You can excuse a football fanatic and provincial champion if he wants to put the pigskin aside for the time being.
Hunter Kessel, a defensive lineman with the Holy Trinity Academy Knights, had a football fantasy weekend on Nov. 22-24, one that included winning a high school provincial championship, being named to a select team and finishing at Canada’s biggest game — the Grey Cup.
“It was tiring, but very fun,” said the Grade 11 Kessel.
He was selected for the 2019 Nissan All-Canadian Titan team, which allowed him to play in an all-star type game against his counterparts from across Canada.
The players are selected for their accomplishments on and off the field.
“They select you on three values,” Kessel said. “If you are doing well in the classroom, doing well on the football field and doing good in the community.”
The Knights coaches nominated Kessel.
Kessel was an honour student in 2018-19.
“I think I am very respectful to my classmates and my teachers, I think those are some of the reasons I was picked,” Kessel said.
He is also a member of the 2383 Calgary Highlanders Cadets. At present, he is a sergeant. His goal is to rise to sergeant major, the top of the cadets corps in High River.
Although being named to the Nissan team, he nearly had to forfeit the honour because of a happy, but not-totally unexpected, prior engagement.
The Knights were playing in the Tier II provincial championship game in Raymond Nov. 22 – the night before the Nissan all-star game in Calgary.
“They initially told me I had to forfeit my spot but they realized I could do everything and gave me my spot back,” Kessel said. “I am very happy that they did.”
Kessel was a force on the Knights defensive line in their 35-3 victory over the Austin O’Brien Crusaders Nov. 22 in Raymond — part of the HTA defence that nullified AOB’s offence.
“We worked for that championship so hard and we had the goal at the start of the year,” Kessel said. “As a returning player from last year, when the outcome wasn’t the greatest, it was great to win that game this year.”
Kessel opted to take the team bus ride home rather than catch a lift from mom and dad from Raymond.
“The bus home was a good ride — a whole different vibe from last year,” Kessel said. “We got home about 1 a.m., but it took me a while to get to sleep because I was so hyped about the win.”
The Sandman’s late visit meant Kessel was awfully tired as he had to be in Calgary for the Titan all-star game at Shouldice Park at 9 a.m. on Nov. 23.
The players were rotated in and out of the lineup and Kessel said he might have had a few longer stints at the all-star tilt.
“That was good and bad, I got to play in this amazing game, but I was still exhausted from the night before,” he said. “I played well, it was a great experience.
After the game, the teams went to the Grey Cup festival down at Stampede Park."
The weekend capped off as the players attended the 107th Grey Cup.
“It was nice to go watch a football game and not worry who wins,” the Stamps’ fan said. “In the back of my mind I wanted Winnipeg to win. There were a lot of Winnipeg fans on the Nissan team.”
