It started as a way to facilitate recruitment, but now it’s more of a parting gift.
This weekend, the best high school football players in the province are gathering in preparation for the 21st annual Football Alberta Senior Bowl.
The game, which traditionally alternates between Edmonton and Calgary, takes place at Foote Field (noon) on Monday.
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“It’s really evolved over time,” said Football Alberta technical director Tim Enger. “It used to be something to showcase kids so they could be recruited to move on. Now the recruiting in Canada has gotten to the point where they’re starting to look at these kids as bantams.
“So then it evolved in how we pick our provincial team. But then we dialled that down to include Grade 10 and 11s too. The rational behind that is that universities want to see kids in their Grade 10 and 11 years. They’ll come to this, but the vast majority of them know who’s who.”
The majority of players taking part in the game who plan on moving on to the next level have already committed to either junior or university squads.
However, there is a chance someone participating in the contest may have been overlooked.
“There still is the diamond in the rough coming in from places like Lac La Biche, and Wainwright or something like that, who universities honestly couldn’t see throughout the year,” said Enger. “So they’ll still come out and watch and do some recruiting.”
The two squads are selected from a pool of about 160 players in each half of the province. The seniors are nominated by their respective high school coaches to take part in a weekend tryout.
At one time the provincial team was made up of seniors who took part in the contest. However, since the age of the provincial squads have been lowered, many of the seniors are no longer eligible.
“It’s come full circle to what it was when it started,” Enger said. “It’s an opportunity to reward the top graduating players in the province. They’re going to play this game and then get on with their lives. They’re going to be come Golden Bears, Dinos or whatever. It’s a chance for them to play one more game of high school football.”
Early on, the South dominated the encounter, winning six of the first seven games. Since then things have evened out, with the North holding a one-win advantage over their southern counterparts, with one game ending up in a tie.
“Now we’re in the 21st game and it’s 10 wins for the South, nine for the North and one tie,” Enger said. “So it’s really turned around, and this game has the potential to tie it all up.”
The format features the South team donning Calgary Stampeders colours while the North wears the Green and Gold of the Edmonton Eskimos.
“It’s a good format,” Enger said. “The players love it, the coaches love it and at the end of the game, you get to move on. This is their graduation from high school football.”
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