Bulldawg trio finish careers at Super Centex FCA Victory Bowl

By TJ MAXWELL Cove Leader-Press Cove football standouts Phil Aumua, Trent Canion and Davonn Hopkins-Phelps are proud to be members of the Copperas Cove Bulldawgs and even more proud to be hand-picked to represent the program in the annual Super Centex Fellowship of Christian Athletes Victory Bowl to be held at 6:30 p.m. Saturday at the Waco ISD Stadium.“It’s a great honor,” said Hopkins- Phelps. “Being a Bulldawg was amazing. I’m really going to miss it, but at least I get to represent them one more time.” Hopkins-Phelps, who played multiple positions for the Dawgs’ offense, has been looking forwards to this moment for quite some time. “I’ve been looking up to the FCA Victory Bowl since my sophomore year. Every time I saw it, I was hoping I would get to be a part  f it and now that I am, it’s amazing.” Canion, also a member of the  Dawgs’ offensive backfield, is excited to represent Cove and also see where he’s at as he heads to play  college football at the next level. “It’s an honor because I get to  play oe last high school game as a Copperas Cove Bulldawg,” said  Canion. “Second, it’s a great way to see where I’m at for college and get ready for it. It will help me get used to play with different kinds of people and different athletes and they way they play.” Hopkins-Phelps and Canion, who shared the backfield in Cove and will share it again at the Victory Bowl, will also share the backfield in college as they both signed to play for West Texas A&M. “It feels good because I have some people that I know how they play and there will be  ome good chemistry between us,” said Canion.“I’m real excited. I’m ready to showcase  our skills as a team and dominate.” Aumua, who locked down the interior of  the defensive line for the Dawgs, was just honored  to be selected to be among the 92 athletes selected from 12 counties and 92 schools in  six classifications.  “It’s a blessing and honor to play in this game – being hand picked out of a bunch of people in Central Texas – is just a blessing,” he said. He’s even more excited about sharing this once in a lifetime experience with his Bulldawg brothers. “It’s cool,” he said. “I’ve played with these guys since junior high so I feel like thechemistry will be real good, plus we get to play with new people too so that’s going to be really fun.” Being selected to an all-star game like theFCA Victory Bowl was reward enough, but being involved with a philanthropic organizationlike the FCA is reward on a whole other level for Canion. “It (means a lot),” he said. “I’ve never been a part of something like this before. It’s pretty cool.” Hopkins-Phelps is excited about the service projects, entertainment and so on, but is most excited about practice. That’s right – practice. Most kids are excited to play in the game, but with his college career rapidly approaching,  Hapkins-Phelps wants to learn to play with new people and it starts with practice. “I’m looking forward to the practices and to get to play with other people,” he said. “I want to see what it’s like to play with people other then my friends. I think at first it’s going to be shaky because you’re trying to get used to new people. I think after the first day, it will be easy and everything will run smooth.” Aumua’s not too worried about the transition to the collegiate level as his outgoing personality allows him to fit in anywhere. “It has a lot to do with my personality,” he said. “I’m good at talking to people and making new friends. It will be easy for me to transition to a new team.” It’s not all fun and games for this trio, however. They, like the Cove volleyball girls (Lexi Perez and Mikayla Bount) playing in the volleyball game at 12:30 p.m., represent the Red Team and they plan on winning. “Of course,” said Hopkins-Phelps. “Every time we do something, we want to win.” The FCA is a christian-based organization  that focuses on serving local communities  by equipping, empowering and encouragingpeople to make a difference. Victory Bowl festivities began on Wednesday and included service projects, entertainment, practices, clinics, and culminates with the game tomorrow night at 6:30 p.m.