The 2018 Football Canada Cup went down in Calgary July 16-22 with a familiar face from Barrhead patrolling the defensive line for the Alberta team.
Westlock Thunderbird Tristin Gross and Team Alberta took on all comers from seven other teams from across the country as the U18 national tournament got underway July 16.
Alberta beat down teams from British Columbia and Quebec to find themselves in the gold medal game against Saskatchewan on Sunday, July 22.
Alberta was able to roll over the B.C. team July 16 with a 32-21 win. The team rushed for 73 yards and passed for 276 years in the victory.
Going into their game July 19, the team was well aware they were playing a powerhouse in the form of the Quebec team, said Gross.
“Alberta, going into this game, hadn’t beaten Quebec in 28 years. It was a pretty big deal last night,” said the six-foot, 260-pound, Barrhead-based defensive lineman.
“We wanted to win, so we got our noses dirty and played some dirty Alberta football, as the coaches say,” he said. “It’s just about getting aggressive and mean with the ball. It’s a relentless pursuit.”
The boys from Alberta came up with decisive win; passing for 204 yards and rushing for 129 yards in the 23-13 win over Quebec.
Gross was selected to try out for the team in January and was one of only 40 selected to be on the team, beating out 400 others who tried out.
“I didn’t even know about it, but the head coach at U of A stopped me at one of the camps and said ‘You’re going to try out,’ so I tried out.
“It went from 400 kids to 100 kids to 40 kids, and that’s the team I’m with right now,” said Gross.
With a couple days off before the final game Sunday against Saskatchewan, the Alberta team was going over a lot of film, said Gross.
“Our head coach has us writing down five good and bad things about each of the linemen, their quarterback and their running backs. We’ve got to go in-depth about it, we have to be ready for it,” he said.
Team Alberta was unsuccessful in its quest for gold and settled for the silver instead, losing to the team from Saskatchewan 31-26. The team passed for 216 yards and rushed for 51 yards in the losing effort.
