Brandon trio off to Football Canada Cup

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This article was published 06/07/2022 (1329 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Team Manitoba’s offence runs through Brandon talents at the Football Canada Cup next week.

Vincent Massey’s Justin Sharp and Neelin’s Miles Blatherwick claimed the two quarterback spots on the roster leaving on Saturday morning for Kelowna, B.C.

Sharp’s standout offensive lineman Carter Moore is starting at left guard as No. 5 seed Manitoba opens the eight-team event against Ontario on Monday at noon CDT.

“I’m pumped up, to say the least,” said Sharp, who was named the starting signal-caller. “It feels like a lot of work is definitely paying off getting the opportunity to not only represent the province, which is a big thing, but also showcase my talent across the country.”

Sharp led the Vikings to a perfect Winnipeg High School Football League season in the Westman Division, capping it with a 31-23 victory over the Steinbach Sabres.

His title run, however, started nearly a year earlier. The five-foot-nine quarterback hit 240 pounds in December 2020, then whipped himself into shape and is now a strong, shredded 180 pounds with arguably the best arm in Manitoba.

Sharp has relished the chance to play with the rest of the province’s best.

“It’s not like you don’t train your hardest on your own but when everyone else around you is just as good as you, if not better, it makes you step up your game,” Sharp said. “My ability to read a defence has improved drastically, and just the different throws I’ve become more consistent with.”

“Doing the basics right and getting the basics down pat allows fluidity in the game, which allows you to create more,” he added. “Doing the little things right allows you to do the hard things easier.”

Moore has lined up with and across from some of Canada’s top linemen for the last few months. The six-foot-six, 340-pound left guard was selected for Canada Football Chat’s Fox 40 Prospect Challenge earlier this year and reached the CFC Prospect Game in Ottawa on May 27.

“It was great. A lot of great talents on the defensive side, great offensive linemen,” Moore said. “They’re better or at my level so it’s a good step up.

“I was very nervous, lots of butterflies. Honestly, first practice, it was scary.”

Moore battled a few injuries during provincial team training, including a sprained rotator cuff last week but recently returned to practice and said he’s good to go for Monday.

“I feel like I’m going to be great,” Moore said. “I feel like I’ve improved these past months and I feel like this whole O-line will do wonders.”

While football players across the country lost the 2020 season, Blatherwick saw another slip away when his Spartans didn’t take part in the WHSFL in 2021. They practised daily and had a few exhibition games but he wants more this fall.

The quarterback is transferring to Winnipeg’s Vincent Massey Collegiate for his senior year.

“There was no guarantee at Neelin so I made a decision. I could either stay there and roll the dice or hop off and have a higher chance at a season,” said Blatherwick, who wouldn’t say whether he’s locked in as a starter or if he’s walking into a position battle.

“There’s always a competitiveness no matter where you’re going … I’ve been out to spring camp with them, loving what I’m seeing, starting to know the receivers more, feels great.”

Blatherwick and Sharp are working with 2021 WHSFL commissioner Rick Henkewich as quarterbacks coach. Steinbach’s Stephen Fedus is the offensive co-ordinator while Winnipeg Rifles head coach Jason Park is the bench boss.

The team flies out on Saturday morning and practises later that day, then again on Sunday.

The winner of Manitoba’s opener on Monday plays either top-ranked Saskatchewan or Nova Scotia. “And I’m not really sure what happens if we lose,” Sharp said, “because we don’t really talk about that.”

The semifinals and consolation semis are on Thursday and the final, bronze-medal game and placing games take place next Sunday.

Manitoba finished fifth in 2019 when the Football Canada Cup last took place. It lost 31-7 to Quebec in the quarterfinals before beating New Brunswick 36-16 and British Columbia 18-6. Saskatchewan dropped Quebec 16-9 in the final.

While Manitoba hasn’t reached the final in the past 14 years, the guys aren’t phased.

“You never really know,” Blatherwick said, “Until you’re out there, feel the competition and see them lined up against you.”

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