By Scott Petersen,
Edmonton Journal
EDMONTON — Danny Maciocia remembers coaching the St. Leonard Cougars to the Canadian Bowl back in 1994.
How could he forget? Edmonton Eskimos fullback Mike Maurer reminds his coach frequently of the 52-11 beating he helped deliver as a member of the Regina Rams in that game.
“For them, it was understood that every year they would compete for a national championship,” said Maciocia, who coached the Cougars for six years. “We were just a small junior team that was just happy to be there.”
That small junior football team from Montreal has since developed into a powerhouse with seven straight Ontario Football Conference titles under their belt. However, they’ve still never won the national title, coming within two points of Saskatoon in 2002 and beaten 34-15 last year by the Edmonton Huskies.
They play the Edmonton Wildcats Sunday at Clarke Park to decide who advances to the 2006 Canadian Bowl.
“They keep getting close, but keep falling short,” said Maciocia, who’s been an interested observer at a number of Wildcats games this year.
Maciocia has extended an open invitation to the St. Leonard team to attend today’s Eskimos game at Commonwealth Stadium. Then the roles will reverse and he’ll be an interested observer from the stands Sunday.
