An Airdrie football player will test his mettle against some of the best U17 players in the country on May 27, during the second annual CanadaFootballChat.com (CFC) Prospects Game in Ottawa.
Grade 11 running back Paul Condon will be Airdrie’s sole representative in the showcase game at TD Place, which will take place before the Ottawa RedBlacks’ CFL pre-season game against the Toronto Argonauts. The game will also be aired on TSN.
The CFC Prospects game will feature Canada’s 70 top football players born in either 2005 or 2006. The players were selected after nationwide tryouts, and only 17 players from Alberta will play in the game.
Condon, a standout running back for the George McDougall Mustangs in the 2021 high-school football season, said he is excited to show what he can do. He said he was selected to play in the prospects game after being invited to a tryout in Calgary earlier this spring, based on his performances for the Mustangs last fall.
“It’s going to be a great opportunity and I’m glad I’ve got the opportunity to play in it,” said the 16-year-old, who was the only player from the Rocky View Sports Association (RVSA) to crack the line-up.
“It’s going to be something different, like nothing I’ve ever experienced before, but it’s going to be fun. I’m excited to play on live TV.”
A member of the Airdrie Raiders’ midget boys’ football team during the spring season, Condon said he has been playing the sport since he was eight years old. He said his favourite part of football is its physicality.
“I like getting the ball and scoring, giving my team a good shot to win,” he said, and added his goal after high school is to secure a football scholarship at an American college.
Last fall, Condon was a focal point of George McDougall’s offence, frequently scoring touchdowns with his lung-busting carries. Following the season, he was honoured with the Mustangs football team's MVP award for 2021.
“I’m a very hard guy to bring down, so I feel I’ll bring that to the game,” he said. “I’m a power back with speed.”
With Condon helping with the team’s points haul, the 2021 season was a memorable one for the Mustangs, who finished second in the RVSA with an 8-2 record, and also played a game in the Football Alberta Tier II provincials.
Mustangs head coach Chris Glass said he expects Condon to score plenty of points at the prospects game on May 27.
“Paul brings a brand of football that not a lot of people like to play against,” he said. “He does not have an off speed. Even though it’s an exhibition game…I expect him to bring a physical style of play.
“He’ll punish people in front of him. He’ll score and gain yards, but he’ll also hurt people doing it. He’s a physical force out there.”
With one more year of high-school football in front of him, Condon predicts the Mustangs will be a title contender again in the 2022 season.
“We have spring camp coming up, so we’re preparing and just getting our team together to see what kind of team we’ll have this year,” he said. “I think we’ll have a pretty good shot at getting to that championship [game] again this year.”
The CFC Prospects Game will begin at 11 a.m. MST and aired on TSN. It will also be live-streamed on the TSN website.
