For the first time in W.H. Croxford High School history, a player from the Cavaliers football team will compete in the Football Alberta Senior Bowl All-Star Game, to be held May 20 at Shouldice Athletic Park in Calgary.
Senior Cavaliers receiver Jamal Bacchus impressed Team South coaches at the annual all-star game’s tryouts, which were held April 5 to 7 at McMahon Stadium. Roughly 150 players participated in tryouts.
“I didn't get to show the coaches all I wanted to, but it still ended up working pretty well for me,” Bacchus said. "I think my speed and my route-running really set an alarm off in their heads and helped them make their decision on me."
Bacchus will be the only Airdrie player participating in this year’s Senior Bowl, which pits the top 42 Grade-12 football players from southern Alberta high schools against the top 42 players from northern Alberta. Bacchus’ teammates will come from some of the top Division 1 teams in the province, including the St. Francis Browns and the Notre Dame Pride.
Other players from W.H. Croxford who tried out for Team South included Keegan Proudlock and Nolan Phillips.
“It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so it'll be great for me to represent Airdrie and all the football players here,” Bacchus said.
The athlete played a key role for the Cavaliers’ on both sides of the ball last season, suiting up as a receiver or running back on offence, as well as a cornerback on defence. He also played on special teams.
Bacchus, who has been with the Cavaliers’ football team since its inception in 2014, said the program has shown tremendous growth since his Grade-9 year, when the team only played exhibition games.
2018 was the Cavaliers’ most successful season yet. W.H. Croxford finished the regular season in fifth place of the seven-team Rocky View Sports Association (RVSA) with a 2-4 record. The Cavaliers rounded out the season with two wins in the RVSA “B” playoffs against the Bow Valley Bobcats and the Chestermere Lakers to conclude the year with a .500 record.
Bacchus said it was an ideal way to finish his high-school career.
“On both sides of the ball, we were very strong and everyone had put in the dedication over the years,” he said.
Bacchus was an immediate impact player for the Cavaliers during his senior season, but a knee injury in the first half of the opening game against the George McDougall Mustangs ruled him out for the remainder of that game and the following fixture against the Bert Church Chargers. Without him in the lineup, W.H. Croxford fell 30-16 and 25-14 to its cross-town rivals.
“He was a playmaker – he saw the pockets and was able to make the routes work for him, and get the distances we needed,” said Cavaliers head coach John Remus-Everitt. “When he did get hurt and was out for those two games, it definitely made a difference in the way we performed on the field.”
His return from injury in Week 4 was a huge boost; playing against the Bow Valley Bobcats, Bacchus scored two touchdowns, propelling Croxford to its first win of the season.
“He's a very enthusiastic individual, and the energy he brings to any team he plays on is going to be an added bonus,” Remus-Everitt said.
Though his high-school career is at an end, Bacchus said he intends to continue playing football, adding his goal is to play in the Canadian Junior Football League – the starting point for many future U SPORTS and CFL players.
"My plan is to hopefully play junior football out in British Columbia next year. Possibly the Okanagan or Nanaimo,” he said.
