The five players from high schools in west central Saskatchewan selected to participate in Can-Am Bowl XXII gather for a group photo after the game on July 7 in Kerrobert. Above, left to right: Kyle Turk, Chad Westman, Joshua Piermantier, Carter Murphy and Clay MacKinnon. Team U.S.A. beat Team Canada by a score of 68-30. Below, auarterback Carter Murphy launches a touchdown pass in the second quarter of Can-Am Bowl XXII.
Kenneth Brown
of The Crossroads
Team U.S.A. has taken its ninth straight Can-Am Bowl after winning the annual high school football showdown in convincing fashion last weekend in Kerrobert.
Can-Am Bowl XXII took place on July 7 in Kerrobert. The game features Grade 12 six-man football players from Saskatchewan and Alberta versus a team consisting of players from Montana, Wyoming, Nebraska and North Dakota. Team U.S.A. defeated Team Canada by a score of 68-30.
In the 22-year history of the Can-Am Bowl, Team U.S.A. has now won a total of 18 times. Canada last won the game by a score of 17-16 in 2009, and the game was played in Carrot River. The game was closer than the score would indicate.
There was a crowd of approximately 500 people watching the game with several fans making the trip from the United States. Kerrobert hosted the game for a second consecutive year. There were other events throughout the week and the even included a 50/50 draw that ended up being $1,500 for the lucky winner.
The score was close after the first quarter with Team U.S.A. holding down a 14-8 lead. However, the Americans scored a touchdown on their first drive of the second quarter, and Canada was on its heels for the rest of the game.
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Turnovers and dropped passes were the undoing of the Canadians, but Team U.S.A. had a noticeable size advantage. What’s more, the visiting team had big kids that could run and those kids ran all over the Canadians during the second quarter. The score at halftime was 46-14.
There could have been a sense of optimism for any Canadians that saw the game in 2017. Team U.S.A. led Team Canada by a score of 51-9 at halftime, and the Canadians came back to lose the game 67-49. Team Canada could not muster the same result in 2018.
Canada was shut out in the third quarter and Team U.S.A. led 60-14 heading into the final quarter. The Canadians did manage to out score the Americans 16-8 in the fourth quarter, but the home team ran out of time.
Offensive star Ethan Douglas of Caronport was named the player of the game for Team Canada. Douglas scored two touchdowns including a long kick return. The player of the game for Team U.S.A. was Treyton Pickering of Sunburst, Mont., a tight end who scored three touchdowns.
West central Saskatchewan was well represented in the game with five players on the 20-man Team Canada roster. Carter Murphy, the starting quarterback, and lineman Clay MacKinnon from the Kerrobert Rebels, cornerback Chad Westman and back/receiver Kyle Turk from the Plenty Wildcats, and receiver Joshua Peirmanteir from the Rosetown Royals. MacKinnon was not able to play due to an injury, but he will continue his playing career with the Regina Thunder of the Canadian Junior Football League.
Coach Troy Snider of Team Canada, also the head coach of the Kerrobert Rebels, said his message to the team before the game was for the players to know each of their teammates would be willing to do anything for each other.
He noted that the mind set going into the game was for any player to take any assignment or role on any play to help the team have success and to make any player beside him better. The coach said players were gracious in defeat and he hopes the experience helps in the future.
“The way these boys responded to each other and their coaches at the end of the game, to come out there and lose a big important football game, and their attitude and demeanor makes it feel like a win,” he said, noting that the main goal is to win a football game. “Our secondary goal is to help to develop these young men.”
Snider, who was proud of the team, community and the game, said the message at halftime did not change, so it was for the players to do their job and if everyone did their job, things would be fine. The team mounted a comeback, but the speed of Team USA was too much to handle, he added.
Brad Hoffman, the head coach of Team U.S.A., said the team had been together for four days and while the Montana players had some knowledge of each other, several players were unfamiliar with their teammates. He said the coaches knew what they had and, even after coaching 21 all-star games, “I’ve never had athletes one through 16 like this.”
He noted that the guys on the team are big and fast, a lethal combination in football. He said the goal was to pound the ball with running plays, but the team knew it could pass if it was necessary throughout the game.
Hoffman said regardless of whether or not Team U.S.A. comes into the game as the favourite, the team has pride and the players do not want to lose. He said the message at halftime was to keep playing. The team received great treatment from the community, he added.
Murphy, the quarterback for Team Canada, said it was an unbelievable experience for him and it was awesome getting to know his teammates throughout the week. He said it was nice to be part of the game and his community made him proud.
“It was awesome to represent the school,” he said. “It felt great to have it back in our community. It is just such a great thing to showcase how great our football program could get, too, and it was just a really great experience for everybody.”
He noted that the team was a little shaky at the start of the game, but the team played pretty well as the game went on. At the end of the day, Team U.S.A. was just a really good football team. Murphy added that it was awesome to go out playing for his country.
Piermantier said he loved playing for his country an hour away from home, and he believes the game is a great way to bring together a group of high school players from Saskatchewan and Alberta. He said the team blended right away.
The receiver said Canada played “a bunch of big, tough boys” on Team U.S.A., and the team did all right considering. He recognized that Team U.S.A.’s size gave the Canadians trouble all day and it was exciting to play for his country with family watching on the sidelines.
Turk, who has no immediate football plans, said Team Canada first got together on the Tuesday and they practiced several times in the days leading up to the game. He noted that he got the call to play about two weeks before the game and it was an incredible experience that he will not soon forget.
“This is a once in a lifetime opportunity,” he added, recognizing his plan was to take advantage of the opportunity and have fun playing the game. “Win or lose, it doesn’t matter. You just represent your country.”
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