Team Â鶹´«Ã½AV put on a clinic in the fourth quarter to win the 27th annual Ed Henick Senior Bowl 37-21 over Team North on Monday.
The annual showcase of the top graduating high school football players in the province was played at Mosaic Stadium in Regina.
Former Estevan Elec linebacker Michael Bittman played for the Â鶹´«Ã½AV, becoming the first player from the city to play in the prestigious game.
Bittman came down with strep throat and a fever on the weekend, but he was able to play on Monday at less than full strength.
"That was kind of a bummer," he said. "(But) I recovered enough to play on Monday and still had a great experience."
Team Â鶹´«Ã½AV players reported to Regina on Thursday and spent the weekend practicing and bonding. Bittman had to miss the last practice on Sunday due to his illness.
He was one of six linebackers on the roster and they rotated two groups of three, with all of them getting equal playing time. Bittman also played special teams in the first half.
Bittman recorded 1.5 tackles on the day and didn't get a chance for more because the North team didn't attempt much on the ground.
"The game was not what I expected. They only ran the ball once when I was (on the field). All their plays were passing plays," he said.
"Their quarterback (Drew Burko) broke a Senior Bowl record for pass attempts (with 37). I'm pretty sure all game they had one actual running back run for like two yards, and then two quarterback sneaks."
One of the biggest jobs for a middle linebacker is to shut down the run.
"The run game definitely makes it a lot more fun in the middle. That's usually where you get a lot of your tackles," Bittman said. "(But) it was still an exciting game and it felt really good to win."
Team Â鶹´«Ã½AV held a narrow 11-8 lead after three quarters, but they pulled away with three touchdowns in the fourth.
Bittman said turnovers were partly to blame for the fourth being as wild as it was.
"Lots of interceptions, lots of oh my goshes and oh nos," he laughed.
Bittman came away from the experience with some new friends along with the on-field memories.
On Friday night, the team was split into groups of six for a cook-off.
"That was really funny and interesting," said Bittman. "We all had to make a main course, salad and dessert from scratch. Our group was making meat sauce and spaghetti and then we had to make this salad with homemade dressing and dessert. Our group's was delicious."
Bittman said the linemen won because "they know how to cook, and of course the running backs and quarterbacks finished last because they don't know how to cook at all."
