Buettner Savours Football Canada Experience

Sawyer Buettner can add an International Bowl title to his list of accomplishments under centre on a football field, although this one came on a little bit bigger stage.

The Peacock Tornadoes senior quarterback was wearing some different colours on Friday night when he suited up with Team Canada to take on Team USA in the 2015 International Bowl.

After getting over the spectacular sight of AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, Buettner went to work, leading Team Canada to a 25-9 win over the United States for their second straight International Bowl win.

“It’s great for Football Canada and Canada in general, especially two years in a row,” said Buettner on Sunday after returning to the snowy prairies from a week in Texas. “It just kind of opens people’s eyes that Canada can play football and were putting the work, continuously getting better and we can compete at the highest level in football.”

The game was played at the home of the Dallas Cowboys, AT&T Stadium, which seats 80,000 fans and features a massive scoreboard hanging over the field. Buettner said he arrived early to the game to soak in the atmosphere that came with playing in one of the most recognizable stadiums in the world.

“It was awesome looking up and seeing the names like Roger Staubach, Troy Aikman, Don Meredith, Michael Irvin and Emmitt Smith posted up around the stadium, just seeing all the legends that have played there was an eye opening experience,” Buettner said. “Seeing the massive jumbotron that’s as big as the field was pretty cool too.”

After shaking off the nerves and excitement of playing in the stadium, Buettner went to work making plays of his own in “Jerry’s World.”

Buettner scored the opening touchdown for Canada on a one-yard run late in the first quarter. That gave Canada a 7-3 lead and they never looked back after that.

Running back Jevante Stanley from Brampton, Ontario was named Canada’s Player of the Game after rushing 166 yards on 14 carries and a pair of touchdowns. Buettner finished the game 10-of-15 passing for 115 yards in the win.

“We executed pretty well, we had a great running game,” said Buettner. “(On the touchdown), our offensive line opened up a great hole and I thought our running back was going to score, but he got stopped at the one, so I got to punch it in.

“I completed a lot of the passes that I threw and I felt good out there,” Buettner added. “In the first quarter, we were moving the ball real well, they changed up their looks in the second half and started bringing more pressure, but I thought I performed pretty well.”

The game features the open under-18 players from Canada and the United States squaring off. American alumni for the game include quarterback Jameis Winston, who won the 2013 Heisman Trophy and National Championship with Florida State, and Georgia running back Todd Gurley.

This year’s Team USA featured a number of highly recruited players that will be featured in the NCAA’s 2016 recruiting class.

Buettner said he didn’t feel out of place in the game at all.

“I thought I matched up real well and that just gives you more confidence knowing that you can play against the highest levels in both countries,” he said. “I didn’t really know what to expect going down there, but I felt good practicing with Canada throughout the week and then playing against the US.”

With a decision still to be made on where he plays football next season, Buettner said it was good to see where he sizes up. He plans on making a decision in the near future.

“I’m not really in too much of a rush to make that decision, but it’s one I’m going to have to make pretty soon here,” said Buettner. “I’m just weighing all my options out and we’ll see what happens in the next few months or weeks.”

Article courtesy www.discovermoosejaw.com