21 National and Provincial Alumni to battle for 111th Canadian Bowl on Saturday

Hilltops, Rams to play for national championship

On Saturday afternoon in Saskatoon, 21 national and provincial alumni will take to the field in the hopes of being crowned Canadian Junior Football League (CJFL) champions for the 2018 season.

The Saskatoon Hilltops will host the Langley Rams in the 111^th Canadian Bowl.  Kickoff is Saturday November 11^th at 1:00 p.m. at SMF Field.

These athletes have participated at either at previous IFAF World Junior Championships, International Bowls or Football Canada Cup tournaments. Additionally, a couple of the CJFL players took part in the 2017 North American Championship in Florida.

The Junior National Team competes in IFAF sanctioned events such as the World Junior Championships, International Bowl and North American Championship and the program itself is run by Football Canada. Meanwhile, the Provincial Programs provides opportunities for athletes to develop locally and are governed by Football Canada.  The Provincial Sport Organizations run these programs and it prepares athletes to compete in the Football Canada’s national under-18 championship, the Football Canada Cup.

Highlighting this group is Rams defensive lineman Skye King who was a member of the 2016 Junior National Team that won gold in Harbin, China at the IFAF World Junior Championships. At the event, Canada defeated rivals United States 24-6 under the leadership of Warren Craney.  Part of the coaching staff was Jeff Yausie who is currently the defensive coordinator and linebackers’ coach for the Hilltops.

Yausie is one of the more decorated coaches on the international stage.  At the 2017 World Women’s Championships in Langley, British Columbia he led Canada to a silver medal after the team lost to rivals from the United States in the gold medal game 41-16.  Additionally, the coach led the Women’s National Team to another silver medal at the 2013 Women’s World Championships in Vantaa, Finland.  Yausie also coached at both the 2015 and 2016 International Bowls.

Five CJFL athletes in the Canadian Bowl represented Canada at previous International Bowls in Texas as part of the Under-19 squad.  Those include King as well as Hilltops kicker/receiver David Solie (2018), linebacker Cody Peters, defensive lineman Connor Guillet and receiver Jason Price.

However, that is not Solie’s first time representing the nation,  Along with Hilltops receiver Keegan Dicks, he made a name for himself at the 2017 North American Championships in Florida as he received Canada’s Player of the Name honours as he put nine of Canada’s 11 points on the scoreboard in the team’s loss against the United States.

Rams offensive lineman Ethan Croome was part of the resurgence of Team British Columbia as the team returned back to the Football Canada Cup in 2017 in Wolfville, Nova Scotia. It was a successful return as the squad turned a fifth place performance under head coach Cory Philpott.  Not only is Philpot the Rams running backs coach, he is returning for the second consecutive year to the International Bowl this upcoming January in Arlington, Texas as running backs coach.

Fifteen of the Hilltop players vying for the Canadian Bowl have represented Saskatchewan at previous Football Canada Cups between 2013-2016.  During this four year span, Saskatchewan claimed a pair of silver medals (2014, 2016) and a bronze medal (2015).

Dicks helped Team Ontario to earn a bronze medal at the 2016 event in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

About Football Canada

Established in 1884, Football Canada is the national governing body of amateur football in Canada and a proud member of the International Federation of American Football (IFAF). Working closely with the provincial football associations, we develop programs and resources for players, coaches, officials in the three disciplines of Tackle, Flag and Touch Football. Football Canada’s vision statement is “from playground to stadium” where players can participate in the game of football throughout a lifetime recreationally, competitively and internationally. Athletes represent Canada internationally at IFAF governed tournaments such as the World Junior Championships and World Women’s Championships and Senior Men’s World Championships and compete against other nations such as the United States, Mexico, Japan, Australia and Sweden.  Football Canada provides a national stage for our athletes to compete and develop in tournaments primarily the Football Canada Cup, which is the Under-18 National Championship.  Over 320 athletes from coast-to-coast benefit each year from competing at the tournament.  Since the inception of the tournament, over 7,500 athletes who have competed in the national championship have enjoyed further success in their careers in the NFL, CFL and USports.

This post is also available in: French