Mount Douglas Rams receiver Brian Dowds has managed to haul in another accolade.
A record-breaking regular season, along with a second-straight Subway Bowl championship, is now followed by a nod on Team sa国际传媒's Under-18 36-man football roster.
Dowds, who just turned 17, is joined by five Rams teammates - receiver Marcus Davis, running back Mason Swift, quarterback Ashton MacKinnon, offensive linemen Christian Krause and Zach Wilkinson - on the provincial team.
In all, 10 players as well as two assistant coaches hail from Vancouver Island.
Ballenas QB Liam O'Brien and OL Brock Mould, Nanaimo Redmen OL Chae-Cody Faickney and Belmont offensive lineman Brodie Henderson round out the Island selections.
Rams coach Mark Townsend handles the running backs and special-teams units, and Belmont assistant Alexis Sanschagrin looks after the defensive backs.
"It's a great way to end the season, to get that recognition, and we're hoping to go down and have some big success," Dowds said of Team sa国际传媒, which will travel to San Antonio, Texas, to compete in the FBU International Games as part of the U.S. Army All-American Bowl week from Dec. 30 to Jan. 6.
Dowds, who is recovering from a tonsillectomy this week, was not at final selection camp on Friday, but his provincial record of 14 touchdown receptions in six games and previous camp performances, in combines last January and February and at spring camp, was enough to capture the interest of Team sa国际传媒 coaches.
"I let the Team sa国际传媒 coaches know I was having surgery after the season. I said, 'I'm having a really good season, and is it all right if you just considered that when you made the trim down?' I had that discussion, and they let me have the tonsillectomy," said the talented six-foot-two, 190-pounder, who is highly sought after.
"I'm looking to go down south," Dowds said of his university endeavours.
"I've talked to Harvard and the University of Pennsylvania."
He's also had discussions with Yale and Princeton as he focuses on Ivy League schools. Numerous CIS institutions are lining up as well, including UBC, Queen's, Western, York and McGill universities.
"Location isn't a big factor. It's pretty much academics and athletics, and academics first," said Dowds, who is primarily interested in business, having won a Junior Achievement Next Generation Leaders' Forum award and travelled to St. Mary's University in August for an international weeklong business conference.
"That was one of the coolest experiences of my life so far," said Dowds, who joined 200 other students from across the globe.
His intelligence is shown on the gridiron as well, said coach Townsend.
"Brian is such a great kid. He has fantastic hands, very good speed, he's tall and athletic, and with Brian, you also probably get the smartest football player I've ever coached," Townsend said proudly.
"Straight-A honours student in school, and he has a very high football IQ as well."
Team sa国际传媒 will play opponents from Europe and the U.S.
"It's going to be a tremendous challenge," Townsend said. "I know the entire week is going to prove to be a very memorable and a rewarding experience for our players and the entire Team sa国际传媒 roster and coaches.
"To be represented by six of our Mount Doug players is outstanding," Townsend said. "It's fantastic representation from the Island, including both quarterbacks."
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