A couple Davidson School Grade 12 students ended their high school football careers last Monday with a new challenge on the gridiron against the top senior athletes in the province.
Raiders Mike Kowalski and Patrick Nordmarken suited up for Team North in a 7-1 loss to the South in the nine-man game at the 30th annual Ed Henick Senior Bowl held May 19 at Griffiths Stadium in Saskatoon.
“It was a fun experience,” said Nordmarken, who saw action on the wet and slippery field as a receiver in the game. “It kind of does suck that it was the last game of our career and we lost, but it was just not the scoring potential that we thought it would be. It was still fun to meet new people.”
The low score came as the result of a constant downpour that forced the teams to employ a run game due to the wet ball continually slipping through the receivers’ hands and hurting the quarterback’s ability to grip the pigskin. The conditions did help Kowalski, who lined up as a defensive tackle in the game despite playing most of his high school football on offence.
“That weather really enhanced our game,” said Kowalski. “All week we practised in hot weather that was nice and come game time it was rainy and it really helped our defence because a lot of people couldn’t catch the ball.”
In spite of the conditions, Nordmarken did make the top catch of the game. He hauled in a team-leading 35-yard pass in double coverage to move the offence down the field before paying the price for his efforts.
“Once I caught the ball I knew someone was grabbing me and then another guy came and swiped me underneath,” he said. “It hurt a little bit. My face got slammed into the ground, but good thing for a helmet.”
The highlight of the match for Kowalski was a big hit he laid on the Team South running back in the backfield. The first-time defender showed he’s a quick learn as the tackle also recovered a fumble at one point in the game.
“Other than that I got hit pretty hard against a 300-pound O-line,” he said.
Nordmarken said moving up to the nine-man game in the Senior Bowl from their usual play at six-man ball with the Raiders was a bit of an adjustment because there are more bodies on the field, it’s harder to move the ball and there is a lot “more thought” when making plays. However, both he and Kowalski agreed the move up was a big accomplishment for the two considering they only kicked off their careers in the game three years ago.
“During the week of practice it was really easy (adjusting to nine-man),” said Kowalski. “I was going through drills making sure I was doing everything right, but come game time I got pretty nervous because I was a little worried I wouldn’t do something right. But I think it was pretty good.”