OTTAWA (CIS) – The Laval Rouge et Or are ranked No. 1 and seeking a third Vanier Cup title in four years to kickoff the 2006 Canadian Interuniversity Sport football regular season.
The late summer to late fall trek begins with three games Saturday afternoon in an eight-game opening weekend schedule ending Labour Day Monday.
The Rouge et Or, Vanier Cup champions in 1999, 2003 and 2004 and winners of three straight Dunsmore Cups as Quebec conference champions under the leadership of reigning CIS coach of the year Glen Constantin, will once again rely on a spectacular defensive unit which led the CIS for fewest points allowed each of the past three years.
Laval, which led all 10 national polls in 2005, will be tested right out of the gates as it hosts archrivals, the Montreal Carabins on Sept. 10 for its season opener. The Rouge et Or edged the Carabins 19-13 in a thrilling 2005 Quebec final.
The defending Canada West champion Saskatchewan Huskies are No. 2 in the first weekly poll of the year after coming off an undefeated 2005 regular season only to lose the Vanier Cup 24-23 off a last-minute field goal from Wilfrid Laurier kicker Brian Devlin. The Huskies open regular-season play on Saturday against the Alberta Golden Bears in a rematch of the last two Hardy Trophy finals.
Huskies coach Brian Towriss, who begins his 23rd season and has made three national final appearances in the last four years at the Saskatoon powerhouse, is challenged with replacing 12 pieces of his perennially winning puzzle before Griffiths Stadium hosts the 2006 PotashCorp Vanier Cup on Nov. 25.
The title game in Saskatoon will mark the first time ever the CIS championship final is contested outside of Ontario.
After nine league championships in a 20-year run as coach at the Cegep AAA level, Marc Santerre replaces Jacques Dussault as head coach of the No. 3 Montreal Carabins, a program in just its fifth year of CIS competition. The Carabins, 15-0 against the rest of the competition but 1-4 against Laval in the last two years, return nearly their entire lineup, including 2005 CIS rookie of the year Martin Gagne, a lineman who tied for the CIS lead with eight sacks last fall.
The No. 4 Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks are without 11 of 24 starters but have had two straight Yates Cup championships and a pair of undefeated regular seasons in the OUA to remain among the nation’s elite. The Hawks, which visit Guelph for their season opener on Monday, are vying to become the fifth team in CIS history and only the second from the OUA (Western, 1976-1977) to repeat as Vanier Cup champions.
Ex-quarterback Ryan Pyear, a CIS first-team all-Canadian and Vanier Cup MVP in 2005, will make his coaching debut as a rookie offensive coordinator under three-time reigning OUA coach of the year Gary Jeffries.
Six-foot-four junior quarterback Josh Sacobie, second in the nation in passing yardage (2,094 yards) and TD passes (18) last year, has the Ottawa Gee-Gees at No. 5 heading into a home showdown Sunday against rival Western Ontario. The Gee-Gees, looking for a first Yates Cup title since returning to the Ontario conference in 2001, face a gruelling schedule in the first three weeks of the campaign as they are set to battle perennial contenders Laurier and McMaster in weeks two and three.
A 330-pound blue-chip recruit named Justin Glover has new head coach Stefan Ptaszek thinking even greater protection for the high-octane offence of the No. 6 McMaster Marauders, which led the country in passing yards last season. The former Laurier offensive coordinator expects big things from quarterback Adam Archibald, who tallied 15 TD passes and almost 1500 yards in only five regular-season contests in 2005, and sophomore Jordan Kozina, who came one yard short of the CIS rookie record in his university debut (1,191).
In the East, word got around that the No. 7 Acadia Axemen are looking for a repeat of the Jewett Trophy as AUS champions, a feat the team from Wolfville, N.S. hasn’t accomplished since 1981. So coach Jeff Cummins eagerly welcomed nearly 100 athletes to this year’s camp, including more than 50 returning players and 17 of 24 starters. Fourth-year senior Ivan Birungi, a 2005 CIS first-team all-Canadian and a 2006 CFL draft pick of the Montreal Alouettes, has scored 22 touchdowns in only 19 career regular season games, three short of the AUS all-time record.
The No. 8 Alberta Golden Bears have eight returning starters on defence, including the surprise return of two-time Canada West defensive player of the year David Lowry at linebacker. Alberta, coming off back-to-back 7-1 regular seasons, will field a new starting quarterback and offensive backfield in the quest for its first Vanier Cup win in 26 seasons.
Starting a new quarterback is also on Brian Dobie’s mind, but the 11-season Manitoba coach is facing an encouraging prospect of the entire defence returning, making him confident the No. 9 Bisons will be there in the to-the-wire battle to spring from the Canada West as conference champion. The Bisons are looking for their first Hardy Trophy since 2001 and only their second in 33 years.
They are down one Hec Crighton winner after receiver Andy Fantuz moved onto Saskatchewan of the CFL but expect inspired play from the No. 10 Western Ontario Mustangs throughout the season in a final salute to coach Larry Haylor, the all-time winningest coach in CIS history who will step down after 22 seasons at the end of the year.
CIS Football Top 10
Voting is based on a 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis, with a first-place vote worth 10 points. The CIS Football Top Ten Committee is made up of 15 media members from across Canada. A total of 10 national rankings will be released for the 2006 season, with the final Top 10 being released once all teams have completed the regular season.
Pts (1st place)
1. Laval (0-0) 136 (9)
2. Saskatchewan (0-0) 123 (1)
3. Montreal (0-0) 106 (1)
4. Wilfrid Laurier (0-0) 95 (3)
5. Ottawa (0-0) 75
6. McMaster (0-0) 49 (1)
7. Acadia (0-0) 48
8. Alberta (0-0) 41
9. Manitoba (0-0) 40
10. Western Ont. (0-0) 37
Other teams receiving votes: Concordia (27), UBC (23), Saint Mary’s (12), StFX (4)
CIS Football Week 1 Schedule (all times LOCAL)
Sat., Sept. 2
1:30 p.m. Alberta at Saskatchewan
2 p.m. Calgary at UBC
7 p.m. Manitoba at Regina
Sun., Sept. 3
7 p.m. Western at Ottawa
Mon., Sept. 4
2 p.m. Toronto at Queen’s
2 p.m. Windsor at Waterloo
2 p.m. McMaster at York
2 p.m. Laurier at Guelph
About Canadian Interuniversity Sport
Canadian Interuniversity Sport is the national governing body of university sport in Canada. Fifty-one members, 10,000 student-athletes and 550 coaches vie for 19 national championships in 11 different sports. The CIS also provides high performance international opportunities for Canadian student-athletes at Winter and Summer Universiades, and 27 World University Championships. For further information, visit www.universitysport.ca.
