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.
# # #