Water Valley's Canon Wiese closes career with whirlwind all-star tour
Former Water Valley High School football standout Canon Wiese is saying goodbye to football for a second time. This time, it’s on his own terms.
Wiese, who was named the All-West Texas Six-Man Most Valuable Player after powering the Wildcats to their best season since 2012, has already played in three all-star games over the summer. He will suit up one final time Friday when he plays on the East squad at the Texas Six-Man Coaches Association Division I All-Star game at 7:30 p.m. Friday in Iowa Park.
His brilliant senior season, in which the 6-foot-1, 200-pound running back tallied almost 2,000 yards and scored 47 TDs, was cut short after a collarbone injury kept him out of Water Valley’s only loss – a 70-49 decision to eventual state finalist May.
He returned for Water Valley’s run to the regional semifinals in basketball but looked forward to a few more snaps of football before turning his attention to a geosciences degree plan at Angelo State University.
After playing in the 11-man Fellowship of Christian Athletes All-Star game, Wiese played in the Brazos Bowl in Strawn, Texas, before traveling to Lambert, Montana, on July 4 for the 24th CanAm Bowl, featuring top six-man players from the United States and Canada.
Looking back, Wiese is glad he got another chance to play the game he grew up playing.
“I’ve just enjoyed it so much,” Wiese said. “I hope my kids play six-man football. It’s a different world than 11-man. It’s own world but it’s still football. There’s a lot more hustle involved, instead of talent. I’ve enjoyed every single bit of it and learned so much from it.”
Wiese will be joined by teammate Kyle Bannister as well as Eden’s Kaleb Tinney and Julian Gamboa on the East squad. Water Valley and Eden were in the same district for the past two years.
He rode from Waco to Montana with former Strawn player Griff Rigdon – who will participate in the TSMCA Division II all-star game – and former Lingleville player Kyler Phillips with Oakwood coach Thomas Tritz, who was one of the Team USA coaches in Lambert.
“I’ll be friends with them for a long time,” the former Wildcat said. “I’ve got a lot of high school friends, but meeting these people who have the same interests, it’s a lot easier to talk to them and communicate.”
While the first CanAm Bowl was played in 1997 in Saskatchewan, it was the first game in the series played on U.S. soil. The American players participated in an Independence Day Parade, where they held their home-state flags while riding on a float, and all carried American flags onto the field for the game.
Players from Colorado, Montana, Nebraska, Texas and Wyoming clashed with players from Alberta and Saskatchewan. The Americans won 71-30, taking their series lead to 19 wins and five losses.
The game also broke a two-year hiatus for the series due to COVID-19 travel restrictions.
Wiese said the Canadians were only allowed to stay on American soil for 48 hours, so they arrived the day before the game. All the players and coaches boarded in Lambert school facilities.
“We practiced two times a day and they were pretty tough practices,” Wiese said. “But the weather was so nice and there was green grass everywhere. It was cool (to meet the Canadian players). They’re pretty similar, they just talk different. Their plays and way of playing the game is different.”
West Texans to suit up for TSMCA All-Star Games
It will be a goodbye of sorts for Sterling City head coach Trey Sisco, who will lead the West team in the Division I game. Sterling City was realigned into Class 2A at the last UIL realignment and will play 11-man football for at least the next two years. Sisco, who coached the Eagles to a state championship in 2020, opted to stay and lead the transition.
Sisco’s son Will as well as Garden City’s Sebastian Balcazar will play on the West team.
There is also a Division II game, scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Saturday in Iowa Park.
Blackwell’s Jason Rodriguez and Landon Whitten will play for the West while Richland Springs’ Jadeyn Bryant and Zane Capps will suit up for the East team.
The girls and boys basketball all-star games will be hosted at Wichita Falls Rider. The girls game is set for noon Saturday followed by the boys game at 2 p.m.
In the boys game, Veribest’s Nick Martin and Eden’s Zane Avants will play for the West.
Veribest’s Kennadi Wheeless and Robert Lee’s Braylee Hood will play for the West in the girls game while Brynlii Chandler of Richland Springs and Sydnie Bond of Cherokee will play for the East.
This article originally appeared on San Angelo Standard-Times: Water Valley's Canon Wiese says goodbye to football on his own terms
