Put another mark in the “win” column for Team USA.
But, this one didn’t happen in Sochi, and the game wasn’t a winter sport. Spectators at the University of Texas-Arlington were treated to some good, old-fashioned American football on Feb. 7, and USA’s U19 team crushed Canada, 43-7.
The rosters are filled with some of the nation’s best high school football players, and boasts a list of recent alumni as notable as Florida State’s Jameis Winston and the Arizona Cardinals’ Tyrann Mathieu. If any Plant City Raiders fans were wondering why Alabama commit Montel McBride wasn’t present on National Signing Day, it’s because he was in Texas.
“The game was great,” McBride says. “There’s nothing like playing the sport that you grew up playing, going up against new competition, and whooping butt. And, I met a lot of new people. One of the guys I bonded with the most is going to my rival school, Auburn, so it was kind of like, ‘Ahh!'”
McBride, the first four-star recruit in Plant City-area history, saw plenty of snaps on the field. The game itself, which was played with the American rule book, meant a little more to McBride and his teammates than the average senior all-star game.
“It was everything I expected it to be,” he says. “The only difference was, compared to what they say other all-star games are, this game was a lot more competitive. It was really nice, and good to see guys want to come out and do their best against team Canada.”
After playing in two big bowl games in two months, McBride says that his pigskin barnstorming tour is over. He’s now back in the Winter Strawberry Capital, going to school, staying in shape, and waiting to get to Tuscaloosa.
“Just smooth sailing from here,” he says.