CÉGEP10 RANKINGS (8): Plenty of playoff implications heading into season finale

1. Vieux Montréal Spartiates (7-1)
As expected, Vieux Montreal had no issues taking care of Lionel-Groulx in a 40-12 beatdown, but there’s no time to rest just yet. The Spartiates currently control their own destiny, but they need to defeat Andre-Grasset in the season finale to secure the coveted first round bye come playoff time. Arnaud Desjardins may be the most underrated quarterback in CEGEP this season, and will have a chance to prove it in a quarterback duel with CFC60 Jonathan Senecal this week. Desjardins threw for 258 yards and three touchdowns against Lionel-Groulx, while Alexandre Dagobert ran for 145 yards on 25 carries.

2. Vanier Cheetahs (6-2)
It was redemption time for the Vanier Cheetahs, and they didn’t let the chance slip away defeating Champlain 31-26 in a thriller. They now sit in an interesting spot going into the final week with a 6-2 record, a win against Andre-Grasset, and a loss against Vieux-Montreal. If the Phenix end up winning, this will cause a three-way tie for first place and some sort of tiebreaker scenario will kick-in. That’s only if they take care of CNDF, who’s riding high after clinching the final playoff spot. The Cheetahs relied heavily on their passing attack against Champlain with Daniel Sananes completing 28/51 passes for 305 yards and two touchdowns, while Jonathan Exume was his favourite target catching 9 passes for 110 yards.

3. Ch.-Lennoxville Cougars (5-3)
It was a tough week for Champlain who ended up falling 31-26 to Vanier, but there’s no reason for panic just yet. The Cougars still have room for movement in the playoff seeding with them sitting one game back of Andre-Grasset and Vanier, but they also have room to drop if they don’t give Levis-Lauzon their full attention this week. Thomas Bolduc was tasked with throwing the ball 37 times in this one, and although he found some success, they’ll likely need a more balanced attack come playoff time. CFC60 tailback Jeremie Kankolongo may be their not-so secret weapon, who caught seven passes for 82 yards and a touchdown, while also carrying the ball 16 times for 54 yards.

4. André-Grasset Phénix (6-2)
This is the scary Andre-Grasset offence we’ve come to love, and unfortunately Levis-Lauzon were their victims in a 63-27 drubbing. This isn’t your normal type of blowout though. Not even close. CFC60 Jonathan Senecal threw five touchdown passes on just 15 attempts. CFC60 Ranger Guillaume only caught four passes, but three were for touchdowns. CFC60 Kevin Mital only caught three passes – you guessed it – he still scored two touchdowns. Is that not crazy enough for you? Well Anthony Renault carried the ball 7 times out of the backfield, and somehow scored four times? That’s 22 touches between the four, and they found the end zone nine times in the process. Not much else to say about that, and I’m sure the rest of the league has taken notice. They now have a chance to really shake up the standings if they can knock off Vieux-Montreal in the season finale.

5. Saint-Jean Géants (5-3)
After getting destroyed by Champlain last week, Saint-Jean bounced back with 24-17 win over Limoilou. It may not be the most convincing win in the world, but they’ll take it with Garneau tailing them in the standings. Jeremy Dussault took over this one with 8 receptions for 177 yards and two touchdown, which somehow overshadowed fellow receiver Edouard Arsenault, who caught 8 for 108 yards. Obviously this leads us to quarterback Ettore Casati III, who finished up with 384 yards on 21/28 passing. This is a welcomed sight for Saint-Jean who’ve dominated on defence this season, so maybe this will build some confidence on offence heading into the playoffs.

6. Garneau Élans (4-4)
Garneau had a chance to make their statement, but they ended up on the wrong side of a 26-19 defeat to CNDF. This game meant a lot to each side, and now Garneau need to worry about taking out Saint-Jean in the final week to ensure they aren’t straddled with the 7th playoff seed, and likely a first round exit. They had a strong rushing attack led by Olivier Lapointe who ran for 111 yards on 13 carries, and Hubert Paul chipped in with 67 yards on 10 attempts. Quarterback Tristan Blais showed off his running abilities as always, but it wasn’t his best day through the air completing less than 50% of his passes. Garneau are still the only team to beat Vieux Montreal, so don’t sleep on this squad no matter who they get in the first round.

7. Notre-Dame-de-Foy (3-5)
It was a huge week for CNDF, who clinched the final playoff spot with their 26-19 victory over Garneau. Another big positive was they were able to find some stability under centre with Jerome Rancourt carrying the majority of the load completing 11/20 passes for 197 yards and two touchdowns. He received a helping hand from Gabriel Loiselle who caught 5 passes for 112 yards and one major, while CFC60 Vincent Carbonneau left his mark with two catches for 57 yards and a trip to the end zone. Their rushing attack was in a bit of scramble mode, but there’s no reason to complain this week with a breath of new life heading into the playoffs. It won’t be easy, and probably isn’t likely, but they can still skip ahead of Garneau in the standing if they defeat Vanier this week.

8. Lévis-Lauzon Faucons (2-6)
What could go wrong, did go wrong for Levis-Lauzon in their 63-27 defeat at the hands of Andre-Grasset. When you allow 9 touchdowns on 22 attempts between four players, there really isn’t much your offence can do to keep things close. It’s another disappointing end to their playoff chase after watching a great season go down in flames last year when CFC60 Joanik Masse was lost due to injury, but I believe they were a lot better than their record indicates. Adrien Guay deserves mention for putting together an outstanding year so far with 21 touchdown passes to eight interceptions, and 2470 combined yards between his arm and legs. He still has one more game to add to his totals, and it’d be shocking if he doesn’t get a chance to succeed at the U Sports level as well.

9. Limoilou Titans (1-7)
Limoilou hung around to make this one interesting, but they couldn’t find a way to overcome Saint-Jean who ended up on top 24-17. The Titans deserve a lot of credit for coming alive in the last three weeks, and maybe we’re singing a different tune right now if they had found a way to beat Vieux Montreal. Instead they lost that game by 3 points, and this one by 7, which is the unfortunate theme of Limoilou’s 2018 story. Gabriel Paradis had a productive day rushing for 80 yards and one touchdown against the Elans, while we got to see Felix Lacasse and Olivier Bamrounsaveth split time under centre totaling over 300 yards. Gabriel Berniquez, Tommy Premont and Louis-Felix Doyon were the main trio targeted combining for 19 catches and 199 yards. The Titans finish off the season with a matchup against Lionel-Groulx.

10. Lionel-Groulx Nordiques (1-7)
Lionel-Groulx were hoping to play the spoiler roll down the stretch, but they couldn’t get the job done in their 40-12 loss to Vieux Montreal. With no running game to speak of, Charles Aubry tried to put the team on his back completing 21/37 passes for 271 yards and one major, but there’s not many one dimensional teams who’re heading to the playoffs. Nicolas Daigneault led the team with seven receptions, while Jason Roy finished with 63 yards and the lone receiving touchdown. The Nordiques now have a chance to end their season on a high note with a winnable game against Limoilou.