Anton Amundrud was on the cusp of becoming a teenager when an even younger kid on the football field recognized him as an influential figure in their hometown of Lloydminster.
Read more: Lloydminster backs ailing Huskies’ quarterback Amundrud
“We first were teammates for one year in peewee, when I would have been nine turning 10, and Anton would have been 12,” Xander Pierce, now 21, recalled this week.
There was something special about the athletic Amundrud, an astute Pierce noticed at the time. As they grew older, and later played high school and university football together, Pierce often spoke about his role model.
Now, he and many others are extending their best wishes to Amundrud, the star University of Saskatchewan Huskies’ quarterback whose cancer diagnosis was revealed last week on the Saskatoon campus.
“I feel like I say it all the time, but Anton is one of those guys I’ve always looked up to and idolized, and wanted to be just like,” Pierce said about his former teammate with the collegiate Huskies and the Lloydminster Comprehensive High School (LCHS) Barons.
“The situation he’s in right now is obviously very tough. I’m rooting for him and trying to get in contact with him a little bit. I hope he’s doing well.”
Amundrud, 23, has been diagnosed with a form of cancer called lymphoma. His sickness forced him out of the U of S lineup partway through this U Sports season, which continued last Saturday as the host Huskies defeated the Queen’s Gaels 22-11 in the Mitchell Bowl and advanced to the Vanier Cup national final against the Montreal Carabins this Saturday in Regina.
As news broke last week that Amundrud is tackling cancer, it became clear in the early going that he can count on boundless support from back home in Lloydminster.
Former teammates and coaches from the Border City are among the many people rallying behind Amundrud.
“We are sending our best to Anton and his family,” said Kieran Link, who coaches the LCHS Barons.
“Anton oozes charisma and is incredibly tough. He’s ready to face this challenge head-on.”
Although it’s been five years since he graduated from the Barons, Amundrud is still remembered as one of the best football players ever to come out of Lloydminster.
“He was our quarterback the last time we won the provincial championship,” Link said. “He’s a natural leader, tough, competitive and fun to be around. He was a Canada West (conference) all-star this year, even while missing several games.
“Anton is a consummate teammate, and the entire country is behind him in this fight.”
His current team, the Huskies, will fight for a U Sports national championship, albeit with heavy hearts and without one of the nation’s most dynamic university quarterbacks.
The Huskies have played the latter part of the fall without Amundrud, a fourth-year pivot who had stepped away from the team five games into the season.
Just last week, his Huskies teammates learned of Amundrud’s cancer diagnosis and that he would begin treatment immediately.
The news not only hit his own team hard, but also the greater football community across Canada.
In the Bridge City, the Saskatoon Hilltops had just celebrated winning the Canadian Junior Football League championship on Nov. 9 on their home turf. The Canadian Bowl champions include two Lloyd boys in Pierce and Ryden Gratton,
the hero in the national junior final.
Gratton, another graduate of the Lloydminster Comprehensive football program, kicked the winning field goal with just 28 seconds left as the Hilltops defeated the previously unbeaten Okanagan Sun of Kelowna, B.C., 21-18.
Gratton and Hilltops receiver Pierce are a few years younger than Amundrud, but all three of them were teammates for one high school season with the Barons.
Pierce also played alongside Amundrud for two years with the Huskies, before joining the Hilltops in 2024.
Gratton and Pierce, current U of S students, have looked up to Amundrud as a football role model from their high school and their home community.
“It’s a terrible thing,” Gratton, 21, said about Amundrud’s health setback. “I can’t believe that’s happening to him. It’s so sad.
“I mean, everyone knows he’s a great football player, but he’s an even better person.
“I knew he was super sick, because obviously he didn’t dress the last few games. (Before then), he was starting quarterback there and had a really good year.”
Amundrud’s conference-best numbers this season included 14 touchdown passes, no interceptions, and an average of 321 passing yards per game. He led the Huskies (now 10-1) to a 4-1 start.
Amundrud, six-foot-three and 210 pounds, attended the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ CFL training camp this year. Those Roughriders just won the Grey Cup on Sunday, defeating the Montreal Alouettes 25-17.
At the collegiate level, hometown Huskie Jake Farrell has stepped into the starting quarterback position in the absence of Amundrud, who has been the U of S starter since 2023.
In a statement, Huskies head coach Scott Flory said it was an emotional week for the U of S football team as word about Amundrud circulated.
“He is a remarkable young man, on and off the field, and we know that he will fight this disease with everything he’s got,” Flory said before the Mitchell Bowl. “We know we have an important game to play Saturday, but our players are processing the news as we focus on Anton’s well-being.
“We also know Anton wants nothing more than to be fighting with us on the field. We understand that and we will be ready, focused, energized and prepared to play Huskie football.
“Anton has the full love and support of our entire football family.”
A GoFundMe account was established in support of Amundrud and his family. As of this Wednesday morning, more than $62,000 had been raised through donations.
“We are incredibly grateful for every person who has prayed, shared, donated, or held Anton in their thoughts,” reads part of a message from Amundrud’s family. “Your kindness and support have given us strength on the days that feel impossible.”
Amundrud has not only inspired and connected with players in minor, high school and university football. He has also left a lasting impression on his mentors.
One of his former teachers and coaches, Cole Bloxam, stepped up with a $1,500 donation soon after the fund was launched late last week.
“I just want to do anything I can to help, in any way, shape or form,” said Bloxam, who taught Amundrud for two years and coached him for three seasons.
The LCHS educator and Junior Barons coach remembers Amundrud as a thoughtful youth and conscientious student who loves football.
“Just a very kind, good-hearted person who just always wanted to do his best, and loved the game of football,” Bloxam said.
“Just a great person overall. (The Lloyd support) just shows how much of a connection he made with others.”
He noted the list of financial supporters includes many current and former players and coaches and community members.
“It shows the impact he made, and just how much people care.”
Read more: Barons’ alumni camp touches down in Lloyd
