Top-of-the-line car models are built with an abundance of power and features, delivering an optimum driving experience. Not your everyday sedan, such vehicles demand an experienced driver.

Enter the 2017 U.S. Under-19 National Team and Kenny Sanchez, head coach of the Bishop Gorman High School (Las Vegas) Gaels.

Rich in smarts and skills, the U.S. squad features top football student-athletes in their senior year of high school that will face Team Canada on Jan. 28 in the North American Championship at ESPN’s Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, Fla.

The U.S. roster includes quarterback Mac Jones of Bolles (Jacksonville, Fla.); defensive lineman Fred Hansard of The Hun School (Princeton, N.J.), who has accepted a scholarship offer from Penn State; and Memorial (Port Arthur, Texas) cornerback Kary Vincent Jr., who has verbally committed to LSU.

Sanchez holds the head coaching keys to the high-octane American depth chart.

“The kids playing on this team are selectively chosen,” said Sanchez. “They’re competitors and you have to be that way in football.”

In two seasons as the Gaels’ head coach, Sanchez has attained a 30-0 record, two Nevada state titles and USA Today’s Super 25 “national championship” in both 2015 and 2016. Bishop Gorman, which has won eight consecutive state titles, also finished No. 1 in the MaxPreps Xcellent 25 National Rankings. Prior to becoming the Gaels’ head coach in 2015, Sanchez was their defensive coordinator from 2009-14. He also is a dean of students at the school.

Sanchez and his Bishop Gorman staff, which will serve in the same capacity for the Under-19 National Team, will have four practice days to prepare for a formidable Canadian team. Canada defeated the U.S., 24-6, in the 2016 International Federation of American Football Under-19 World Championship in Harbin, China, this past July.

“You’ve really got to be a teacher that week,” Sanchez said. “We’ll have our team clearly understand what we want accomplished and let them play and have fun. We’ll need to grind, but it’ll also be fun and exciting.”

Leading the Americans holds personal significance for the U.S. head coach, whose brother, Joseph Sanchez, is a U.S. Army Staff Sergeant presently serving his third tour of duty in Iraq.

“We live in the greatest country on earth,” Sanchez added. “Any time that a coach or an athlete can represent the United States and wear ‘U.S.A.,’ it’s special.”

2017 U.S. Under-19 National Team roster: 

1	Elijah	Blades III	DB	6’2"	180	SR	John Muir	Undecided
2	Trajan	Bandy	DB	5’9"	179	SR	Christopher Columbus	Miami (Fla.)
3	Tre’	Bugg	DB	6’0"	175	SR	Williams Field	Air Force
4	Evan	Fields	DB	6’2"	190	SR	Midwest City	Undecided
5	C.J.	Henderson Jr.	DB	6’0"	180	SR	Christopher Columbus	Undecided
6	Nick	Pickett	DB	6’2"	180	SR	Bishop Mora Salesian	Oregon
7	D’Andre	Swift	RB	6’0"	210	SR	St. Joseph’s Prep	Georgia
8	Johnny	Johnson III	WR	6’0"	190	SR	Chandler	Oregon
9	Josh	Clarke	LB	6’2"	218	SR	Riverdale	Ole Miss
10	Jalen	Reagor	WR	6’0	185	SR	Waxahachie	TCU
11	Eddie	Lewis	WR	6’2	185	SR	Mater Dei Prep	Undecided
12	Cristian	Zendejas	K	5’9"	160	SR	Perry	Arizona State
13	Kary	Vincent Jr.	DB	6’0"	172	SR	Memorial	LSU
14	Laviska	Shenault	WR	6’2"	205	SR	DeSoto	Colorado
15	KD	Nixon	WR	5'8"	185	SR	DeSoto	Colorado
16	John	Kirven	DL	6’6"	245	SR	Woodberry Forest	Virginia
17	Mac	Jones	QB	6’3"	190	SR	The Bolles School	Alabama
18	Lindell	Stone	QB	6’3"	205	SR	Woodbury Forest	Virginia
19	David	Heaton III	P	6’0"	165	SR	Atascocita	Undecided
20	Dallas	Blacklock Jr.	DB	6’0"	170	SR	Sharpstown	Army
21	Deommo	Lenoir	DB	6’0"	190	SR	Bishop Mora Salesian	Oregon
23	Jonathan	Taylor	RB	6’0"	210	SR	Salem	Wisconsin
25	Khalan	Laborn	RB	5’0"	210	SR	Bishop Sullivan Catholic	Florida State
30	Rahyme	Johnson	LB	6’3"	210	SR	Bishop Mora Salesian	UCLA
34	Joshua	Brown	LB	6’2"	235	SR	Long Beach Polytechnic	Arizona
35	Christopher	Allen	LB	6’3"	234	SR	Southern Lab	Alabama
42	Riko	Jeffers	LB	6’0"	230	SR	Sachse	Texas Tech
48	Malik	Herring	DL	6’4"	275	SR	Mary Persons	Georgia
52	Deonte	Johnson	DL	6’5"	240	SR	Luther Burbank	Miami (Fla.)
56	Pierce	Banbury	OL	6’2"	290	SR	Oakton	Navy
62	Ben	Brown	OL	6’5"	290	SR	Saint Aloysius	Ole Miss
68	Viktor	Beach	OL	6’5"	305	SR	Bishop Verot	Central Florida
70	Kendrick	Green	DL	6’3"	280	SR	Peoria	Illinois
71	Dalyn	Wade-Perry	DL	6'4"	330	SR	Pope John XXIII Regional H.S.	Stanford
73	Justin	Shaffer	OL	6’6"	355	SR	Cedar Grove	Georgia
74	Marquis	Hayes Jr.	OL	6’6"	320	SR	Pattonville Senior	Oklahoma
75	Fred	Hansard	DL	6’3"	307	SR	The Hun School	Penn State
77	Idris	Patterson	OL	6’5"	280	SR	The Avalon School	Undecided
78	Jalen	McKenzie	OL	6’6"	285	SR	Clayton Valley Charter	Southern Cal
79	Netori	Johnson	OL	6'3"	335	SR	Cedar Grove (Ga.) H.S.	Georgia
80	Randal	Grimes	WR	6'4"	210	SR	Desert Pines H.S.	Southern Cal
86	Matt	Dotson	TE	6’5"	230	SR	Archbishop Moeller	Michigan State
87	Alexander	Marshall	WR	6’7"	245	SR	Bridgton Academy	Florida State
90	Axel	Nyembwe	DL	6'0"	300	SR	The Avalon School	Duke
91	Chase	Young	DL	6’5"	240	SR	DeMatha Catholic	Ohio State
93	Camaron	Spence	DL	6'3"	307	SR	St. John's College H.S.	Maryland

Play for your country and join the U.S. National Team family – the journey begins here.