RAMS Newspaper Articles
April 29, 2008
Shane Jones
News Staff
Tuesday April 29, 2008
TEN RAMS MAKE UNDER 17 SQUAD
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| Facey running back Anthony Myroon was one of eight Falcons selected for Team Alberta U-17 North. News File Photo |
It looked pretty good when Sherwood Park managed to land nearly a quarter of the players on the North team for the annual Senior Bowl high school football all-star game.
But that almost paled in comparison to a second list of star players put out a week later when they selected the Team Alberta U-17 North squad that will compete this summer for the Football Canada Cup.
A 36-person team was chosen at the frigid tryouts just over a week ago at Foote Field and a sweet 16 Park players survived the final cuts, making up 44.4 per cent of the North team. By comparison, Edmonton, with about 10 times our population, only contributed seven players or 19 per cent.
But even with such a huge contribution from a single community, Football Alberta technical director Tim Enger says it really doesn’t come as that big of a surprise.
“It’s not a secret what is going on in Sherwood Park,” he said. “You look at the lists of championship teams at both the minor league and high school levels and they are littered with Sherwood Park teams. And this isn’t a new phenomenon. The bantam Rams didn’t win provincials last year but they had won the previous four. So there were bound to be a few good players kicking around Sherwood Park. You look at the high school programs and they are all very well coached and organized and they push each other because they are so competitive with one another. It just means that the athletes that are coming into those programs are coming into places that are clicking on all cylinders so if they have any talent whatsoever it is going to be developed. That plays itself out in our selections. Perhaps the rest of Northern Alberta may raise an eyebrow or two when they see a list like that, but to us it is no surprise to see a lot of Sherwood Park kids on the team.”
Eight of the 16 county players come from the Facey Falcons. The great eight are running back Anthony Myroon, receiver Cole Bishop, offensive linemen Andrew Carefoot and Logan Trachuk, defensive lineman Geoff Piper, linebacker Dane Bishop and defensive backs Kyle Johnson and Jon Mora.
Archbishop Jordan made the next biggest contribution to the Team Alberta U-17 North roster with four athletes selected in running back Justin Gillet, offensive lineman Ryan DeGans, defensive lineman Pierre Aubin and linebacker Aaron Kuzyk.
Ardrossan and Sal Comp had two players each chosen, the Bisons with quarterback Kyle Dunlop and defensive lineman Dylan Wright and the Sal Sabres with linebacker Dallas Brikmanis and defensive back Kael Schryver.
All 16 Park products will suit up for Team Alberta U-17 North at the Football Canada Cup, running July 5-12 in Sherbrooke, Quebec.
APRIL 25
SIX FORMER RAMS MAKE TEAM NORTH
Park players earn 10 spots on North
Four each for Sal and Facey and two for Archbishop Jordan
Shane Jones
It says something about the strong state of the sport of football in Sherwood Park when you can land just as many players on an all-star team as all of Edmonton.
Ten Park players, nearly a quarter of the team and the same number as our much larger neighbour to the west contributed, have made it onto the North final roster for the upcoming 19th annual Senior Bowl high school football all-star game.
Sal Comp Sabres head coach Cam Fraser said it once again points to the Park’s prowess in the sport.
“It starts with the minor system and goes all the way up to high school,” he said.
“Either Sal or Facey has been to the Tier I provincial final in three of the last four years with one win and two runner-ups. That’s always going to translate to seeing kids on the Senior Bowl team because you can’t win without great athletes.”
“Basically 25 per cent of the team comes from Sherwood Park again,” said Bev Facey Falcons head coach Barclay Spady. “I think that is a real credit to the programs that we run here and the minor development that takes place.”
The Falcons had four graduating players crack the squad which features the best 41 players from Northern Alberta, including Red Deer.
Two Facey players – Michael Korte and Steven Prodan – will be on the offensive line with Adam Beaton earning a spot as a defensive back and Tanner Stevens as a linebacker.
“Those guys were outstanding players for us this season and outstanding leaders,” Spady said. “Steven and Mike on the offensive line, they are among the top players at their position in the province. they showcased that in the try-out. They played in a fairly mobile offence that required them to do a lot of things, so I don’t think it is a surprise that they made it. They both have great work ethics. They are both going to go on to do great things at the next level. Adam Beaton did just about everything for us this year. He was returning punts, kickoffs, played offence, played defence. He is a really versatile guy and a strong leader. It was great to see him do well at the camp. And Tanner is an outstanding leader, a real character, solid citizen-type. He has ambition to go on and play after high school so we think this will be a good stepping stone. We were pleased to see him make that team.”
The Sal Comp Sabres equalled Facey’s contributions with four players of their own cracking the North squad in receiver Nick Ross, defensive linemen Greg Frost and Ben Garry and linebacker Luke Leonard.
“Getting four players onto a team like that is always an honour,” Fraser said.
“Greg could have been a co-MVP for our team last year. He’s a great athlete. He’s physical but he also has a lot of quickness and speed. He’s going to the University of Calgary next year. Ben is a big strong kid who is able to bench 225 pounds 15 times in the testing. At defensive tackle he clogs up a hole as good as anyone in the province. Luke’s intangibles with how quick he is and how smart he is and how physical he is considering he’s not an overly large man, says a lot about him. And the one that really makes me feel great is Nick Ross. In Grade 10 he had a really severe reaction to getting his appendix taken out and lost 60 pounds. He’s been slowly working his way back from that and watching his progression coming back from that has been very rewarding.”
ABJ rounded out the Sherwood selection by placing two Scots on the team, linebacker Brett Farquharson and running back Ryan Granberg.
The Senior Bowl takes place on Monday, May 19, at Foote Field in Edmonton.
All 10 Park players will be hoping to impress in that contest and land spots on Team Alberta for the Football Canada Cup this summer in Quebec.
NOTE TO READERS OF THE RAMS WEBSITE
Had injuries not affected the ability of two further players to participate, Jordan Adamson with a serious ankle injury last season and Doug Rypstra who is sidelined this entire season with a shoulder injury, these two fine young men would have earned a spot on Team North. We wish both Jordan and Doug all the best and hope they continue with their football opportunities.