Billings Blazers catch cash touchdown

When Angela Mason sent in the application for Howard S. Billings High School to the NFL’s Forward Pass program, she never imagined they would actually win.

“I was scrolling on Facebook, and I happened to fall on it. It was right at the beginning of the football season, so it caught my eye,” said Mason, who is the manager of the Juvenile and Cadet Blazers football teams.

On a whim, she decided to enter the program for a chance to win $25,000. She described how the Blazers helped assemble a community to help her and the program out.

“Every time we had home games, I needed a whole crew of parents and citizens to help me set up the field, put up gates, sell the sweaters and all the game gear, and everyone stepped up,” said Mason. “It was unbelievable how the parents stepped up. It was touching how I had so much help from everyone. So, I thought it was nice, and it fit what they were looking for. The football games brought everyone together.”

Months later, she started receiving calls from a number she did not recognize.

“When I don’t recognize the phone number, I don’t answer. Plus, I never in a million years thought we’d be chosen,” said Mason.

“So they contacted the school directly, and then the principal of the school called me to ask me if it was a scam because nobody really knew that I sent it in,” said Mason.

The official announcement that the Blazers - along with the Peel Panthers in Ontario and the North Winnipeg Nomads Football Club - had been chosen was broadcast on Sunday’s Super Bowl broadcast on Canadian television. Prior to the broadcast, Billings put out a post telling parents to watch the broadcast for the special announcement. Many Facebook posts from excited parents showing screen recordings followed the announcement on TV.

“It was quick, but it was still something nice,” said Mason.

The NFL said of its Forward Pass program that it “helps empower more families to engage in a sport that inspires character, leadership, resilience, and teamwork - values that extend far beyond the field. This initiative is dedicated to elevating the football experience in local communities, increasing youth participation, and shining light on the football programs that make a difference.”

Along with $25,000, the NFL will also be coming to Howard S. Billings in the summer for a tailgate party.

Charlie Ghorayeb, technical director of the Blazers football program, said that while what the money will be used for has not been finalized, they would like to use if for something that will last a long time.

“Twenty-five thousand dollars is a sizable amount of money. So, you can do something pretty cool with that,” said Ghorayeb. “One thing that we all agreed on is that we don’t want to use it just for operations. We want something that’s going to be a capital expenditure and that is going to be there for 20 years or more.”

As part of the general growth of the Blazers’ program, they will also be adding a Cadet team this year to help develop athletes in-house for the Juvenile team.

“The Cadet team allows us to instil football in the school from grade eight onwards to grade 11,” said Ghorayeb.

Being able to recruit kids at a younger age - especially on the lines - will help the on-field results as well, according to Ghorayeb. He also said he saw the program as a continuation of the development many players go through with the Chateauguay Raiders in younger age groups, with almost half the players in the program going through the Raiders before playing for the Blazers.

Indeed, one factor for the Blazers’ strong recruitment has been, according to Ghorayeb, that it is the school itself that runs football and not the Raiders.

“Civil football practices start at 6:30 p.m. and they go on until 8 p.m. or later and a lot of parents either don’t have the time to go or don’t want their kids out that late,” said Ghorayeb. “Here, they come in, they do their football practice, they are home by 6 p.m.”

Ghorayeb will also be meeting with Kahnawake Survival School (KSS) in the coming weeks to discuss the logistics of having kids from KSS play for the Blazers.

“I wanted to inform them that the kids from KSS are, in fact, eligible to play at Billings, because that’s not obvious,” said Ghorayeb.

He said that Billings had a strong tradition of fielding athletes from Kahnawake on its teams, and that he is hoping this will continue with football.

“We’ll be welcoming them with open arms. However many come, whether it’s one or 10, we’ll be happy to have them,” said Ghorayeb.

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