West Toronto Prep, an 0–5 high school football team out of Canada, found itself facing one of the best programs in the United States—Bradenton, Fla.’s IMG Academy—on Friday night. Things went about as you’d expect, and resulted in less football than those in attendance were anticipating when entering the game.
The Golden Warriors of West Toronto Prep had been outscored 195–6 entering the game. IMG, meanwhile, is 7–1 and considered one of the top teams in the country. The game was a stark mismatch on paper, and wound up being even more lopsided than anyone could have anticipated.
IMG opened the game scoring on its second offensive play, opening the floodgates. The score was 57–0 after one quarter, and was ultimately called after IMG ran out to a 96–0 halftime lead. Highlights from the game are widely available online, and show the powerful IMG team facing a squad that could barely get a shotgun or long snap off the ground, an issue that led to a number of defensive scores for the Ascenders.
West Toronto Prep has exclusively played road games, with three against schools in Erie, Pa., one against Gilmour Academy in Gates Mills, Ohio and one against McCallie School in Chattanooga. The team does not have any more 2022–23 games listed on its MaxPreps profile.
“Being an immersive program, though, it’s about getting them the true experience of being a true student-athlete and being on the road, staying in a hotel, and still getting the grades,” coach and program co-founder O’Neil Wilson—a former UConn and CFL player—told PennLive earlier this fall.
“Our guys are tested and it’s about mentorship for our coaches. We’re here to prepare them for university.”
This isn’t the first time we’ve seen IMG Academy, which turns out numerous top college football recruits, play a school that was largely an unknown before the game. In 2021, the Ascenders beat Ohio’s Bishop Sycamore 58–0 in an ESPN-televised game. The game called into question Bishop Sycamore’s legitimacy as a school, and it was later deemed a scam by the Ohio Department of Education.
With the score going viral Saturday morning, many on social media raised the Bishop Sycamore example.
West Toronto Prep lists its location as 256 Centennial Park Road in Toronto, putting it on the edge of Centennial Park near a parking lot and hockey arena. The school website lists the football program’s Facebook page, which was last updated in September, and Instagram account that last posted in July. The listed Twitter account, @WestTorontoPrep, doesn’t exist.
A video on the school website, published in Dec. 2019, touts “exposure to U.S. colleges,” “CFL & NFL coaches & trainers,” and says that the team plays “all games in the USA againts [sic] high ranked schools.” It also features clips from football games and in the locker room, and one video showing students in a classroom setting. The school also has a Google form published for prospects to apply to the school.
“Each WTP student-athlete will receive the best in education, training, motivation, support, and most importantly mentorship with the goal of pushing them towards their ultimate goal of greater academic achievement through their dedication, effort, and passion about their sport,” the website says.
