2011 CIS Football Team Preview: Sherbrooke Vert & Or

Source: Pascal Morin, Sherbrooke Sports Info

Regular season record: 5-4
Regular season standing: 3rd
Playoffs record: 1-1
Final result in the 2010 Playoffs: 22-17 loss to Laval in the Dunsmore Cup (RSEQ championship)

The University of Sherbrooke Vert & Or are about to kick off their ninth season in the RSEQ (Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec) university football league with memories of their great run in the 2010 playoffs. No doubt head coach André Bolduc and his men want to pick up where it left.

Third in the standings when the final whistle blew on the 2010 regular season, the Eastern Townshipers came within inches of stunning upset on the final play of last year’s Dunsmore Cup championship, losing 22-17 to the Laval University Rouge et Or.

The arrival of high-touted rookies, including Vanier College Cheetahs’ star QB Jérémi Doyon-Roch (Montreal, Que.) and the return of several veterans will allow this team to offer great performances in the coming weeks.

“It’s always tricky to make predictions before the season, but we know we will count on a great mix of youth and experience on our team. We hope that everything is in place for us to have a season as high as our expectations”, said fifth-year skipper André Bolduc.

The Vert & Or did muscle up around Simon Charbonneau-Campeau (Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que.), the RSEQ’S most outstanding player in 2010. The addition of WR Ismaël Bamba (Montreal, Que.) and former Vanier College stand out Vincent Cléroux-Gaudreau (Montreal, Que.) gives more depth to this side. However, Alexandre Poirier is not back this year after using his final year of eligibility last season.

The impact of freshman pivot Jérémi Doyon-Roch will be felt in the coming weeks, as he is set to replace Jean-Phillippe Shoiry as the to go guy under the centre. During his college career, Roch impressed with 5286 passing yards and 52 touchdown passes. He connected 376 times with team mates on 606 passing attempts for a 62 % efficiency rate. Roch was intercepted only nine times.

The core of the offensive line remains pretty much the same with big man Yannick Sage (Sherbrooke, Que.) who returns from a recent tryout with the B.C. Lions as well as Christopher Belley-Rosa (Sherbrooke, Que.), Kevin Croft, Jean-Sébastien Laberge (Valleyfield, Que.) and Samuel Desgagnés-Leblanc (Sainte-Eulalie, Que.).

“Our offensive line is massive and skilful. We should do a very good job protecting Jérémi”, adds Bolduc.

Many changes are to be expected on the other side of the ball. If Bolduc can count on returning linebackers Filipe Fonseca (Montreal, Que.), Kevin Regimbald-Gagné (Rouyn-Noranda, Que.) and Nicolas Boulay (Magog, Que.), there are many battles to be fought for the positions left by departing veterans Steve Paquette and Dave Lovius. Mathieu St-Pierre-Castonguay (Deux-Montagnes, Que.) from division 1 Champlain-Lennoxville College, Rami Saintus (Laval, Que.) and Jean-Christophe Gagnon (Cap-de-la-Madeleine, Que.) are the favourites.

In the secondary, Patrick Chénard (Montreal, Que.) is back after missing last fall’s playoffs due to an injury. His 35.5 tackles ranked were second best in the conference amongst defensive backs.

Also worth noting are the arrivals of linebackers Dempsey Jutras (Drummondville, Que.) from Cegep Victoriaville, Marc-Antoine Racicot (Laval, Que.) from André-Grasset College and defensive backs Simon Morissat-Bellavance (Laval, Que.) from Montmorency College and Félix Bouthillier-Gagné (Granby, Que.) from Cegep Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu.

Head coach André Bolduc’s record:
Team head coach (including 2011): 5th Year
CIS head coach (including 2011): 5th Year
Career regular season record with team: 17-16
Career CIS regular season record: 17-16
Overall career record with team (regular season + playoffs): 18-18
Overall CIS career record (regular season + playoffs): 18-18

OFFENCE

Offensive coordinator: David Lessard

Returning impact players: WR Simon Charbonneau-Campeau (Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu), RB David Dumas-Goulet (Val d’Or, Que.), WR Raphaël Gagné (St-Jeanne-d’Arc, Que.), OL Yannick Sage (Sherbrooke, Que.) and OL Christopher Belley-Rosa (Sherbrooke, Que.).

Impact rookies or transfers: QB Jérémi Doyon-Roch (Montréal, Que.), WR Ismaël Bamba (Montréal, Que.) and WR Vincent Cléroux-Gaudreau (Montréal, Que.).

Impact departures: QB Jean-Philippe Shoiry, WR Alexandre Poirier and OL Kristof Giorfy.

DEFENCE

Defensive coordinator: Marc Loranger

Returning impact players:  LB Felipe Fonseca (Montréal, Que.), LB Kevin Regimbald-Gagné (Rouyn-Noranda, Que.), LB Nicolas Boulay (Magog, Que.) and DL Emmanuel Thériault (Joliette, Que.).

Impact rookies or transfers: DL Rami Saintus (Laval, Que.), DL Jean-Christophe Gagnon (Cap-de-la-Madeleine, Que.) and LB Dempsey Jutras (Drummondville, Que.).

Impact departures: DL Steve Paquette and DL Dave Lovius.