The Nelson Lords’ high school football team in Burlington, Ontario celebrate their teammate’s selection into the Nissan Kickoff Project, with Courtney Stephen of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
MISSISSAUGA, Ont. – The Nissan Kickoff Project announced today the final selection of 70 high school football players to the Nissan All-Canadian TITAN team, who will travel to Edmonton for the 106th Grey Cup festivities. For many, this trip is the sporting event of a lifetime, as the athletes selected will have a chance to play an exhibition game, a day before their Canadian Football League (CFL) idols compete for the Grey Cup championship title.
The players selected represent Canada's future football leaders and were chosen by a celebrity judging panel that included Randy Ambrosie, commissioner, CFL; Bryan Baeumler, television host, HGTV; Shannon Chinn, executive board member, Football Canada; Luc Mullinder, colour commentator, Saskatchewan Roughriders; and Geroy Simon, CFL hall of famer and director, Canadian football scouting, BC Lions. Nominated by their peers, coaches, parents and friends, the student-athletes listed below demonstrate exemplary TITAN values, on and off the football field: toughness, innovation, tenacity, ambition and notability.
"Nissan set out this year to reach every high school football athlete and community across Canada, to find the best and the brightest youth football players in the country. We believe that sport nurtures the development of outstanding TITAN values, so the Nissan Kickoff Project aims to reward and encourage those characteristics in young people," said Steve Rhind, director of marketing, Nissan Canada Inc. "We hope the 70 players selected inspire a future generation of young athletes in grassroots football and we are thrilled to be hosting them at the 106th Grey Cup."
Brantt Burnstein from Burlington, Ontario, was one of the first ten TITANs selected into the Nissan Kickoff Project.
As it entered its fifth season this year, the Nissan Kickoff Project wanted to build on the impact the program had seen since 2013. The goal of 2018 was to focus on the individual athletes, rewarding and celebrating those who's on the field impact was as strong as their presence in their classrooms and communities. By presenting the TITAN athletes alongside the best professional football players in Canada, Nissan hopes that the players selected will return to their communities as ambassadors for grassroots football in Canada and motivated to continue championing the TITAN values in their everyday lives.
As the official vehicle of the CFL and the Grey Cup for over a decade, the league's players have provided encouragement, mentorship and friendship to hundreds of aspiring athletes. Since the inception of the program five years ago, the Nissan Kickoff Project has benefitted 78 high schools from coast-to-coast, reaching more than 4,300 students.
The Nissan Kickoff Project All-Canadian TITAN team 2018:
|
Player Name |
High School |
Hometown |
|
Alberta |
||
|
Dawson Broda |
Millwoods Christian School |
Edmonton |
|
Josh Campbell |
Lindsay Thurber Comprehensive High School |
Red Deer |
|
Nikolas Fourlas |
Henry Wise Wood High School |
Calgary |
|
Tristin Gross |
R.F. Staples Secondary School |
Barrhead |
|
Derek Kucharski |
Austin O' Brien Catholic High School |
Edmonton |
|
Kaleb McGladdery |
Peace Wapiti Academy |
Grande Prairie |
|
Bryden O'Flaherty |
Bishop O'Byrne High School |
Calgary |
|
Cole Priestley |
Cold Lake High School |
Cold Lake |
|
Ty Thompson |
Ross Sheppard High School |
Edmonton |
|
Aidan Walker |
R.F. Staples Secondary School |
Westlock |
|
Brayden Walz |
Bishop O'Byrne High School |
Calgary |
|
Josh Yee |
Forest Lawn High School |
Calgary |
|
British Columbia |
||
|
Nick Butler |
Sardis Secondary |
Chilliwack |
|
Steen Rasmussen |
John Barsby Community School |
Nanaimo |
|
Jaden Severy |
Terry Fox Secondary School |
Coquitlam |
|
Prince Edward Island |
||
|
Joseph Bertram |
Bluefield High School |
Cornwall |
|
Tyler Newson |
Bluefield High School |
Hunter River |
|
Manitoba |
||
|
Nick Birch |
West Kildonan Collegiate |
Winnipeg |
|
Connor Browett |
Crocus Plains Regional Secondary School |
Brandon |
|
Owen Brown |
St. John's-Ravenscourt School |
Winnipeg |
|
Kaitlin Cummings |
Garden City Collegiate |
Winnipeg |
|
Dylan Hess |
Kelvin High School |
Winnipeg |
|
Sam Hezwkiah |
River East Collegiate |
Winnipeg |
|
Nathaniel King-Wilson |
Daniel McIntyre Collegiate Institute |
Winnipeg |
|
Brandon Martens |
Virden Collegiate Institute |
Virden |
|
Evan Nachtigall |
École secondaire Neelin High School |
Brandon |
|
Ethan Schnerch |
Daniel McIntyre Collegiate Institute |
Winnipeg |
|
Colbi Turnbull |
Major Pratt School |
Binscarth |
|
Asher Wood |
St. John's High School |
Winnipeg |
|
New Brunswick |
||
|
Spencer Dean |
Leo Hayes High School |
Fredericton |
|
Dominic Hall |
Leo Hayes High School |
Fredericton |
|
David-Daniel Pendleton |
Moncton High School |
Moncton |
|
William Russel |
Kennebecasis Valley High School |
Quispamsis |
|
Nova Scotia |
||
|
Donovan Kersey |
Northeast Kings Education Centre |
Centreville |
|
Logan Potter |
Northeast Kings Education Centre |
Centreville |
|
Daniel Velocci |
Dartmouth High School |
Dartmouth |
|
Ontario |
||
|
Danny Bosett |
North Park Collegiate |
Brantford |
|
Ben Burke |
M.M. Robinson High School |
Burlington |
|
Andrew Burrows |
M.M. Robinson High School |
Burlington |
|
Brantt Burnstein |
Nelson High School |
Burlington |
|
Craig Coleman |
Parkside Collegiate Institute |
St. Thomas |
|
Cameron Creechan |
Ursuline College |
Chatham |
|
Sam Cross |
Centennial Collegiate Vocational Institute |
Guelph |
|
Adam Dekraker |
East Elgin Secondary School |
Aylmer |
|
Mitchell Demers |
Saint Francis Catholic Secondary School |
St. Catherines |
|
Nicholas Fairweather |
St. Matthew High School |
Orléans |
|
Erik Haines |
Valley Heights Secondary School |
Walsingham |
|
Talon Horst |
St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Secondary School |
Tottenham |
|
Jesse King |
Westdale Secondary School |
Hamilton |
|
Cameron Male |
Notre Dame Catholic Secondary School |
Burlington |
|
Jacob Martino |
Garth Webb Secondary School |
Oakville |
|
Mason McGriskin |
West Ferris Secondary School |
North Bay |
|
Donovan Moore |
St. Ignatius High School |
Thunder Bay |
|
Caleb Pype |
Valley Heights Secondary School |
Port Rowan |
|
Jaykob Ryll |
Fort Frances High School |
Fort Frances |
|
Dylan Szczur |
St. John's College |
Brantford |
|
Jakob Tomas |
St. James Catholic High School |
Guelph |
|
Lucas Varga |
Nelson High School |
Burlington |
|
Québec |
||
|
Souleymane Camara |
Collège Charles-Lemoyne |
Sainte-Catherine |
|
Samuel Gamelin |
Collège Charles-Lemoyne |
Sainte-Catherine |
|
Tristan Marois |
Collège Charles-Lemoyne |
Sainte-Catherine |
|
Saskatchewan |
||
|
Eric Choquette |
Churchill Community High School |
La Ronge |
|
Crozier Holmes |
Central Collegiate |
Moose Jaw |
|
Tyson Krushelniski |
Bishop James Mahoney High School |
Saskatoon |
|
Carson Matt |
Martin Collegiate |
Regina |
|
Taggart Rowell |
Luther College High School |
Regina |
|
Stephen Smith |
North Valley High School |
Abernethy |
|
Aidan Sommacal |
St. Joseph High School |
Saskatoon |
|
CJ Vincent |
Central Collegiate |
Moose Jaw |
|
Matthew Wist |
Bethlehem Catholic High School |
Saskatoon |
To read more about the program or the 70 TITANs selected, visit the Nissan Kickoff Project website at www.nissankickoffproject.ca/en/meet-the-titans/. More information on the program launch can be found here.
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