Strathmore athletes participate in Arnie Enger Cup football game

By John Watson Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Five athletes from Strathmore High School were invited to and participated in the annual Arnie Enger Cup – formerly the Senior Bowl, at Shouldice Park in Calgary, earlier this month.

Strathmore Spartans members who were asked to play included Taehyeon Park, Bodey Pettifer, David Marleau, Caelin Dehoop, and Hunter Corbin.

“The Senior Bowl is an annual game where basically it is Southern Alberta versus Northern Alberta … and it is the best Grade 12 players who try out; there are about 150 or 160 kids (from the zone) who try out and we ended up taking 40 players,” explained Danny Warrack, who was among the selection and offensive coaching staff for the game. “The North does the same, but now that there is that dome in Calgary, we are able to play it in the winter and make it more of a showcase for universities or CJFL junior teams¬ they get a chance to watch the game on YouTube or they could attend.”

Warrack added the event was renamed after Enger, who passed away in December 2023, and was previously a public address announcer for the Senior Bowl for the first 25 years of the event.

To secure their spots in the event, athletes were required to participate in a three-day try-out event which ran from Dec. 16-19 for the South team. 

Players were selected based on their speed and skill, but also regarding their flexibility to fit into roles, as the boys would be working with a selection of teammates they would be unaccustomed to playing with.

Athletes from across the province were divided into participants from North, and South of Red Deer to make up the competing teams. 

“We won 32-2. We jumped out to a really quick 16-point lead, then we played quite conservative on offense, trying to wear them down and maintain that lead,” said Warrack. “In the fourth quarter, things busted loose, we got a touchdown from Hunter Corbin … and then we got another one in the last minute. You could tell the other team was worn down pretty good and did not have any answers for us.”

Warrack added he believes the boys who participated were, rightly, proud of themselves for their accomplishment, and enjoyed the whole process of trying out, and being selected to play.

Additionally, he noted there were scouts present at the game, as well as who would have been watching the recording posted online, to the interest of some of the athletes wishing to continue their football careers beyond high school.