FOOTBALL: Quebec teams set to open 2009 season

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FOOTBALL: Quebec teams set to open 2009 season

Published: 13 August 2009

Montreal - The Quebec University Football League begins preparation for the 2009 season on Aug. 14 with the opening of their respective training camps.

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Over the coming weeks, rookies and veterans alike will vie for positions on one of the six QUFL squads in hopes of being in the line-up for the 2009 campaign which begins on Thursday, Sept. 3 when the 平特五不中 Redmen travel across Mount Royal to face the Montreal Carabins at CEPSUM Stadium.

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Three days later, the QUFL on Radio-Canada, the French-language division of the CBC-TV, takes to the airwaves when the Concordia Stingers head to Quebec City to take on the defending Vanier Cup champion Laval Rouge et Or on Sept. 6 at 2 p.m. EDT.

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But before the regular season starts, Concordia, Laval and the Sherbrooke Vert & Or will host pre-season games against a trio of Ontario schools.

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Sherbrooke plays host to the Ottawa Gee-Gees on Aug. 29, while Concordia and Laval entertain the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks and the Western Ontario Mustangs, respectively, on Aug. 30.

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平特五不中 Redmen

Head coach Sonny Wolfe returns for his third year and his Redmen are in the 129th season of football at 平特五不中 University.听 The Redmen open training camp with 48 returnees (24 on offence, 24 on defence) to go along with 32 new faces.

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平特五不中 has only lost six starters, four on offence -- including two-time all-star quarterback Matt Connell and receiver Erik Galas, who signed with the CFL's Montreal Alouettes.

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Directing the 平特五不中 passing attack will be 6-foot-3, 193-pound sophomore Ryne Bondy of Richmond Hill, Ont. Bondy will be challenged by freshman Jonathan ("JC") Collin, a 6-foot-5, 235-pound pivot who led Champlain College to the collegiate AA Bol d'Or championship.

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Leading the receiving corps is Charles-Antoine Sinotte, a 2007 all-Canadian from Trois-Rivi猫res, Que.

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The running back position is deep, led by senior Chris Hayes (Winnipeg), sophomore Taylor Kuprowoski (Kanata, Ont) and Concordia-transfer Andrew Hamilton, a 6-foot, 200-pound Montreal native who averaged 8.4 yards per carry during the 2006 season. Freshmen to watch for include speedy Lenn Gittens out of the St. Leonard Cougars junior program and Galen Flaherty, the top athlete at Trinity College School.

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The defensive unit boasts 10 returning starters led by two-time all-star cornerback Anthony Lukca and buttressed by Concordia transfer Moe Sidibe, a two-time all-Canadian cornerback with the Stingers.

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Returning starters include senior corner Greg Landry (Vancouver), plus juniors Patrick Bourgon (Hawkesbury, Ont) and Julien Lefebvre (Montreal), plus sophomore Jeff Gorin (Montreal). Another sophomore expected to earn some playing time is Matthew Quigley of Cumberland, Ont.

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Incoming players expected to make an immediate impact are a pair of transfers form Concordia -- defensive back Junior Bishop of Scarborough, Ont., and two-time all-Canadian cornerback Modibo Sidibe of Buffalo, N.Y., plus听 Anie-Ebeit Edem out of Champlain College in Lennoxville.

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On special teams, the Redmen will be counting on a healthy season from kicker Austin Anderson, a sophomore from Canmore, Alta., who went 5-for-5 in field-goal kicking in his CIS debut last year before going down in Week 2 with a hamstring injury and missing the remainder of the season. Austin is the son of legendary NFL kicker Gary Anderson.

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Head Coach and Offensive Coordinator : Sonny Wolfe

Defensive Coordinator: Clint Uttley

Special Units Coordinator : Jerome Erdman

Training camp schedule (at Molson Stadium)

Aug. 14, 6 p.m.

Aug. 15-16, 1:15 p.m

Aug. 17 to 19, 5:15 p.m.

Aug. 20-21, 6 p.m.

Aug. 22, 11:30 a.m. scrimmage

Aug. 23, evaluation & cuts

Aug. 24 to 27, 4:30 p.m.

Aug. 28, TBA, Red & White scrimmage

Aug. 29, 10 a.m.

Information and interview requests :

Earl Zukerman, Communications Officer, 平特五不中 University Redmen, 514-398-7012, earl.zukerman [at] mcgill.ca

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Bishop's Gaiters

The Bishop's Gaiters enter 2009 hoping to rebound from an up-and-down 2008, where they were in and out of the CIS rankings, but ultimately finished one win short of the playoffs. While the Gaiters return 18 starters, it is an understatement to say that there are significant losses to overcome.

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Offensively, new co-ordinator Perry Marchese will be charged with leading the Gaiters into Life After Jamall. Running back Jamall Lee (Port Coquitlam, B.C.), the two-time All-Canadian, has left for the NFL and taken his 4,296 career yards with him. The Gaiters' attack will be led by quarterback Jesse Andrews (Pickering, Ont.), who passed for 1501 yards last season, and has made 22 consecutive starts. Fellow East-West bowl participant Shawn Gore听(Don Mills, Ont.) will provide a key target in the slotback position, while Steven Turner听(Brampton, Ont.) will look to take over the starting running back spot and continues to be a threat to score on every kick return. Mike Berta听(St. Mary's, Ont.) and Philip Sauer (Granby, Que.) will anchor the Gaiters' offensive line.

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Defensively, the Gaiters have lost James Yurichuk听(Brampton, Ont.) to the B.C. Lions, but will return Kyle Jones (Mississauga, Ont.), who spent the summer on the Toronto Argonauts' practice roster and led the team with 5.5 sacks last year. The secondary will be led by Nick Poloniato (Hamilton, Ont.), who had five interceptions last season, and Harrison Maloney (Thurso, Que.), the 2008 QUFL Rookie of the Year.

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Head Coach and Special Teams Coordinator: Leroy Blugh

Defensive Coordinator : Ray Gagnon

Offensive Coordinator: Perry Marchese

Training camp schedule (Coulter Field)

Aug. 14 Players Report

Aug. 15 Testing

Aug. 16 15:30 - 17:30

Aug. 17 to 20 9:15 - 11:30 and 15:15 - 17:30

Aug. 21 9:15 - 11:30 only

Aug. 22 Scrimmage

Aug. 23-24 No on-field practice

Aug. 25-27 9:15 - 11:30 and 15:30 - 17:30

Aug. 28 15:15 - 17:30 only

Aug. 29 TBD

Aug. 30 9:15 - 11:30 only

Aug. 31 9:30 - 11:30 and 14:15 - 17:30

Sep. 1-3 19:00 - 21:30

Media Availability

During training camp, coaches and student-athletes are generally available to the media between practice sessions, or after the final session of the day. Any interviews conducted before the afternoon session must be completed by 3:00.

Information and interview requests :

John Edwards, sports information officer, Bishop's University Gaiters, 819-822-9600 ext. 2507, jedwards [at] ubishops.ca

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Concordia Stingers

Head coach Gerry McGrath is looking forward to greeting approximately 90 Stingers when Concordia opens football camp on Aug. 14.

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"We're going to be a young, feisty team," says McGrath, now in his 10th year as head coach. "Going into camp I expect to see a solid defence and an offence that's more exciting than it has been in a lot of years."

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Quarterback Rob Mackay will lead a talented, veteran attack. He returns after missing last season and half of 2007 due to injury. Mackay will rely heavily on receiver Liam Mahoney and slotback Cory Watson.

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Newcomers on offence include RB Jerome Hofferden (Mississauga, Ont.), a transfer from South Dakota State, WR Scott Mironowicz (Kirkland, Que.) from John Abbott and FB Ray Tonye (Pierrefonds, Que.) from Vieux Montr茅al.

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The Stingers return two all-stars on defence - LB Cory Greenwood (Kingston, Ont.) and Nicholas Arsenault-Hum (Delson, Que.). Key recruits to watch include: CB Nathan Taylor (LaSalle, Que.) from Vanier and DT James Clement (Dorval, Que.) from John Abbott.

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Numbers of players expected in camp: 88 38 newcomers, 50 veterans

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Head Coach and Offensive Coordinator : Gerry McGrath

Defensive Coordinator : Warren Craney

Special Teams Coordinator : Pete Reginbald

Training camp schedule

Aug. 14 to 9 a.m, physical testing

Aug. 15-27 - 4 to 8 p.m., on-field training

Aug. 28-30, training at Waterloo/Wilfrid Laurier

Aug. 31 - 10 a.m., meetings

Sept. 1-4 , meetings (4:30 p.m.), practice (6 p.m.)

Pre-season game :

Sunday Aug. 30, 2 p.m. Concordia vs Wilfrid Laurier

Information and interview requests :

Catherine Grace, sports information officer, Concordia Stingers, 514-848-2424, ext. 3862, cgrace [at] alcor.concordia.ca

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Laval Rouge et Or

The defending Vanier Cup champion Rouge et Or went a perfect 12-0 in 2008 en route to their fifth title in its 14-year history. Laval went 8-0 during the regular season and 2-0 in the QUFL playoffs to earn its sixth conference crown.

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Standout quarterbacks Benoit Groulx and Cesar Sanchez-Hernandez return for their fifth and final season of CIS football. Groulx, the 2008 Hec Creighton Award winner as the player of the year in Canada brings leadership and stability to a Laval offence that will feature many new faces in 2009. Much like the receiving corps, there will be a lot of jobs up for grabs amongst linebackers.

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Notable departures include: 脡tienne L茅gar茅, Luc Brodeur-Jourdain, Vincent Turgeon, Mathieu Parent, Steve Landry, Guillaume Allard-Cam茅us et Matt Leblanc.

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Recruits to watch: Tristan Grenon (QB), Jean-Alexandre Bernier (DL), Philippe Lemire (DL), Yannick Morin-Plante (REC), Frederic Plesius (LB), Daniel Shcober (DB), Guillaume Rioux (REC), Junior Seydou-Ha茂dara (REC), Dominic Boisvert (DL).

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Head Coach : Glen Constantin

Defensive Coordinator : Marc Fortier

Offensive Coordinator : Justin 脡thier

Special Teams Coordinator : Francesco Pepe Esposito

Training camp schedule (PEPS Stadium)

Aug. 15-16, 8:30 to 11 a.m. and 4 to 6 p.m.

Aug. 17, 8:30 to 11 a.m

Aug. 18-19, 8:30 to 11 a.m. and 3:30 to 5:30 p.m.

Aug. 20, 8:30 to 11 a.m

Aug. 21, 8:30 to 11 a.m and 3:30 to 5:30 p.m.

Aug. 22, 3 to 6:30 p.m.

Aug. 24, 3:30 to 5:30 p.m.

Aug. 25-28, 4 to 6 p.m.

Aug. 29, 9 to 11:30 a.m.

Pre-season game :

Sunday Aug. 30, 1 p.m. Western Ontario vs Laval U. (PEPS)

Information and interview requests :

J茅r么me Pelletier, sports information officer, Laval University Rouge et Or, 418-656-5292, jerome.pelletier [at] sas.ulaval.ca

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Montr茅al Carabins

The Carabins are counting on the return of a number of veterans at key positions in their hopes of earning the school's first conference title in 2009. Despite the number of veteran players returning to the Carabins, there are some interesting battles to follow during training camp.

The most disputed position in camp could be running back where highly touted recruit Rotrand Sen茅 of Montreal, along with second year ball carriers Patrick Jean-Marie, Montreal, and Kevin Kwateng, Montreal, will duel for supremacy at the position left vacant by Hantz Boursiquot, Montreal, who completed his fifth year of CIS eligibility in 2008.

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Montreal's aerial attack will once again be guided by fourth year pivot Marc-Olivier Brouillette, Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Que., who looks to hook up with his favourite target, third year receiver Frank Bruno of Montreal. The two have an amazing chemistry having previously played together at Vanier College, however injuries have prevented the duo from playing a complete season at the UdeM.

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Head Coach : Marc Santerre

Defensive Coordinator : Denis Touchette

Offensive Coordinator : Pat Gregory

Special Teams Coordinator : Spiro Feradouros

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Practice Schedule (CEPSUM) :

Aug. 15-29

Saturday-Sunday, 12:30 to 5 p.m.

Monday to Friday, 6:30 to 8:45 p.m.

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Information and interview requests :

Benoit Mongeon, sports information officer, University of Montreal Carabins, 514-343-6458,

benoit.mongeon [at] umontreal.ca

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Sherbrooke Vert & Or

Coming off its best campaign in school history at 5-3, the Vert & Or from Sherbrooke look to take the next step in 2009. With 90 players expected to attend camp including 28 rookies, the Vert & Or will be a younger squad this year as recruits and young veterans are expected to step in to fill the voids created by the departures of all-star wide receiver Alain Dorval of Quebec City, running back Joseph Mrou茅, Quebec City, defensive backs S茅bastien Jalbert, Laval, Que., and David Vaillancourt, Laval, Que., as well as offensive lineman Mathieu Lefaivre of Charlesbourg, Que.

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Expect to see rookie ball carrier Gabriel Bernard-Perron, Magog, Que., formerly of the Volontaires du C茅gep de Sherbrooke, along with听 full back Vincent Carri猫re-Garwood, Saint-Bruno, Que., (C茅gep de Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu) and defensive back Olivier Dauphinais, Beloeil,听Qu茅.,听(Coll猫ge听脡douard-Montpetit) challenging for a spot in the starting line-up.

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Head Coach : Andr茅 Bolduc

Defensive Coordinator : Marc Loranger

Offensive Coordinator : David Lessard

Special Teams Coordinator : Jean-Vincent Posy-Audette

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Practice Schedule (Annexe Field - University of Sherbrooke) :

Aug. 15 to 20 : 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Aug. 21 : 6 p.m. Scrimmage

Aug. 23 to 27 6:30 p.m.

Aug. 28 6:15

Pre-season game听: