2014 Gee-Gees recruits

The University of Ottawa released a list of their 2014 on Tuesday, 53 strong.

Name                Pos.  Hometown (last team)
Matt Amey            DL   Napanee, Ont. (Napanee H.S.)
Brad Angevaare       OL   Port Hope, Ont. (Trinity College)
Connor Ayre         K/P   Ottawa (Mother Theresa)
Kalem Beaver         WR   Cole Harbour, N.S. (Auburn Drive H.S.)
Jackson Bennett      RB   Ottawa (Wilfrid Laurier S.S.)
Colin Bonsall        OL   Belleville, Ont. (Moira S.S.)
Arnold Bossa         DL   Ottawa (St. Matthew)
Matt Bruder          OL   Dundas, Ont. (Westdale)
Greg Cherniak        RB   London, Ont. (Central S.S.)
Alain Cimankinda     DL   Ottawa (Franco-Cite)
Felix Daigneault    K/P   Gatineau (CEGEP Outaouais)

Wilson Decayette     DL   Gatineau (Vieux Montreal)
S. Delva Williamson  DL   Montreal (Vieux-Montreal)
Marcus Diamante      OL   London, Ont. (Central S.S.)
Ryan Duperron        DB   Ottawa (St. Joseph)
James Flemming     DB/WR  Belleville, Ont. (Moira S.S.)
Cody Fownes          OL   North Bay, Ont. (CEGEP de Rimouski)
Joel Ferland         DL   Kingston, Ont. (Frontenac)
Luke French          WR   Gatineau (Champlain)
Francis Gagnon       DB   Lac-Beauport, Que. (La Pocatiere)
Curtis Gravelle      DL   Welland, Ont. (Calgary Colts)
Adam Guarisco        WR   Ottawa (Ashbury College)
David Hron           LB   Kingston, Ont. (Regiopolis-Notre Dame)
George Jean-Louis    DB   Montreal (Vieux-Montreal)
Tomo Juratovec       OL   Hamilton, Ont. (Cardinal Newman)
Stephan Kukkonen     QB   Ottawa (Wilfrid Laurier S.S.)
Cedric Kye                Ottawa (Wilfrid Laurier S.S.)
Alex Lacelle         LB   Guelph, Ont. (John F. Ross)
Raphaël Laurin       WR   Saguenay, Que. (Cégep de Jonquière)
Kyle Lasota          WR   Newmarket, Ont. (Huron Heights S.S.)
Alex Levesque        LB   Ottawa (Holy Trinity)
Tyler Ling           DB   Kingston, Ont. (Regiopolis-Notre Dame)
Harris MacEachern    WR   Kingston, Ont. (Regiopolis-Notre Dame)
Garcia Machli        DB   Montreal (Vieux-Montreal)
Connor Mackey        DL   Ottawa (St. Joseph)
Liam McCowell        DL   Hamilton, Ont. (Cardinal Newman)
Reginald Monestine   WR   Montreal (Ahuntsic)
Brett Murray         OL   Newmarket, Ont. (Huron Heights S.S.)
Ibra Ndaiye          OL   Montreal (Vieux-Montreal)
Osas Obas            DL   Montreal (Vieux-Montreal)
Jacob Pardy          DL   Ganonoque, Ont. (Ganonoque S.S.)
Justin Poitras     QB/WR  Ottawa (St. Mark)
Jeff Radford       DL/LB  Belleville, Ont. (Moira S.S.)
Luke Rawling         WR   Perth, Ont. (P.D.C.I.)
Jesse Skucas         WR   Ottawa (St. Joseph)
Matt Smith           OL   Cornwall, Ont. (St. Joseph)
Keenan Tanti         FB   Ottawa (Holy Trinity)
Mathieu Tremblay     RB   Saint-Felicien, Que. (Jonquière)
Cody Ullett          DL   Ottawa (CEGEP Outaouais)
Tony Van Hooser      DL   Kingston, Ont. (Frontenac)
Bryce Vierra         RB   Ste Anne-de-Belleville, Que. (Vanier)
Taylor Webb          RB   St. Catherines, Ont. (West Park)
Nick Weiszhaar       WR   Sturgeon Falls, Ont. (Northern S.S.)
Nick Zanet         DL/LB  Kingston, Ont. (Regiopolis-Notre Dame)

I'm not going to pretend to know all these guys, but former Cegep de l'Outaouais Griffon defensive lineman Cody Ullett's name caught my eye.  I noticed his stats line while looking up the RSEQ all-star team last year.  Ullett collected 18 tackles, 23 assists and five quarterback sacks in 2013.

The Gee-Gees released their season ticket package information recently, in case you missed it. You can check those out here.

Ottawa Rough Riders draft history

With the first full college draft coming up next month for the RedBlacks, this seemed like a good time to restore one of the pages from the old website.

The original source of information for this "all-time" list of Ottawa Rough Riders draft selections was the 2002 Ottawa Renegades media guide.  However, as with much of the information included therein, there were some omissions that I had to add by searching through old newspaper articles.

I also received an e-mail from a gentleman one time who pointed out that while the media guide did not display results for a draft in 1954, there were records of one so I added the names for that year based on the data he provided.

One more thing; in the early years, many of the players selected displayed "end" as their position.  When I copied the list, I changed the abbreviation to "DE" because the French abbreviation that was used was "AD", which I believed to be "ailier défensif" (defensive end), but the player may have lined up on offense or, for that matter, on both sides of the ball.

1996 
03-19) DB Sammie Brennan, Bishop's
04-28) SB Grayson Shillingford, University of British Columbia
05-37) DT/OL Darcy Curtis, Simon Fraser
05-38) OL George Savard, University of Ottawa
06-45) DB Robert McElwain, Windsor
07-54) LB Michael Hendricks, University of Ottawa

1995
Bonus round**:  LB Stefan Reid, Boise State
02-18) OG Stewart Masi, Western Michigan
03-25) OG Keith Hiscock, Simon Fraser
03-27) DB Heron Tait, Guelph
03-31) WR Steve Sarty, St. Mary's
04-33) OT Glenn Fowles, Willamette
04-34) OT Pierre-Paul Dorelien, University of Ottawa
04-39) LB Sean Marriott, St. Mary's
05-41) SB Masaki Konno, Bishop's
05-43) DL Danny Lavallée, Concordia
06-49) OL Michael Simoncic, Concordia
**Additional round for team's who respected the expenditures cap.

1994
01-05) DE Tony Bailey, St. Mary's
01-07) LB Rod Murphy, Idaho State
02-15) RB Mike Malott, Waterloo
03-23) WR Glenn McCausland, University of Toronto
04-31) DT Obie Spanic, Weber State

1993
01-03) DT Paul Yatkowski, Tennessee
02-10) RB Dwight Richards, Weber State
03-18) WR Nigel Levy, Western Ontario
04-26) RB Dean Noel, Delaware State
05-34) OL Jason Moller, Queen's
06-42) OL Fred Marquette, Concordia
07-50) OL James Munroe, Syracuse

1992
01-03) OG Denny Chronopoulos, Purdue
02-11) DB Ken Walcott, St. Mary's
02-16) DB Joe Sardo, Hawaii
03-19) DL Dave Chaytors, Utah
05-35) WR Rob Treblicock, Weber State
06-43) LB Mike Boone, Queen's
07-51) CB Mike Doucette, University of Ottawa
08-59) DB Ian Ployart, Concordia

1991
01-07) OT Brett MacNeil, Boston University
03-19) RB Geoff Mitchell, Weber State
04-27) OG Gerald Hlady, Windsor
05-35) QB Chris Flynn, St Mary's
06-43) OG Sylvanno Turrin, Bishop's
07-51) WR Steve Baillargeon, McGill
08-59) OG Pat Mahon, Western Ontario
SUPP-67) DT Michel Raby, University of Ottawa

1990
04-25) DE Michael Philbrick, Carleton
05-33) OG Al Neufeld, Saskatchewan
06-41) OL Cam Sackschewsky, Calgary
06-48) WR Brett Wilson, University of Ottawa
07-49) DL Jamie Coombs, Carleton
07-56) LB Hagen Mehnert, McGill
08-57) DB Darryl Forde, Western Ontario
08-64) LB Mike Koladich, Western Ontario
SUPP-65) PK Chuck Petitpas, McGill

1989
01-01) SB Gerald Wilcox, Weber State
03-17) DB Sean Foudy, York
04-25) P  Tom Schimmer, Boise State
05-33) OT Nenad Radulovich, Western Ontario
06-41) DB Trent Brown, Alberta
07-49) LB Gord Weber, University of Ottawa
08-57) LB Bob Forest, Carleton

1988
01-01) RB Orville Lee, Simon Fraser
03-22) DL Leon Hatziioannou, Simon Fraser
04-26) WR Sheridon Baptiste, Queen's 
05-33) OT Sieg Will, Guelph
05-34) LB Christopher Rick, Queen's
06-41) PK Brent Matich, Calgary
07-49) OT Scott Warr, McGill
08-57) OT Ray Goerke, Weber State

1987
01-01) OT Leo Groenewegen, UBC
02-10) DB Kyle Hall, Western Ontario
02-12) LB Patrick Wayne, Simon Fraser
04-28) OL Rae Robirtis, UBC
05-37) LB Brent Lewis, Western Ontario
06-46) DL Gary Lehmberg, Simon Fraser
07-55) WR Rick Wolkensperg, Western Ontario
08-64) RB David Waterhouse, University of Ottawa

1986
01-04) OT Mike Schad, Queen's
02-13) TE Bob Harding, York
03-23) DB Church Wust, Acadia
04-29) DE Rob Taylor, University of Toronto
04-31) DE Angus Donnelly, Carleton
06-49) DL Richard Storey, McMaster
07-58) DB Devon Hanson, York
08-67) OT Andre Van Vugt, Windsor

1985
01-01) OT Nick Benjamin, Concordia
02-10) WR Tom Munroe, University of British Columbia
03-19) RB Neri Fratin, University of Ottawa
04-35) DE Marty Palazeti, Marshall
06-46) PK Lance Chomyc, University of Toronto
07-55) RB George Ganas, York
08-64) OL Morris Elfenbaum, Minot State
09-73) QB Craig Kennan, Colorado

1984
TERR-  DT Michael Bourgeau, Boise State
TERR-  OL Jim De Silva, Carleton
01-04) DB Maurice Martin, Toronto
02-13) LB Dan Rashovich, Simon Fraser
03-22) DL Damir Dupin, UNLV
06-49) OL Dan Maganja, York
07-58) DB Mike White, Waterloo
08-67) DB Barry Armstrong, University of Ottawa

1983
TERR-  OT Roger Cattelan, Boston College
TERR-  TE Mike Hudson, Guelph
01-02) LB Steve Harrison, University of British Columbia
02-11) DB Junior Robinson, Guelph
03-20) LB Sam Benincasa, Guelph
04-29) OL John Kane, Michigan Tech
05-38) DB Courtney Taylor, Wilfrid Laurier
06-47) DE Francois Payer, Bishop's
07-56) DE Chris Rhora, Acadia
08-65) WR Don Clow, Acadia

1982
TERR-  DT Mark Seale, Richmond
TERR-  OL/DT Kevin Dalliday, Carleton
TERR-  DB Ron Poulton, McGill
03-26) DB Terry Cahill, East Stroudsberg State
04-35) DB Bruce Milks, Southern Arkansas
05-44) LB Terry Elik, Simon Fraser
06-53) QB Greg Clarke, British Columbia

1981
TERR-  TE John Park, Bowling Green
TERR-  TE Ian Beckstead, Richmond
01-03) RB Maurice Doyle, University of Toronto
02-12) WR Don Burns, University of Ottawa
04-30) DT Eric Boss, University of Toronto
05-39) DB Larry Ring, Bishop's
06-48) OT Anthony Refossco, Toronto
07-57) DL Rob Ball, Queen's

1980
TERR-  SB Gary Cook, Carleton
TERR-  CB Glenn Cook, Richmond
01-06) OL Pat McBride, North Dakota State
02-11) RB Mark Philp, Richmond
02-13) RB Neville Edwards, Western Ontario
04-33) WR Wesley Woof, Wilfrid Laurier
05-42) OT Steve Shubat, York
06-51) TE Mike Szemeredy, University of Toronto
07-60) OG Elwin Morobec, Utah

1979
TERR-  OT Malcolm Inglis, Carleton
TERR-  DB Pat Stoqua, Carleton
01-06) LB Carman Cartieri, Montana
02-15) DB Al Dosant, Windsor
04-33) RB Dave Green, Carleton
05-42) PK Blaine Shore, Queen's
06-51) DB Scott Spurgeon, St. Francis Xavier
07-60) RB Dave Behm, University of Ottawa

1978
TERR-  OT Dick Bakker, Queen's
TERR-  WR Bruce Walker, Windsor
01-07) RB Don Taylor, Iowa Central
04-34) LB Phil Battaglia, New Brunswick
05-43) OT Lindon Davidson, University of Ottawa
06-52) DT Dave Yurincich, Wilfrid Laurier
07-61) RB Tom Barbeau, McGill
08-70) DT Mike Lyriotokis, PEI

1977
TERR-  RB Mike Murphy, University of Ottawa
TERR-  OG Doug McGee, Richmond
TERR-  WR Dan Fournier, Princeton
TERR-  OT Brian McLaughlin, Simon Fraser
01-01) DT Mike Riley, Dalhousie
01-09) DB Kirk DeFazio, Waterloo
02-18) OT Jim Lynn, Windsor
03-27) DB Jim McCaffrey, Richmond
04-36) TE Rod Bell, New Brunswick
05-45) WR Roger Wheller, Acadia
06-54) OL Dan Sartor, University of Ottawa
07-63) RB Ross Tripp, McMaster
08-72) DB John Harrison, McMaster
09-81) FB Phil Ridley, St. Francis Xavier

1976
TERR-  WR Jeff Avery, University of Ottawa
TERR-  RB John Palazeti, Richmond
01-04) DB Steve Gelley, Simon Fraser
01-06) WR Bill Hatanaka, York
04-33) OG Drew Allan, Carleton
05-42) QB Doug Kitts, York
06-51) OT Jim Anderson, Alberta
07-60) LB Fred Brown, Wilfrid Laurier
08-69) OG Paul Lojewski, Windsor
09-78) WR Robert Forbes, New Brunswick
10-86) WR Chris Kziezopoloski, Waterloo

1975
TERR-  QB Peter Stenerson, Carleton
TERR-  DT Jeff Turcotte, Colorado
01-07) LB Marvin Allemang, Acadia
02-13) LB Dave Patterson, Simon Fraser
02-16) OL Jim Baker, Alberta
03-25) LB Cliff Summers, Western Ontario
04-34) LB Grant Stephenson, St. Francis Xavier
05-43) OG Scott Gibson, Manitoba
06-51) TE Arunas Pleckaitis, Carleton
07-59) TE Roy Biljetina, Wooster

1974
TERR-  DB Perry Arnold, Western Ontario
TERR-  OT Darryl Craig, North Carolina
01-08) HB Dave Hadden, Queen's
01-09) LB Bob Rushton, Otterbein
03-27) QB Bill Robinson, Saint Mary's
05-45) DT Tom Balfe, Wilfrid Laurier
06-54) DB Jeff Cope, Simon Fraser
07-63) LB Doug Ridding, Otterbein

1973
PROT-  OT Donn Smith, Purdue 
02-16) RB Bruce McMillan, Mount Allison
03-25) DB Roger Comartin, Alberta
04-34) DB Jim Budge, Western Ontario
SUPP-  DB John Reid, York

1972
03-22) DE Doug Cihocki, Western Ontario
04-31) DB Stew MacSween, University of Toronto
05-40) RB Ron Perowne, Bishop's
06-48) LB Gordon Ladbrook, Dalhousie
07-57) DT Fred Tokaryk, Dalhousie
SUPP-  PK Louis Lamarre, Montreal
SUPP-  PK Noel Billette, Montreal

1971
01-02) LB Bob Eccles, Carleton
03-20) OT Bob Padfield, Waterloo
04-29) DB Art Lord, Saskatchewan
05-38) OT Steve Derbyshire, Western Ontario
06-47) DE Steve Hoffman, Windsor
07-56) LB George Hill, Western Ontario
08-64) LB Marshall Caplan, McMaster
SUPP-  OT Jim Sheritt, Queen's

1970
01-09) HB Mike Sharp, Carleton
02-18) OT Gerald Kwapisz, Windsor
04-36) DB Dave Doherty, McGill
05-44) DB Ken Whalen, Guelph
07-61) FB Ron Clarke, Queen's
08-69) OG Bob Climie, Queen's
SUPP-  OL Bob Wright, Carleton
SUPP-  OT Jerry Brown, University of Ottawa

1969
01-09) QB Jim Foley, St. Dunstans
02-18) QB Norm Lukey, Saint Mary's
03-27) FL Brian donnelly, Queen's
04-36) OL Wayne Powell, University of Ottawa
05-45) HB Don Croteau, Laurentian
06-54) FL Bruce McGregor, Carleton

1968
01-04) HB Paul Brule, St. Francis Xavier
01-06) LB Daryll Burgess, Saint Mary's
01-08) OG Ron Wakelin, University of Toronto
01-09) LB/OL Don Cooper, Bishop's
02-17) LB John Wilson, Alberta
03-26) OT Theron Craig, Queen's
04-35) LB Brian Fryer, McMaster
05-44) LB Doug Shuh, Waterloo
06-53) LB Jim Tait, Queen's
07-62) FB Ted Ambercrombie, Saint Mary's
08-71) OT Neil Wyatt, University of Ottawa

1967
01-08) HB Greg McQueen, Waterloo
02-17) HB Robert Wearing, Western
03-26) QB Don Bayne, Queen's
04-35) HB Moe Rodigue, McGill

1966
01-06) LB Glen Markle, University of Toronto
02-xx) LB Doug Kelcher, St. Patrick's
02-xx) DE Jim Dickie, McGill
03-xx) FL Tod Scott, St. Francis Xavier
03-xx) LB Norm Lightfoot, Regina
04-xx) DB Al Keith, McMaster
05-xx) HB Terry Bradley, McDonald College
05-xx) LB Allan Grachina, University of Toronto
06-xx) DE Harold Hermitage, McDonald
06-xx) LB Wayne Houston, Waterloo Lutheran
07-xx) OG Phil Hughes, St. Francis Xavier
08-xx) LB Donald Holmes, Toronto
09-xx) HB John Ball, Mount Allison
10-xx) OG Dick Fiedler, McGill

1965
01-06) ?? Brian Bentley, Mount Allison
02-15) DE Stu O'Brien, Saint Mary's
03-24) OT Rick Canning, Bishop's
03-27) QB Mike Norcott, Mount Allison
04-33) HB Keith Mills, Bishop's
05-42) HB Don Campbell, Mount Allison
05-45) OT Pat Lafferty, Bishop's
06-51) LB Peter Ferguson, Mount Allison
07-60) DB Eric Hafenan, Saint Mary's

1964
01-06) FB Peter Martin, Western Ontario
02-15) OT Andy Shaw, Queen's
03-24) HB George Poirier, Loyola College
04-33) HB Bruce Leggatt, McMaster
04-36) DE Joel LaMorre, St Francis Xavier
05-42) OT Jim Burke, St Francis Xavier
06-51) HB Harold Rose, Queen's
07-60) QB John McLennan, McMaster

1963
01-03) HB Rick Black, Mount Allison
01-06) OG Bill Micklas, Queen's
01-08) HB Peter Quinn, Queen's
02-15) HB Paul Benoit, Queen's
03-24) FB Len Robinson, University of Ottawa
04-30) OL Ted Moore, Saint Mary's
04-33) OG Bob Bourgalt, Loyola
05-42) HB Jim Sevigny, Carleton
06-51) HB John Nash, Western
07-60) OT Jack Greben, McMaster

1962 (Eastern team plus Stampeders participating)
01-04) OG Chuck Wood, McGill
02-09) HB Whitman Tucker, Western
03-14) DE Bob windsor, McGill
04-19) DE Larry Shaw, Western
05-24) DE Hugh Cook, University of Toronto
06-29) OT Doug Niklas, Queen's

1961 (Eastern team plus Stampeders participating)
01-05) HB Paul Burroughs, University of Toronto
02-10) HB John Moore, McGill
03-15) HB Dick Pearce, Queen's
04-20) HB Frank Loftus, Queen's
05-25) OT John Evans, University of Toronto

1960 (Eastern team plus Stampeders participating)
01-04) HB Steve Chisolm, University of Toronto
02-09) DE Doug Jack, University of Toronto
03-14) OT Brian Bradstock, University of Toronto
04-19) HB Joe Irvine, McGill
05-24) DE Jim Edgar, Western
06-29) OG Ross Arbour, Queen's

1959
01-02) HB Jocko Thompson, Queen's
02-12) HB Bob Dann, University of Toronto
03-21) HB Steve O'Farrell, McGill

1958
01-06) HB Russ Jackson, McMaster
02-XX) DE John Bennett, McGill
03-XX) QB Brian Ashton, University of Toronto
04-XX) OL John Chisholm, University of Toronto
05-XX) DE Dan Nelson, University of Toronto
06-XX) DE Burt Kelloch, University of Toronto

1957
01-03) OG Russ Radchuk, Queen's
02-12) DE/P Peter Mitchell, McMaster
03-21) OL Peter Polecrone, University of Toronto

1956
01-01) DE Lou Bruce, Queen's
02-10) FB Ralph Simmons, Western Ontario
03-19) OT Vic Uzbalis, Queen's
04-28) HB Jack Rome, McMaster

1954
       HB Gino Fracas, Western Ontario
          Robert Pinkney, Toronto
          Pete Nicholson, Queen's
          George Stulac, Toronto
          Larry Henderson, Western Ontario
          Bob Turner, Western Ontario
          Fred Palermo, Toronto
          Joe O'Brien, Queen's
          Jack Rogers, Toronto
          Don Marston, Queen's
          John Hilts, McGill                

1953 (IRFU teams only)
01-02) OT Joe Harris, University of Toronto
02-06) OT Stu Kennedy, Queen's
03-10) DE Tony Arnoldi, Queen's
04-14) DE Hank Tamowski, University of Toronto
05-18) HB Ken Atwood, Queen's
06-22) HB Cameron Kenney, McGill
07-26) OG Clive Bynoe, McMaster
08-30) OG Pete Johnson, Queen's
09-34) HB Bill Gatfield, Queen's
10-38) OG W. Waddell, Queen's

In case you're wondering, and are something of a trivia buff, the big winner in terms of overall selections is actually Queen's University with 35 (not counting the 1954 draft).  Of course, it seems that only a handful of schools were "eligible" to be chosen from in the 50's and early 60's, but nonetheless.  Toronto and Western Ontario are next, followed by the two local schools.

2014 East West Bowl (capital region representation)

The blog is rather RedBlacks heavy at the moment, as that team actively builds, but anyone who came across my Capital Region Football website in the past knows that I have just as much interest in the amateur levels of the sport around the city as I do pro.  I've gotten in many an argument with people who claim that Ottawa is "not a football town", based on the quality and success of the amateur game, and my invitation for them to go to hell continues to be wide open. ;-)

So I took in the East-West bowl rosters with an increasing amount of glee last week as I was scrolling down the list and seeing more and more players with Ottawa connections.  Have a look:

QB  Dallon Kuprowski   McGill     5-9   168   Kanata, Ont.
QB  Jesse Mills        Carleton   6-4   230   Halifax, N.S.
OL  Danny Groulx       Laval      6-6   320   Gatineau, Que.
RB  Jesse Andrews      Queen’s    6-1   210   Arnprior, Ont.
RB  Ashton Dickson     StFX       5-9   193   Ottawa, Ont.
REC Nyjill Wilson      Bishop’s   6-1   190   Ottawa, Ont.
REC Ian Stewart        Ottawa     6-2   186   Burlington, Ont.
REC Randy Roseway      StFX       6-0   163   Ottawa, Ont.
                     

LB Ron Omara

LB  Drew Morris        Acadia     6-2   225   Ottawa, Ont.
LB  Ron Omara          StFX       6-2   241   Aylmer, Que.
DB  Sean Stoqua        Acadia     5-11  180   Ottawa, Ont.
DB  Dustin Wilson      Ottawa     6-1   195   Ottawa, Ont.

K/P Ryan Begin         Acadia     5-10  205   Orleans, Ont.

Now to be completely impartial, I have acknowledge that two of the guys playing IN Ottawa are not FROM Ottawa, just apparently excelling in the local university programs.

So technically I'm double-dipping.  But even removing Jesse Mills and Ian Stewart from the list (even Arnprior's Jesse Andrews is debatable), it's still plenty solid.  As was pointed out to me on Twitter, StFX is sending three guys, and all three are from Ottawa.

Also, this isn't an all-star team per se.  The point of the East West Bowl is for players becoming draft-eligible in 2015 to showcase their skills.  So a number of players don't qualify to be included.

That hardly diminishes the accomplishment.  As the announcement points outs, 13 of the guys on the list (West team included, of course) were named CIS all-stars at the conclusion of last season.

Though I wasn't quite as active in terms of direct support in 2013 as I had in previous years, it's great to see some of the guys that I've been watching for years reach this level.  There may be a couple in particular that I'll want to elaborate on but if so I'll do it in separate posts.  In the meantime, congratulations to all of the above for the prestigious invitation.

The game will be played May 10th at 1PM at the University of Western Ontario.

RedBlacks sign WR Simon Le Marquand

This signing came as a bit of a (pleasant) surprise to me.

Because the signing was being announced in Gatineau, and the media there had been beating the Etienne Boulay drum for a while, I thought there was a decent chance that his signing would be made official.  That struck as a bit fast, because Boulay had said just a couple of weeks ago that he wanted to get in shape first, but certainly not out of the realm of possibility.

The signings of Le Marquand and the acquisition of former Ottawa Sooner John Delahunt in the expansion draft underscore why I find following local amateur football so much fun.  I have been folowing their careers for many years already and it's a pleasure to see them get this opportunity.

Most media will refer to his UOttawa career, but Le Marquand had already begun to make his mark (no lame pun attempted there) at the Cegep de l'Outaouais.  In 2008, he recorded 26 receptions for 541 yards and eight scores.  Those numbers placed him on the all-star team.

He was not called upon quite as much in first couple of seasons with UOttawa, but once given the opportunity in 2011, he embraced it to the tune of 57 receptions, 867 yards and six touchdowns, all team-leading receiving numbers and good enough to gather second-team conference all-star recognition.  He was also honoured as team MVP that year, the first time a non-QB had been given the award since 2002.

When Gary Etcheverry took over as head coach the following year and brought the team back to 1942, Le Marquand's numbers suffered accordingly.  Le Marquand recorded 28 catches for 464 yards and two scores.  After his release from Hamilton's training camp this past summer, after being chosen in the 4th round of the collegiate draft by the Ti-Cats, Le Marquand returned to the Gee-Gees and added 25 receptions, 374 yards and another four TD's to his resumé.

On a general note, something else struck me about this signing.  We now have on our roster...

• Three wide receivers
• Two slotbacks
• Two fullbacks capable of playing inside receiver (Delahunt, as well as Patrick Lavoie)

...and not a single one of them is UNDER six feet.

I felt throughout the Renegades years that a lack of size at the position was a major drawback.  They say you can't coach speed, which I think is nonsense.  Of course you can make yourself faster.  But you can't make yourself taller.

Here are the guys currently listed on Calgary's roster for the sake of comparison.

31  Fuller, Jeff          WR     6.04
84  Hawthorne, Tim        WR     6.03
 3  Sinopoli, Brad        WR     6.04
80  Forzani, Johnny       WR     6.01
85  West, Joe             WR     6.01
88  Stafford, Kenny       WR     6.04
17  Price, Maurice        WR     6.01
83  Morin-Plante, Yannick WR     6.00
86  Parker, Anthony       WR     6.02
87  Armstrong, Spencer    WR     6.01

No doubt there are good receivers under six feet.  But if you can get a bunch of capable guys with size, you're giving yourself an edge.  The Renegades never seemed to embrace that, and they never had a passing game to be feared, either.

Racine, Lumsden, Okeke named to the Canadian Football Hall of Fame!

I admit that I did not know that the Hall of Fame inductions were last night.  If I had, I would have paid greater attention.

There's a fair amount of Ottawa (or Ottawa-based, at least) content in the 2014 class.  The following is copied from TSN's recap of the event:

(Neil) Lumsden, 60, of London, Ont., enjoyed a stellar college career at Ottawa and in '75 helped the Gee-Gees go 11-0 and capture the Vanier Cup. Lumsden ended his collegiate tenure as the Vanier Cup MVP. He left school first in all-time CIS scoring (410 points) and his 148 points in '75 was second all-time. That season, Lumsden scored 37 points -- including five TDs -- in a single game.

Lumsden played in the CFL from '76 to '85 with Toronto, Hamilton and Edmonton, winning three Grey Cups with the Eskimos (1980-'82) and being named the top Canadian in the '81 contest. Lumsden was also in the Ticats' front office when they won their last league title in '99.

(Moe) Racine, 76, a native of Cornwall, Ont., was an offensive lineman and kicker with Ottawa from 1958-'74, appearing in five Grey Cup games and winning four times. He played 201 career games with the Rough Riders and was an East all-star three times. The franchise retired his No. 62 jersey upon his retirement.

The picture of Racine above was lifted from the cflapedia website and is probably originally from Scott Grant's extensive portfolio.

Can't claim too much "Ottawa-ness" to former offensive lineman Uzooma Okeke, but he did play with the last Rough Riders team in 1996.  He started gathering all-star status fairly regularly the following year (of course...) with Montreal and was with them until 2006.  Played with the Shreveport Pirates prior to joining the Rough Riders so he might be the poster boy for what a quality work environment can do for one's career.

As an aside, I love that the Canadian Hall of Fame is a football Hall of Fame and not a pro football Hall of Fame. If you impact the game significantly at the amateur level, that accomplishment should be recognised.

The OSEG Media Newsroom blog has far more detailed articles on both men.  Give that a look over here.

2013 CIS Conference All-Stars, Ottawa-style

While I watch former Cumberland Panther Alex Skinner quarterback Laval in the Dunsmore Cup, I thought it would be a good time to review the OUA and CIS award winners that were announced earlier this week, all of whom come from the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees.

FIRST TEAM

Running Back: Brendan Gillanders - Ottawa
Defensive Tackle: Ettore Lattanzio - Ottawa

SECOND TEAM

Quarterback: Aaron Colbon - Ottawa
Centre:  Shavin Fernando - Ottawa
Guard: Taylor Servais - Ottawa
Safety: Matthew Bond-Lapointe - Ottawa

Let's copy their achievements from the OUA website:

(Brendan) Gillanders’ 1061 all purpose offensive yards was tops among CIS running backs. He scored five touchdowns (3 receiving, 2 rushing)...

Gee-Gee defensive tackle Ettore Lattanzio rounds out the OUA first team defence .The Ottawa native led the OUA and tied for the CIS lead with 10 quarterback sacks.

Lattanzio also earned the J.P. Metras Trophy as the top lineman in the conference.

Ottawa quarterback Aaron Colbon passed for 2490 yards averaging 311.1 yards per game to finish second in OUA. He tossed 20 touchdowns en route to the first all-star recognition of his impressive career in garnet and grey. He is joined on the OUA second team by fifth-year centre Shavin Fernando (Ottawa) and fourth-year guard Taylor Servais (Ottawa).

While Carleton was shut out in their first year back from dormancy, other local players earned OUA honours out of town.

Linebacker Sam Sabourin continued the tradition and earned his third all-star recognition. The Stittsville, Ont., native had 34.5 tackles, two sacks and two interceptions in his fourth-year.

Place kicker Tyler Crapigna (Nepean, Ont.) hit 16 of 19 field goals attempted for an 84% success rate and second team all-star status.

Ottawa has been well-represented in other conferences as well.  Receiver Geoff Conventry made the RSEQ all-star team in gathering 25 receptions for 306 yards and a score for Bishop's.  Out East, two more o-linemen were honoured for their play in Chris Fanning and James Young, both with Acadia, as was the Axemen's kicker, Ryan Begin, an Orleans native.

Last but hardly least, linebacker Ron Omara not only made the AUS all-star team, he was also named the conference's top defensive player.  Omara lists Aylmer, QC, as his hometown.  He was an Ontario Football Conference All-Star for the Ottawa Sooners in 2010.

Oct 19th, 2013: Windsor 15 at UOttawa 45

Keeping this partial recap of the Gee-Gees win over Windsor for posterity.

...Ottawa kept Windsor’s offense at bay for the entirety of the first half letting no man get into the end zone. In the first quarter, linebacker Ettore Lattanzio got his first of three sacks on Lancer quarterback Austin Kennedy. Lattanzio is currently in a three-way tie for the CIS lead, sitting at 9 on the season.

...

On offense, Gee-Gee quarterback Aaron Colbon got a touchdown to kickoff the scoring momentum for his team. Sixth in the CIS with 65 points, kicker Lewis Ward was consistently gaining points after every touchdown and obtained two field goals throughout the game.

By halftime, Ottawa had secured 23 first downs while finishing the game with 31. In comparison, at halftime Windsor had 3. In the second half, the Lancers were much more efficient and propelled their first downs to 24 thanks to aggressive rushing by running back Mitch Dender, who finished with 52 yards on the ground.

To start things off for Ottawa, Aaron Colbon reached Nicolas Dagher to secure a 27-yard pass. Colbon subsequently passed 38 yards to Andrew Mullings for a touchdown play. Domenic Bellardini scored a rouge, while teammate Ward scored a field goal in the following minutes. The score stood at 18-0 at halftime.

Adding to his impressive 2,490 yards passing total on the season, Colbon connected with receiver Simon Le Marquand for an Ottawa touchdown in the third quarter.

In response, the Lancers put up two touchdowns of their own in the second half.  Kennedy’s first strike was to star wide receiver Evan Pszczonak in the third frame.  Pszczonak averages 92.3 receiving yards per game, but Ottawa kept him at under par with 63 on Saturday. Lancer Clark Grace scored the second touchdown of the day for Windsor at the start of the fourth quarter, giving the team some hope of a comeback. However, the Ottawa defence kicked back into gear and continued to hound Kennedy, stifling the Lancers for the remainder of the game.

Quarterback for the Gee-Gees in the fourth, Derek Wendel got his fourth touchdown of the season while running back Mack Tommy broke into a run for the end zone in the final moments of the game getting one of his own.

The Gee-Gees began their season at McMaster (a 51-24 loss) and hopefully they won't close it there.  If the unthinkable should happen, at least we can see that the arrow is pointing up after a dismal 2012 which resulted in only two wins earned after the head coach was let go.

That said, there's clearly still some work to be done.  The Gee-Gees' fifth-place ranking in the OUA couldn't be more appropriate.  They didn't play one of the teams above them in the standings (Guelph) and lost to the other three by a combined score of 170-72.

Panda Game 2013: UOttawa 35, Carleton 10

I waited a bit before posting a recap of Saturday's Panda Game so that I could judge the reaction.  The abbreviated article below is from the Ottawa Citizen and seems to cover all the bases.

OTTAWA — The Carleton Ravens didn’t have much business being in the Panda Game, but they were.

A record-tying 129-yard touchdown by Tunde Adeleke on the return of a missed field goal attempt got the Ravens within four points of the Ottawa Gee-Gees, at 14-10, midway through the second quarter.

That was all the Gee-Gees were willing to grant the Ravens, though. A drive capped by a seven-yard touchdown pass from Aaron Colbon to Andrew Mullings extended that lead just before halftime, and Ottawa’s defence did the rest, shutting down Carleton’s offence in what turned out to be a 35-10 victory in the Ontario University Athletics game at U of O’s Lees Avenue stadium on Saturday.

“It’s awesome having this rivalry in the city back,” said Colbon, a quarterback in his fifth and final university football season, but, just like every other player on the field, a Panda Game novice because it was the first such contest since 1998. That was when Carleton dropped football for financial reasons, and it was only this year, following a $5-million fundraising effort, that the Ravens were back on the football field.

“It’s great for the city, it’s great for the fans, it’s great for the two teams, Ottawa and Carleton, to have this healthy rivalry back,” Colbon added. “There’s just so much tradition behind this game. I feel honoured to have a chance to play in it.”

Tradition was fine, but there was a touch of revenge in the voice of receiver Simon Le Marquand, too.

“There that was a lot of emotion in that game. It’s personal,” Le Marquand, another fifth-year player, said in reference to the Ravens’ hiring away former Gee-Gees head coach J.P. Asselin (as offensive co-ordinator), offensive co-ordinator Chris Coulson (offensive line coach), defensive co-ordinator Sean Hall (defensive backs), video and quality control coach Chris Brzozowski (running backs) and even a former Ottawa quarterback Josh Sacobie (receivers).

“They took our coaching staff, and we remember when they left and we were left behind by ourselves. That was our motivation (Saturday).”

Le Marquand used his motivation to turn his two catches into touchdowns of 18 and six yards on throws from Colbon, who also made the short, but key scoring toss to Mullings and also ran eight yards on a quarterback draw for a touchdown in the third quarter.

Ottawa’s other score came early on a one-yard plunge by Brendan Gillanders, whose biggest contribution on the drive was to pick up a fumble by Colbon, who had been sacked on the second play from scrimmage, and to rumble for 30 yards.

The Ravens got on the scoreboard following an interception by Nathaniel Hamlin. Their offence stalled at the 10-yard line, but Andrew Banerjee made a 17-yard field goal to make the score 14-3.

Then came the stunning touchdown by Adeleke, whose return on a miss by Lewis Ward tied the Canadian Interuniversity Sport record and was only the third such feat.

...

Adeleke’s interception came on what could only be described as a gadget play by the Gee-Gees. On second-and-goal from the one-yard line, Colbon took the snap, turned away from the line of scrimmage as if to hand the ball to a running back, but then flipped the ball back over his head and into the end-zone. It was easily caught by Adeleke.

Gee-Gees head coach Jamie Barresi said it had been his call.

“I’ve seen it work,” he said, “and it was something I promised our players we would do.”

...

Ottawa racked up 356 yards rushing, including 164 by Gillanders on 17 carries, and another 316 yards passing. Colbon, playing with a bandaged right thumb that had been dislocated two weeks earlier, was 21-for-29 for 295 yards and those three touchdowns, but he was also sacked four times.

Carleton had just 91 yards net rushing, which was actually two yards less than the total produced by Kwasi Gyamfi-Adusei. Quarterback Jesse Mills passed 13-for-23 for 154 yards, and he was sacked twice.

The capacity crowd of approximately 4,200 included more than 20 former Gee-Gees and Ravens who played in the first Panda Game in 1955 — Carleton won that one 14-6 — and one streaker, who jumped over a barrier near the U of O student section and ran the length of the field before being caught by security personnel.

This was a great event. It was my first time at the new field and thought the facility was great and easy to find.

The Citizen had another article, by Don Campbell, which made the point that the Panda Game was about football and not the frenzy.  I couldn't agree more.  The crowd at my end (about the 25 yard line on the Gee-Gees side) was crazy loud but they weren't more preoccupied with displaying how wasted they were than with the game.

A year or two ago, I had a guy fall on me from a couple of rows up during the Gee-Gees home opener.  Police presence increased throughout the day because of fighting, etc.  There was none of that this time around.  This Panda crowd could have given lessons on how to have fun at a game without ruining it for anyone else.  A streaker?  Big damn deal.

On the field, Adeleke's field goal return alone was worth the price of admission.  Aside from how spectacular the play was in terms of effort, it kept the game close until the Gee-Gees score at the end of the first half made it seem like Carleton might struggle to get back into it.

As far as the blind backwards pass goes...wow.  Gee-Gees Head Coach Jamie Barresi says that it was not done for the sake of gamesmanship but it's difficult to imagine the Gee-Gees pulling a stunt like that against Western.  But then I read Le Marquand's comments about the players feeling left behind by departing coaches and I find it hard to not sympathise with their possible urge to raise a middle finger.  Ultimately, I'm a little torn.

What I do know is that this is the kind of thing that makes rivalries great.

History: The Panda Game

Hey, have you heard?  The Panda Game is this week!

As good a time as any to restore my previous Panda Game page. I believe all scores are accurate (obviously).  There was some confusion with certain resources because some years, Carleton and UOttawa would play twice, but only one match-up was considered the Panda Game.

Over time, I'll fill out the remaining years like I have the 50's and early 60's.  The problem there is with my own OCD.  I have an irrational need to do them in order and I was unable to find a recap of the 1962 game.  I'll probably get to the library at some point this winter and start filling gaps.

For those going to the game, Enjoy!  I certainly plan to.

From "Ottawa's Football Tradition": The friendly rivalry between Ottawa's two largest universities is at least 50 years old, and has it foundations in a little stuffed Panda bear...Pedro became a football ambassador.  He travelled to nine different universities across Canada and parts of the United States.  Pedro has been parachuted into Lansdowne Park, kidnapped and held hostage by Queen's University's PLO (Panda Liberation Front), buried in a soccer field, nominated for President of the Carleton University Students Association, formally mentionned in a debate in the House of Commons, appeared on "Hockey Night in Canada" and transported to the game in an armored Brinks truck.

1998- University of Ottawa 59, Carleton University 17
1997- University of Ottawa 22, Carleton University 19
1996- University of Ottawa 28, Carleton University 00
1995- University of Ottawa 35, Carleton University 08
1994- University of Ottawa 15, Carleton University 27
1993- University of Ottawa 21, Carleton University 03
1992- University of Ottawa 17, Carleton University 06
1991- University of Ottawa 34, Carleton University 15
1990- University of Ottawa 30, Carleton University 17
1989- University of Ottawa 23, Carleton University 11
1988- University of Ottawa 29, Carleton University 09
1987- University of Ottawa 04, Carleton University 08
1986- University of Ottawa 30, Carleton University 29
1985- University of Ottawa 27, Carleton University 34
1984- University of Ottawa 18, Carleton University 30
1983- University of Ottawa 23, Carleton University 28
1982- University of Ottawa 19, Carleton University 07
1981- University of Ottawa 29, Carleton University 00
1980- University of Ottawa 21, Carleton University 30
1979- University of Ottawa 28, Carleton University 16
1978- University of Ottawa 13, Carleton University 24
1977- University of Ottawa 16, Carleton University 36
1976- University of Ottawa 19, Carleton University 14
1975- University of Ottawa 55, Carleton University 22
1974- University of Ottawa 48, Carleton University 07
1973- University of Ottawa 21, Carleton University 14
1972- University of Ottawa 31, Carleton University 14
1971- University of Ottawa 14, Carleton University 28
1970- University of Ottawa 29, Carleton University 20
1969- University of Ottawa 20, Carleton University 21
1968- University of Ottawa 28, Carleton University 27
1967- University of Ottawa 36, Carleton University 20
1966- University of Ottawa 28, Carleton University 13
1965- University of Ottawa 27, Carleton University 19
1964- University of Ottawa 33, Carleton University 40
1963- University of Ottawa 41, Carleton University 21

1962- University of Ottawa 13, Carleton University 10
There were some concerns as to whether Pedro would be available.

1961- University of Ottawa 13, Carleton University 12
Ottawa Citizen - (Peter) Barnabe's third quarter single gave the Varsity Gee-Gee's a 13-12 decision...GeeGee's took the lead in the first quarter on a line plunge by speedy Derek Callan.  Carleton lost the game when the winners capitalized on a fumble with Mike blain going nine yards for their second touchdown.

1960- University of Ottawa 28, Carleton University 06
Ottawa Citizen (uncredited) - (Bill) McIntyre...figured in on all four majors picked up by the Gee-Gees and for the second  straight week scored three times.  He passes to Pete Barnabe for the fourth...Pilfering (Pedro) this time were a couple who posed as newshawks seeking a story."

Pedro was busy at both ends of the calendar in 1960.  He attended the opening of the U of O carnival in January and had to be rescued from McMaster university in December.

1959- University of Ottawa 42, Carleton University 00
Ross Peterkin, Ottawa Citizen - "Bill McIntyre...started the 1959 season in fine style with a three touchdown performance.  Mcintyre...managed to churn out 164 yards on 16 carries.  Pedro the Panda...met with defeat at the hands of eager Carleton supporters during the halftime intermission.  The panda, which enjoyed a tour of Canadian colleges and unversities last year, had its head removed by the roughians...Chris Nowakowski was easily Carleton's top ball player.  The Ashbury graduate was in on almost every tackle and was a tired boy when the game finished...U of O found holes through Carleton's line for 415 yards on the ground and added another 97 passing.  Carleton was held to 97 yards on the ground, 38 through the air."

1958- University of Ottawa 23, Carleton University 00
Ron McGrath, Ottawa Citizen - "(Bill) McIntyre scored two touchdowns, added a pair of converts, and Claude Lauriault scored an opening major as the Gee-Gees mesmerized the hapless Ravens...Carleton did not complete a single pass..."

1957- University of Ottawa 44, Carleton University 00
Ron McGrath, Ottawa Citizen - "(Dick) Barch and (Claude) Lauriault collected a pair of touchdowns apiece, while (Bill) McIntyre and Paul De Le Franier got the others...In the final analysis, weak and sometimes non-existent tackling hampered the Raven defence, while the Varsity defence were efficient to an extreme, forcing Carleton to give up the ball three times on third down gambles.

1956- University of Ottawa 10, Carleton University 14
Ottawa Journal (writer not identified) - "Carleton roared back with a converted touchdown in the second quarter to lead 7-2 at the half.  Connie Poulin...scored the major on a three-yard dive over centre....Varsity quarterback Jack Richardson capped a 59-yard march for the losers by skirting his own right end on an option play from 15 yards out...Poulin got that one back with a two-yard plunge for his second TD of the day."

1955- University of Ottawa 06, Carleton University 14
Bernie Nells, Ottawa Citizen -"Wally Lacosta, the Ravens' outstanding tackle, paced the Carleton scoring attack with pair of field goals and one convert, while Bobby Anderson scored a touchdown and Brian Turner booted two singles...The Ravens' only touchdown of the game came when they recovered a bad U of O snap and quarterback Gordon Johnston heaved a 25-yard pass to Anderson in the endzone."