Outlook for 129th season of McGill football

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Outlook for 129th season of McGill football

Published: 24 August 2009

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2008 regular season record: 0-8

2008 regular season standings: sixth place (QUFL)

2008 playoff record: 0-0

Head Coach & Offensive Coordinator: Sonny Wolfe

- Number of seasons as head coach with McGill (including 2008): 3

- Number of seasons as head coach in CIS (including 2008): 7

- Career regular season record with team: 0-16

- Career regular season record in CIS: 83-79

- Career overall record with McGill (reg. season & playoffs): 0-16

- Career overall record in CIS (reg. season & playoffs): 86-91

Defensive Coordinator: Clint Uttley (3rd year)

Special Teams Coordinator: Jerome Erdman (1st year)

Training camp schedule: Aug. 14-29 (daily at Molson Stadium)

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MONTREAL -- Head coach Sonny Wolfe returns for his third year and his Redmen have embarked on the 129th season of football at 香蕉视频.听 Coming off their second straight winless campaign, the coaching staff expects to field a much-improved squad in 2009, with significantly more size, strength, depth and experience. 听The roster features 28 freshmen, 26 sophomores, nine juniors and eight seniors. Among the returnees are 21 on offence and 22 on defence. After dressing between 19 and 23 freshmen for every game last year, Wolfe is expected to be dressing closer to half a dozen this year.

The offence features eight returning starters, led by wide receiver Charles-Antoine Sinotte, a 2007 all-Canadian who is healthy after being hobbled by injury for most of last year. Despite the graduation of two-time all-conference quarterback Matt Connell, a recent addition to the coaching staff this season after becoming the CIS all-time passing leader, the position appears to be in good hands but may take some time to develop.听 Ryne Bondy, a 6-foot-3, 200-pound sophomore, is expected to battle with 6-foot-5, 235-pound freshman Jonathan Collin, who led the Champlain College Cavaliers to an undefeated season.

The running game is expected to be much-improved with senior Chris Hayes (6-0, 205) and sophomore Taylor Kuprowski (5-10, 215) in addition to Concordia transfer Andrew Hamilton (6-0, 198), who has been clocked at 4.38 in the 40-yard dash at a CFL evaluation camp. Also in the mix are incoming freshmen Lenn Gittens (5-9, 190) out of the St. Leonard Cougars junior program and Galen Flaherty (5-7, 160), the top athlete at Trinity College School.

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.

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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KEY LOSSES:

The Redmen have only lost six starters, four on offence -- including Connell, plus senior offensive lineman Luke van Ruyven, and receivers Tim Kraemer (20 rec., 285 yds., 3 TD) and Erik Galas (64 rec., 781 yds., 6 TD), the latter of whom signed with the CFL's Montreal Alouettes.

The only starters not returning on defence are defensive back Schuyler O'Brien, also a kick-return specialist, and Adriano Tassone, who was lost in a tragic car accident last March. The Redmen will be wearing decals on their helmets this season in memory of their fallen teammate.

LAST YEAR'S QUFL RECAP:

Laval finished atop the Quebec University Football League last year with an 8-0 record and won the Vanier Cup as national champions.听 Concordia (5-3) finished second, followed by Sherbrooke (5-3), Montreal (5-3), Bishop's (3-5) and McGill (0-8).

McGILL's 2009 SCHEDULE:

McGill听 will open the 2009 campaign on Sept. 3, when they travel to the other side of Mt. Royal to take on the Montreal Carabins (5-3) in a Thursday night affair (7 pm). Among the special events on the eight-game schedule is the team's home opener against Sherbrooke in Week 2 (Sept. 11) and the annual "Fill the Stadium Game" against Bishop's on Sept. 18 at 7 pm. The Redmen are slated to host Saint Mary's from the Atlantic conference in the annual McGill Homecoming Game on Oct. 17. The following week, McGill will travel across town to take on the Stingers in the 41st annual Shaughnessy Cup game, which will be televised nationally by SRC, the French-language division of the CBC. The regular season finale on Halloween will feature the defending Vanier Cup champion Laval Rouge et Or in a "Residence Game" matinee at Molson Stadium.

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OFFENSIVE OUTLOOK (POSITION BY POSITION):

At QUARTERBACK, sophomore Ryne Bondy and freshman Jonathan "JC" Collin are expected to battle for the starting position.

Bondy, a 6-foot-3, 200-pound native of Richmond Hill, Ont., dressed for the final four games in his rookie campaign and saw limited duty, completing six of 15 pass attempts for 47 yards, no touchdowns and one interception.

Collin, a 6-foot-5, 240-pound pivot from Greenfield Park, Que., was arguably the top quarterback recruit in the province and led the Cavaliers of Champlain College in St. Lambert, Que., to an undefeated season en route to capturing the Collegiate AA Bol d'Or championship.听听 In 10 regular season games, he completed 191 of 331 passes for 2,455 yards and 20 TDs.

Also in the mix will be freshmen Connor Ogilvie from Okanagan Mission secondary school in Kelowna, B.C., and Max Bauer of Nanaimo, B.C., who played for St. Andrews College in Aurora, Ont.

At RECEIVER, deep-threat Charles-Antoine Sinotte, a 2007 all-Canadian from Trois-Rivi猫res, Que., is looking to bounce back from an injury-plagued season. Despite being hobbled, he still finished eighth among the top receivers in the country with 50 catches in six games, for 686 yards and a pair of TD majors. 听In his sophomore campaign, Sinotte led the nation with 72 catches for 839 yards in eight games, establishing numerous school and league records, including a CIS mark for most receptions in a season.

Other key returnees include juniors Bobby Mikelberg (6-0, 197) and Michael Chitayat, both natives of Montreal, plus sophomores Gabriel Aubry (6-2, 199; Montreal), Mathieu Walsh-Moreau (Ottawa) and Zech Miller (Toronto).

The coaching staff is also excited about the addition of freshmen Marc-Etienne Villeneuve and Thomas Fortin (6-1, 198, Gatineau, Que) from College de l'Outaouais, plus Guillaume Laflamme out of College de Trois-Rivi猫res.

The RUNNING BACK position features 6-foot, 205-pound senior Chris Hayes (4 carries, 22 yds, 5.5 avg.) of Winnipeg and 5-foot-10, 215-pound sophomore Taylor Kuprowski (24 carries, 92 yds, 3.8 avg.) of Kanata, Ont., who will battle Concordia transfer Andrew Hamilton (2006: 83 carries, 694 yds., 8.4 avg., 5 TD), a 6-foot, 198-pound Montrealer who can run the 40-yard dash in 4.38 seconds.

Among the impressive incoming freshmen are Lenn Gittens and Galen Flaherty.

Gittens is a 5-foot-9, 190-pound tailback out of the St. Leonard Cougars junior program, where he finished second among league rushing leaders with 399 yards and six TDs on 81 carries.

Flaherty, a speedster who measures 5-foot-7 and 160, earned athlete-of-the-year honours at Trinity College School and is the son of Canadian finance minister Jim Flaherty.

The OFFENSIVE LINE is much larger than last year and will average 6-foot-3 and 297 pounds. It will be anchored by senior centre Paul Reinlein (6'2", 276) of St. Luc, Que., senior tackle Michael Pilon (6'5", 282) of St. Lazare, Que., and sophomore Cam Stockman (6'5", 272) of Coquitlam, B.C. 听Also, fifth-year senior Jonathan Bower (6'3", 278) from Calgary has moved from starting nosetackle to o-line this season with the hopes of bulking up the front four.

Incoming freshmen Cliff Richardson (6'1", 288) from Champlain College (St. Lambert), Junior Spera (6'0", 346) of the QJFL's St. Leonard Cougars and Thomas Corkery (6'4", 336) out of the Ottawa Sooners (QJFL), are expected to contribute immediately.

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DEFENSIVE OUTLOOK (POSITION BY POSITION):

The DEFENSIVE LINE will be anchored by junior tackle Ben Thompson (6'1", 272) of Fredericton, N.B., who registered 26 tackles last year, including 4.5 for loss and one QB sack. 听The line will be young and features a stable full of sophomores, each of whom saw significant playing time in their freshmen season.

Among those are defensive ends Renaud Collard-S茅guin (6'4", 248) of Bangor, Maine, David Beauchamp (6'1", 236) of Les Coteaux, Que., and Alexander Hutchison (6'3", 250) of Beaconsfield, Que., plus tackles Bucky Pelosse (6'2", 260) of Aurora, Ont., and David Daumec (6'2", 276) of La Gardeur, Que.

Key recruits to watch for are DE Simon Bosisio (6'3", 277) from College Vieux Montreal and NT Anthony Santori (6'0", 276) out of Vanier College, plus Courtney Bishop, a 6-foot-2, 222-pound transfer from Concordia.

The LINEBACKERS will be led by 6-foot-2, 224-pound junior Nicholas Intscher (25 tackles, 1.5 QB sacks) of Chelsea, Que., and Charles-Evens Peltrop (30 tackles, 1 INT), a 5-foot-11, 232-pound sophomore from Montreal.

Other returnees in the mix include senior Luc Farly (5'11", 224) from Sorel-Tracy, Que., and sophomore Marc Vien (6'0", 236) of Quebec City.

Among the freshmen expected to see some action is Jake McArdle from Burlington, Vt., and Joel Arseneault of St. Bruno, Que. 听McCardle is a 6-foot-1, 214-pounder who earned all-state honours last year with U-32 high school, while Arseneault was the starting middle linebacker at College Vieux Montreal the last two seasons after a storied career at College Notre Dame.

The DEFENSIVE BACKS will be loaded with experience and spearheaded by fifth-year senior Anthony Lukca, a native of St. Laurent, Que., who is expected to be a candidate for the conference's President's trophy nomination as most outstanding defensive player. He led the nation in 2007 with 71.5 tackles (59 solo) and ranked second last year with 73.0. Lukca needs 57 tackles to break the school record and 74 to snap the conference mark.

Returning starters include senior corner Greg Landry (6-1, 190; 30.5 tackles, 5 knockdowns, 2 INT), a North Vancouver native who played in the 2008 CIS East-West Bowl, plus juniors Patrick Bourgon (39.5 tackles) of Pointe-au-Ch锚ne, Que., and Montrealer Julien Lefebvre (17.5 tackles, 1 sack, 1 knockdown) and sophomore Joff Gorin (19.5 tackles) from Ahuntsic, Que . Another sophomore expected to earn some playing time is Matthew Quigley (6-2, 198) of Cumberland, Ont.

Incoming players expected to make an immediate impact are a pair of transfers form Concordia -- defensive back Cedric (Junior) Bishop of Toronto and two-time all-Canadian cornerback Modibo Sidibe of Buffalo, N.Y., plus听 Anie-Ebeit (Mike) Edem (6-1, 194) of Brampton, Ont., who played for Champlain College in Lennoxville.

On SPECIAL TEAMS, the Redmen will be much improved under the guidance of special teams coach Jerome Erdman who brings considerable CFL experience from the BC Lions, Hamilton Tiger-Cats & Toronto Argonauts.听 He 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 season-ending groin injury. Austin is the son of legendary NFL kicker Gary Anderson.

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2009 McGILL FOOTBALL SCHEDULE:

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Sept.听 3听 at Montreal, 7 pm (SEASON OPENER)

Sept. 11 vs Sherbrooke, 7 pm (HOME OPENER)

Sept. 18 vs Bishop's, 7 pm (FILL THE STADIUM GAME)

Sept. 26 at Mt. Allison, 2 pm

Oct . 3听 at Bishop's, 1 pm

Oct . 10 (BYE WEEK)

Oct . 17 vs Saint Mary's (Homecoming & Hall of Fame Game), 1 pm

Oct . 24 at Concordia (Shaughnessy Cup Game on SRC-TV), 1 pm

Oct . 31 vs Laval, 1 pm