Three Cochrane-area football players have made the grade for Alberta’s U18 (Grades 10-11) football team.
Cochrane High School Cobras offensive lineman Dale Cummings and Springbank Community High School Phoenix linebackers Kevin Demmers and Micah Teitz will all be on Team Alberta for the Canada Cup national football championship July 15-22 in Moncton, N.B.
The trio made the cut to the final 40 players out of the 115 who tried out at the Football Alberta selection camp May 10-12 at Calgary’s McMahon Stadium.
Cummings, who plays offensive tackle with the Cobras, will play centre for Team Alberta. He was the only offensive lineman south of Red Deer chosen for Team Alberta.
He also played centre for the Cochrane Lions football team this spring in the Calgary and Area Midget Football Association.
“Really excited,” said Cummings, who made the provincial team in his first attempt. He didn’t try out last year because he felt he wasn’t ready.
“I tried out this year. I was working hard all year and thought this was the year. I worked as hard as I possibly could to get mentally and physically in shape. I thought I had a pretty good chance and I made it. I’m pretty excited.”
The 16-year-old offensive lineman has been playing organized football in Cochrane for eight years, starting with the Atom Lions as an eight-year-old. He won a provincial high-school football championship with the Cobras this season.
But he’s expecting a whole new level of competition at the Football Canada Cup in Moncton.
“The competition is going to be absolutely insane. It’s going to be eye-opening for me. I’ve played at high-school provincials and seen guys at that top level. But this is the top guys in Canada going head-to-head for the national championship. It’s going to be fun.”
He’s also looking forward to seeing a part of the country he’s never seen before.
“I’ve never been to the East Coast before. The farthest I’ve ever been is Manitoba. So I’m pretty excited to go there.”
Demmers and Teitz were monsters in the middle of the Phoenix defence this season, stuffing the run, covering receivers, knocking down passes and forcing fumbles on a Springbank squad that won it’s third-straight Rockyview Sports Association Tier 2 football title in October before making it to Zone semifinal play in November.
