Three Badgers to play in Junior Bowl
By Mario Prusina Times Editor
Photo Courtesy Crystal Johansen
Locals Brady Johansen, Jack Warrack and Bennett Salmon will suit up for Team South in an attempt to make the Team Alberta at the U16 Western Challenge.
The trio, along with Badger teammates Marcus Molina, Landen Folvik, Austin McInnis and Matthew Oslanski, were part of approximately 125 players vying for a spot on Team South April 12-14.
Previously known as the Bantam Bowl, the new Junior Bowl will host six practices and the Junior Bowl game between May 17-20 in Calgary. The Junior Bowl will also be the final selection camp for the U16 Team Alberta.
Johansen completed his first year of bantam football this past season and will be gearing up for year 2 with the Badgers. Warrack and Salmon graduated the bantam program and will be playing for the Strathmore Spartans high school team this coming season.
“It feels good. Since I’m one of the younger players, it feels more exciting,” said Johansen. “There are only four kids born in 2005 on the team. (The camp) was quite intense. You had to do your best at all times. It was always like a competition between all of the players. I’m looking forward to meeting new people, learning new things and becoming a better football player.”
Salmon, who would love to play football all the way through university, was thrilled to make Team South.
“It feels really good. I feel like all the hard work I’ve put into football is paying off,” said Salmon. “It (camp) was pretty intense. There were a lot of great players I was going against.
“I’m not really sure what to expect. I’ve never done something like this. I’m hoping that I can gain experience so that my game gets better for the regular season.”
According to Warrack, he learned from the tryouts and hopes to grow even more as a player.
“It makes me so proud to see how far I have come as a player and to know that I’m headed in the right direction and taking the steps to become a better athlete,” said Warrack, who added he hopes to play at university and beyond. “The camp was super intense. Everything was precisely organized to allow the players to show off their skills. One thing I noticed was how hard it was to tell if the coaches liked you or not. With 125 players, there are a lot of great players the coaches had to look at.”
The Junior Bowl will take place May 20 at Shouldice Park in Calgary beginning at 11 a.m. Tickets to the game are $10 at the gate.
The top players from the game will be chosen to represent Team Alberta at the 2019 Football Canada U16 Western Challenge in Kamloops, B.C., July 15-21, where they will play the top bantam teams from B.C., Saskatchewan and Manitoba.