Nissan: Nissan rewards young football leaders with sporting opportunity of a lifetime at the 106th Grey Cup


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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