Canadian Interuniversity Sport football is underway for another season. To get you set, we present a look at each of the four conferences to help you follow tomorrow’s CFL stars today.
Arden Zwelling
CFL.ca
OUA
When over 30,000 yards of career passing graduates from a CIS division, things are sure to open up.
That’s exactly what’s happening in the highly competitive OUA this season after Western’s Michael Faulds, Queen’s Dan Brannagan and Guelph’s Justin Dunk — first, second and sixth in all-time CIS passing, respectively — moved on at the end of last season.
The perennial powerhouses Western and Queen’s — who contested one of the greatest CIS games of all time in last year’s Yates Cup — are suddenly vulnerable and the rest of the division is looking to take advantage.
Queen’s will have a tough time defending their national title without much of the core that got them to the big game in 2009. Their defence has been completely turned over, while losses on the offensive line won’t do much to help new quarterback Justin Chapdelaine who looked shaky in limited action last year.
Chapdelaine’s scrambling, unorthodox style is almost the complete opposite to the safe, pocket-sitting tendencies of his predecessor Brannagan who was sacked just five times last season. Queen’s boasts a talented crop of receivers but if Chapdelaine can’t find them down field it could be a long season in Kingston.
Western also turns to a scrambling, whirlwind quarterback in Donnie Marshall who takes over for the patient, pocket pivot Faulds. If Marshall falters early, the Mustangs also have prized east coast recruit Ben Rossong to turn to.
Meanwhile, Western’s linebackers are easily the best bunch in the conference, anchored by 2009 OUA defensive player of the year John Surla up the middle and CFL draft picks Conor Elliott and Jason Kosec on the outside. The secondary — a Mustangs weakness last season ¬— is another year older but will have to prove they can shut down the league’s top receivers.
Both the Ottawa Gee Gee’s and the McMaster Marauders boast veteran teams that are expected to peak this season, while the Laurier Golden Hawks feature one of the best offences in the country with three quality quarterbacks, a deep receiving corps and last year’s OUA-leading rusher Mike Montoya.
The Gee Gee’s will rely on fourth-year quarterback Brad Sinopoli, a versatile pivot who can gain yards with both his arm and his feet, to lead a veteran offence with a plethora of fourth and fifth year players. Recievers Steven Hughes and Matthew Bolduc will be among Sinopoli’s favourite targets.
McMaster, meanwhile, will field an almost identical team to 2009 after losing just three players to graduation. Quarterback Kyle Quinlan and running backs Jordan Kozina and Joey Nemet lead the offence, while receiver Michael DiCroce — one of the fastest, most dynamic players in the OUA — will be a target in the secondary and return kicks. The team also brought in prized Ottawa kicking prospect Andrew Crapigna who should take over the kicking duties immediately.
The University of Toronto — a team that has won just four times over the last decade — brought in a strong recruiting class and are a popular dark horse candidate who could sneak into the sixth and final playoff spot if they can pull off an upset over one of the OUA’s mid-level teams. With a strong backfield featuring speedy incumbent Walter Cariazo, University of Toledo transfer Chris Weiland and two-time GTA high school all-star Kema Nnawuchi, the Blues could surprise some teams with a dynamic attack.
Toronto will most likely battle Guelph for that final postseason berth, a team that has lost the head coach — Kyle Walters, now with the CFL’s Blue Bombers — and several of the core pieces that made it a surprise contender last season. Second year quarterback Chris Rossetti takes over the reins of a lackluster offence that will count on talented running back Nick Fitzgibbon to gain yards and open up space downfield for receivers Dillon Dimitroff and Jason Diston.
Meanwhile, York and Windsor did little to improve their squads over the off season and should battle for eighth place.
For the Lions, Faulds takes over as offensive coordinator, looking to create a spark in a unit that put up just 209 yards of offence per game in 2009. The defence was similarly dreadful lasat season, allowing 559 yards per game. Little has been done to shore up either unit.
In Windsor, standout offensive lineman Matt Morencie is gone which will make things tougher for third-year quarterback Sam Malian. The team failed to beat any team outside of metropolitan Toronto last season and with the Varsity Blues seemingly on the upswing, the Lancers may have trouble repeating that feat in 2010.
QSSF
As has been the case for much of the past decade, it will be Laval and the rest in the QSSF as the Rouge et Or seek to extend their Dunsmore Cup winning streak to an unprecedented eight years.
The Rouge-et-Or are easily the deepest squad in the country which makes the graduations of 2008 Hec Chrighton winner Benoit Groulx and defensive backs Samuel Lajoie and Alex Surprenant manageable. Unstoppable running back Sebastien Levesque — who gained 9.3 yards per carry in a remarkable 2009 season — returns and will be an easy option for whoever takes over behind centre. Once again, it will be Laval’s conference to lose.
After several years of development, the University of Montreal Carabins peaked last year, managing to beat Laval in the regular season but eventually falling to the Rouge-et-Or in the Dunsmore Cup. After losing quarterback Marc-Olivier Brouillette, linebacker Joash Gesse and defensive back Hamid Mahmoudi to the CFL, the Carabins could take a step back this season.
Untested Alexandre Nadeau-Piuze takes over at quarterback and will look for receiver Frank Bruno to bail him out of any jams. Meanwhile, the defence has been severely hampered by graduations. Defensive back Jean-Gardy Clermont will be counted on to lead the young group.
Much like Montreal, Bishop’s and Concordia have also been significantly weakened by players moving onto the pros with the Gators losing star returners Steven Turner and Shawn Gore, while the Stingers waved goodbye to LB Cory Greenwood, WR Cory Watson and OL Kristian Matte. Both teams will rely heavily on contributions from their youngsters to try and challenge Montreal for second place.
The McGill Redmen are a popular choice to sneak into the playoffs in this rebuilding conference after a disappointing 3-5 season in 2009. Rookie quarterback Jonathan Collin leads a group that returns almost every single player from last season and many feel that running back Taylor Kuprowski, a second stringer the last two seasons, is a star in waiting. If the Redmen can upset Concordia or Bishop’s they just might tip toe into the post-season.
Meanwhile, defensively challenged Sherbrooke will almost certainly finish last for a second straight season. Running back Pascal Fils has moved on, meaning quarterback Jean-Philippe Shoiry loses his favourite option on offence.
AUS
Much like Laval in the QSSF, the Saint Mary’s Huskies have been practically unstoppable in the AUS for the past decade, winning the Jewett Trophy as Atlantic champion in 9 of the past 11 years.
This season should be no different with much of the 2009 squad that lost to the Calgary Dinos in the Uteck Bowl returning. Even though they’ll field a young, inexperienced receiving corps, the Huskies have two excellent backs in Devon Jones and Craig Leger and a solid quarterback in Jack Leighton to run the offence.
St Francis Xavier made things interesting last year when they started the season 5-0 and gave the Huskies a good fight in the AUS championship game, losing by just 9 points. However, the X-Men have lost much of the core that contributed to their excellent 2009 season and will rely on their stingy defence, led by veteran linebackers Henoc Muamba and Tom Lynch, to keep them in games.
It was just four years ago when Acadia shocked the AUS and won two straight championships. But since then the Axemen have been woeful and the 2010 season doesn’t give much reason for optimism. QB Keith Lockwood and WR Devon Jones are both gone, as is four fifths of the offensive line. The team will rely on third year running back Brett Haenni to do much of the heavy lifting as its new quarterback gets acquainted with the offence.
Meanwhile the dreadful Mount Allison Mounties — who had the third worst defence in the country in 2009 — look to be heading into another tough year. The only bright spot for the Mounties will be standout receiver Gary Ross, who already holds most of the AUS offensive records and should use this season to wreck havoc on the CIS record books as well.
CANADA WEST
All eyes are on quarterback Eric Glavic and his Calgary Dinos who are pre-season favourites to return to the Vanier Cup and possibly even win it this time.
The two-time Hec Crighton winner Glavic is back in the fold for his fifth season after he led an offence that averaged an astronomical 581.5 yards per game in 2009 and he’s joined by an impressive cast of returning all stars who will give opposition defences fits. Running back Matt Walter has been dominating Canada West defences for years, while wide receivers Nathan Coehoorn and Anthony Parker provide stellar options for Glavic to throw to downfield.
On the other side of the ball there are plenty of question marks, especially with defensive linemen Deji Oduwole and Andrew Obrecht moving on. But when you score as many points as Calgary does a lackluster defence is manageable.
Of course, before they get to the Vanier Cup Calgary will have to do away with the Saskatchewan Huskies who, if not for a missed field goal in the dying seconds of last season’s Canada West final, would have advanced to the Uteck Bowl instead of the Dinos.
The Huskies boast one of the nation’s best defences and an offence that finally came together in second half of 2009. The departure of standout receivers Scott McHenry and Cory Jones hurts, but this is a team that has proven it can compete with the Dinos on any given Saturday.
Quarterback Laurence Nixon is entering his final year at Saskatchewan and the battle between him and fellow veteran Glavic could mirror the arms race witnessed in the OUA last season between Dan Brannagan and Michael Faulds.
The Manitoba Bisons caught a break from the schedule-makers — they play Calgary and Saskatchewan just once while their remaining six games are against Canada West bottom feeders Alberta, UBC and Regina. Assuming they use eligible players this season, Manitoba should be strong again.
Fifth-year running backs Matt Henry and James Gerardy are the pillars of the Bisons offence while the defensive line, anchored by Everton Black, Adam Hindley and Lou Richardson, is one of the most intimidating in the country.
Meanwhile, it’s really a tossup between who will emerge as the fourth playoff team from Alberta, UBC and Regina who are all evenly matched.
Alberta is hampered by the departures of their three top offensive players — QB Quade Armstrong, RB Tendayi Jozzy and WR Mike Wasylyniuk.
Second year pivot Julian Merchand steps in to guide the inexperienced offence, while fifth-year back Matt Jarvis, who has spent his entire CIS career as a second stringer, finally gets a chance to start. Luckily, the defence remains almost unchanged, with only linebacker and team captain Dan Bass Jr. moving on.
UBC returns practically every starter from a 2009 team that finished 3-5. Running back Dave Boyd averaged 97.8 yards per game last season and will be relied on heavily again this year. Reciever Victor Marshall comes over from Simon Fraser University to join former SFU offensive coordinator Sean Olson who takes over as UBC’s head coach this year. Marshall will be an immediate target for quarterback Billy Greene.
Meanwhile, the defence is anchored up the middle by linebackers Devin Kavanagh and Nathan Kanya who is returning this season after missing most of 2009 with injury.
Finally, Regina will try to survive the strong Canada West without star wide receiver Jordan Sisco who left for the pros after last season. Quarterback Marc Mueller had a surprisingly good 2009 season and will now look to Brendan Owens and youngster Mark McConkey as his primary targets.
The defence is very young and will rely on a trio of transfers — Stefan Charles and Jas Dhillon from the Big Kahuna Rams of the BCFC and Akiem Hicks from the LSU Tigers — to make big contributions on the defensive line.
