Half Canadian, half American: the high school football team showcasing cross-border co-operation

It’s not many high school athletes that need to bring a passport to practice. But that’s the case for a group of young football players in southern Alberta, who, during a time of heightened political tensions between Canada and the U.S., are now playing for an American high school team.

Program between Alberta and Montana schools believed to be first of its kind

Jennifer Keiller · CBC News

· Posted: Oct 12, 2026 7:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 6 hours ago

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It’s not many high school athletes that need to bring a passport to practice.

But that’s the case for a group of young football players in southern Alberta, who, during a time of heightened political tensions between Canada and the U.S., are now playing for an American high school team. 

The high school in Milk River, Alta. — a town with a population of less than 1,000 people — isn’t large enough for a football team of its own. 

And going into the school year, the Sunburst Refiners, in a town just south of the border in Montana, had only seven players of their own — not enough to play six-man football for a whole season. 

Enter the idea for some cross-border co-operation, believed to be a first-of-its-kind program. 

“It’s sure been a pretty crazy challenge uniting them and just bringing them together, and just seeing it all come together and how well the kids have meshed has been pretty fun,” said Scotty Bye, the Refiners' head coach.

The Sunburst Refiners (in red) play against the Heart Butte Warriors in a snowy game on Saturday, Oct. 10. Sunburst won 53-0. (Joshua Mclean/CBC)

Part of that challenge, he says, has been getting players up to speed who have never played on a high school football team, and may have had limited experience with the game itself. 

Even for those who had played before, six-man football comes with its own differences. The field is smaller, there are some different rules and penalties, and scores can run much higher.

Near-daily trips across the border

Getting to the field in Montana takes a bit of extra work. 

The Canadian players go down almost daily for games or after-school practices, meaning they’ve already crossed the border what one player estimates to be about 100 times.  

Crossing by foot speeds the process up, Bye says, with the players able to skip to the front of the line rather than wait in idling vehicles.

Parents have organized carpools to take the players to the crossing, where they’ll get out and walk across the border. Once past, they’ll wait for a bus that comes to pick them up and bring them to the field.

A sign welcomes visitors to the town of Sunburst, Mont. (Joshua Mclean/CBC)

Players might travel as far as four hours into Montana for away games, and have been told next year they’ll likely play a game eight hours away. 

Before the start of the season, grade 10 student Brennus Vengroff says border agents did a walkthrough with the players, to get them used to the process.

He says the only issues that have come up have been a player forgetting their passport, and having to double back for it. But for the most part, the process has been smooth. 

WATCH | How Alberta students ended up playing on a U.S. high school's football team:

How Alberta students ended up playing on a U.S. high school’s football team

October 11|

Duration

1:56

Several times a week, high schoolers from Milk River in southern Alberta cross the border to meet up with teammates in Sunburst, Mont., to compete on a high school football team together.

“A lot of the [border] agents are familiar with the boys and expect that they're going to be there every day after school,” said Julie Vengroff, Brennus’ mom. 

Her husband, Adam Vengroff, says Sunburst almost feels like an extension of their own community. 

“The border is almost non-existent. If it wasn't for the Border Patrol itself, it would be pretty much just like driving to another small town in Canada,” he said.

O Canada

The team has made some nods to its Canadian contingent, like playing O Canada before every home game. 

The team's booster club designed sweartshirts for the team, including one with Refiners’ logo flanked by both the Canadian and American flags. Beneath it reads “Two Countries, One Team.”

Coach Bye says aside from maybe some differences in accents, you’d never be able to tell which player is from which country. 

“It looks like they've been hanging around each other for 10 years,” Bye said. “The culture I would almost say is no different.”

The Refiners now play O Canada before every home game, in honour of their six Canadian teammates. (Joshua Mclean/CBC)

He added that part of the joy is watching everyone come together, including parents and other Milk River residents, who will watch the game and then go downtown to hang out together after. 

It’s cool to see, he said, given “all the crap you see in politics.” 

Grade 11 player Jett Butler says at first, he was a bit nervous to join the team. 

“Because I didn't know if they would like us or not, but yeah, it's pretty fun. So, glad I did it,” said Butler, who recently scored his first touchdown.

Bye says one regret is that the program didn’t start even sooner: with more time to train up the players, he thinks about how well the team could be doing now. 

But he’s encouraged that the excitement seems to be extending to younger players who’ve already expressed interest in playing for the team one day. 

“This isn't a one-and-done thing, right? We want this to sustain and be the future of our football program,” said Bye. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jennifer is a reporter with CBC Calgary. Previously, she worked for CTV News in Toronto. You can reach her at jennifer.keiller@cbc.ca