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Though the last snap was months ago, the Canby Cougar football team continues to rack up awards from their impressive 2021 campaign.
On top of their best on-field results since 2013, it was announced Thursday that Canby was a finalist for the inaugural NFF National High School Academic Excellence Award.
The award, presented by the National Football Foundation and the College Hall of Fame, is a new “initiative that is designed to inspire and foster a culture of academic excellence on high school football teams throughout the nation,” per NFF.
In order to be eligible for the award, teams needed to sustain a minimum cumulative team GPA of 3.0 — as well as embark on a successful football season.
The Cougars finished the regular season with a 7-2 mark and advanced to the quarterfinals of the 5A tournament bracket.
Academically, Canby finished an impressive 2nd overall in the OSAA football academic Top 10 for the second consecutive year, with an overall GPA of 3.45 among the Cougars’ 55 varsity players.
Cougar head coach Jimmy Joyce caught up with the Current after hearing the news.
“Nothing about school has been easy since Covid arrived,” Joyce said. “I am just so proud of the leadership our players have shown, not just on the field, but in the classroom.”
Among the 62 finalists chosen nationwide for the award, Canby is one of five Oregon schools to qualify.
The Cougars will represent the 5A class while Summit (6A), Warrenton (3A), Monroe (2A), and Crosspoint Christian (1A) will round out the rest of the Oregon-selected schools.
The winner of the award will be selected on February 9.
