SUBMITTED PHOTO MELISSA HOZACK
Ira Hozack of Medicine Hat punts a football for the Alberta Selects U14 team that played in the International Border War football tournament in Texas last weekend.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
Ira Hozack got a taste of southern barbecue and American football last weekend.
The 15-year-old Hatter played in the International Border War football tournament with the Alberta Selects U14 team in San Antonio, Tex., and said he enjoyed playing against U.S. teams for the first time.
“I was expecting going down there to get smacked by them but it was actually very good, our team did very well,” Hozack said.
The Selects finished the tournament with a bronze medal after winning two of their three games.
Hozack plays defensive end and kicker and had a few quarterback sacks at the Texas tournament. He also scored his first touchdown off a fumble recovery and kicked the PAT after.
He said he thought his teammate was going to pick the loose ball up for the touchdown but capitalized when he didn’t.
“My teammate was right in front of me and I was like, ‘Shoot, that’s his free touchdown,’ then he missed it and I thought OK, this is pretty nice,” Hozack said.
That touchdown came against the home team San Antonio Gladiators. Hozack and the Selects faced other teams from Texas and California.
On top of the football, Hozack said they got to try out some all-you-can-eat meat places and the tournament hosted a tailgate barbecue for all of the Canadian kids in attendance. Besides Alberta, other provinces were represented at the three-day event.
Hozack said it was pretty great representing Alberta and he enjoyed telling his Texan and Californian counterparts where his home province even was.
“They don’t even know where Alberta is… one guy asked me if Alberta was in Texas,” Hozack said.
Melissa Hozack, Ira’s mom, said her and her husband Rob are proud of their son for making the Selects and for making it to Texas.
“After a really good season with the Jr. Colts here with coach Chris (Perret), they’re so trained, it’s a pretty cool thing to go tryout for Alberta, make the team and be able to go on from there,” Melissa said.
Ira said he when he first tried out for the Selects he thought it was scary because he was no longer the tallest player standing at 6-foot-3.
“I went there and I was like pretty average height, felt pretty scary,” Ira said.
Prior to the tournament in Texas, the Selects and Ira played in a tournament in Moose Jaw back in January. He’s played for them for three months and said he’s learned the jump from junior football to high school is quick.
“The game’s a lot faster paced,” Ira said.
He will be donning the green and black next season as he is joining the Medicine Hat High Hawks for his high school career.
Before he suits up for the Hawks, Ira has soccer provincials next weekend with RASC, Canada football prospects tryouts in Calgary and then a U16 bantam showcase in April.
