CIS Preview: Windsor’s D’Amore says "build on last year, not dwell on it"

Last season was a revelation for the University of Windsor Lancers. A 5-3 record and a playoff win over Ottawa earned D’Amore the right to remove the “interim” tag from his head coach title. The former Lancers receiver (1996-2000) isn’t taking his foot off the gas.

“We need to build on last year, not dwell on it,” he said. “We need to move towards the future with our 3-year plan and not just focus on the here and now. Of course, there’s always pressure in coaching to win.”

A big part of the winning in Windsor in 2011 was the passing attack. The Lancers ranked 4[SUP]th[/SUP] in the nation with over 300 passing yards per game and still managed to throw only eight interceptions, least in the OUA. With Austin Kennedy returning at quarterback, Coach D’Amore sees no reason to change.

“We’ll continue to throw the ball. The offence is continually evolving and we can run when we have to. But, we have the quarterback for it, and we have the wide receivers for it, so we’ll be throwing.” Spoken like the ex-wide receiver D’Amore is.

On the defensive side of the ball, the Lancers will rely heavily on CIS All-Canadian Seamus Postuma, if he returns after the CFL draft. The 6’5”, 300-pound lineman from Thunder Bay has plugged the middle sensationally for the Lancers the past few seasons and would be hard to replace. If Postuma goes the pro route, defensive end Garrit Post could step up on the defensive front. He has looked great this spring and has been a “physical presence,” according to his coach while flashing brilliance.

20-year-old linebacker John Moynahan, who has battled injuries at Western and Windsor over the past two seasons, has also looked strong in spring ball and wants to fulfill the promise he had coming out of high school.

D’Amore and his staff had a lot of things going for them on their first full sojourn into recruiting also. A playoff win and positive attitude helped them land some local players they used to lose to other schools.

“There’s so much good football in Ontario and around the country, you can’t be everywhere,” saidD’Amore. “We had four focus spots, especially Windsor, Sarnia, and Chatham. We had to start winning our backyard in recruiting.”

In their “backyard” happened to be 6’6”, 310-pound offensive lineman Daniel Benson. Benson was one of the priorities in the off-season, both for his local roots and his immense talent, and turned down offers from other schools to stay in Windsor. Benson was named Wilson Conference Offensive Player of the Year in his senior season at Cardinal Carter and is joined on the Lancers by Tyler Doyle, a defensive back from Kennedy Collegiate, who won the same award for defence.

The other recruiting focus area was Sault Ste Marie, Ontario. The Sault Sabercats of the OVFL play an exciting aerial game as well and D’Amore is hoping his four recruits from that team will blend seamlessly into the Lancers’ high-octane offence and help on defence sooner rather than later.

Since being named head coach in December, D’Amore says there’s, “less personal pressure. As an interim, you only have nine months to show you can do the job.”

The pressure for him now is in continuing the upward trend he began and in creating a winning atmosphere in Windsor.

“We can improve on last year. We have a solid schedule with no long road trips. We have to stay healthy and have no mental mistakes. If we do, we’ll be right in the mix this year, too.”