ...

Professional career

Yewchyn signed with the

of the

(CFL) on May 19, 1987. He began the 1987 season on the

practice roster In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scou ...

but was later activated to play

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their position. Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

. Overall, he played in six games for the Blue Bombers that year, recovering a blocked punt for 22 yards and returning one kick for one yard before fumbling the ball. His blocked punt recovery set up the game-winning field goal in the 24–23 victory over the

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team based in Toronto, Ontario. The Argonauts compete in the East Division (CFL), East Division of t ...

on November 1, 1987. Yewchyn was initially listed as a

slotback Slotback (SB), also called slot receiver, is an offensive position in gridiron football responsible for covering a ''slot,'' the playing area between the⁣⁣ offensive tackle and the wide receiver. A player who lines up between those two pl ...

that season before switching to

safety Safety is the state of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings The word 'safety' entered the English language in the 1 ...

. Yewchyn played in 14 games during the 1988 season, totaling one tackle and one fumble recovery for 17 yards. He was listed as a

that season. The Blue Bombers finished the year with a 9–9 record and eventually advanced to the

76th Grey Cup The 76th Grey Cup was the 1988 Canadian Football League championship game that was played at Lansdowne Park in Ottawa, between the BC Lions and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. The Blue Bombers defeated the favoured Lions 22–21. This was the first Gre ...

, where they beat the

BC Lions The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division (CFL), West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place. The Lions playe ...

by a score of 22–21. Yewchyn did not appear in any games in 1989, spending time on both the injured list and practice roster. He was released by the Blue Bombers in late June 1990 before the start of the

1990 CFL season The 1990 CFL season is considered to be the 37th season in modern-day Canadian football, although it is officially the 33rd Canadian Football League season. CFL news in 1990 J. Donald Crump was appointed as the eighth CFL Commissioner on ...

Personal life

After his football career, Yewchyn entered the food truck industry and opened a successful hot dog cart business in Winnipeg.

References

External links

Stats Crew profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yewchyn, Darren 1965 births Living people American football running backs American football linebackers Canadian football wide receivers Canadian football slotbacks Siskiyous Eagles football players Winnipeg Blue Bombers players Canadian football people from Winnipeg Players of Canadian football from Manitoba Players of American football from Manitoba Players of American football from Ontario Players of Canadian football from Ontario Sportspeople from Windsor, Ontario