CÉGEP10 RANKINGS (9): Wild ending to the season forces massive shakeup

 

1. André-Grasset Phénix (7-2)
We had Andre-Grasst ranked at number one for a good portion of the season, and after stumbling over a few hurdles along the way, they’ve proven they’re worthy of the top spot after defeating Vieux Montreal 30-2. The top seed and a bye week were on the line, and instead of turning to their passing attack, it was Anthony Renault who played out of his mind carrying the ball 31 times for 208 yards and two touchdowns. The passing game wasn’t much of a threat for either side, but CFC60 tandem Jonathan Senecal and Kevin Mital still connected for the game’s only major through the air. This was a big statement game for their defence, who showed the perfect bend but don’t break mentality that limited their opponents to a lot yards instead of points. The Phenix have now earned the right to kick back and get some much needed rest while the rest of the league put their hearts on the line this weekend.

2. Vieux Montréal Spartiates (7-2)
All Vieux Montreal had to do was find a way to win, and they’d be the ones playing spectator this weekend, but they couldn’t get their offence going falling 30-2 at the hands of Andre-Grasset. There’s not many positive to take away from this one, but everyone in the league knows the Spariates are legit contenders for the Bol d’Or, and there’s really no shame in dropping a regular season contest to Andre-Grasset. The shame will come if they let this loss carry over into the playoffs, where they’ll now be facing off against a scrappy CNDF squad in the first round. Watch for the combo of Arnaud Desjardins and Alexandre Dagobert to carry the team if they’re able to write a storybook ending.

3. Vanier Cheetahs (6-3)
Vanier needed some help from Andre-Grasset to really shake the standings up, but they couldn’t hold up their end of the bargain falling 20-16 against CNDF. You can definitely consider this a surprise after they looked so impressive in their Bol d’Or rematch with Champlain, but if you’re a glass half full type of person, then you can consider this a reality check before we enter sudden death territory. Kevin Foster Verdier had a productive game rushing for 132 yards, while Daniel Sananes was able to find Sam El-Mashtoub and Jonathan Exume for majors, but three interceptions would prove to be very costly. The Cheetahs now turn their attention towards Saint-Jean in the first round, who handed them a loss all the way back in week three, so this could be a very interesting showdown.

4. Ch.-Lennoxville Cougars (6-3)
While Vieux Montreal and Vanier slipped up, Champlain had a nice little bounce back week before playoff time with a 32-6 blowout against Levis-Lauzon. It’s still not enough to convince us to move them up the rankings, but you can consider the top four teams as the top contenders, while the other three are fighting for the role of Cinderella. Last week we mentioned that they’d need a more balanced attack, and they answered the bell this week with CFC60 Jeremie Kankolongo and Alek Boulianne combing for 272 yards on 31 carries. Thomas Bolduc was very efficient as well completing 12/19 passed for 116 yards and a couple touchdown tosses to Fabrice Hennekens. It’s not the spot the defending champions would’ve chosen going into the big dance, but nobody will dare to take the Cougars lightly. Their playoff journey begins with a tough matchup against Garneau, who they defeated 37-10 in week six.

5. Garneau Élans (5-4)
Garneau had a chance to improve their stock in the season finale, and they took full advantage leap frogging over Saint-Jean with a clutch 23-20 victory. It was far from a masterpiece with sloppy play on both sides, but they ran a convoy through the backfield with four players combining for 251 yards on 51 carries, while their Elans defence found an answer in the key moments of the game. The Elans are a wildcard in the playoff race with a couple really good performances through the regular season, and a few that left more to be desired, but they now have a chance to silence the haters in their first round matchup with the defending champs from Champlain. The play of Tristan Blais, Emile Malenfant and their group of CFC60 prospects on defence led by Ayman Cisse will be the keys to a deep run.

6. Notre-Dame-de-Foy (4-5)
After clinching the final playoff spot last week, CNDF wasn’t done building momentum for the playoffs defeating Vanier 20-16. This was a huge stepping stone for the program, who’ve come alive down the stretch while being forced to play musical chairs at quarterback. Thankfully it looks like Jerome Rancourt is finding his comfort zone, and he put together another sound performance completing 19/29 passes for 196 yards and two touchdowns. CFC60 Vincent Carbonneau was his favourite target catching eight balls for 72 yards, while Franck Cesar Tchembe carried the load in the backfield with 25 carries for 128 yards. They may be the final seed, but CNDF have hit their stride at the perfect stride, and should present an interesting challenge for Vieux Montreal in the first round.

7. Saint-Jean Géants (5-4)
Saint-Jean are another program who’re hard to get a read on, and they didn’t make life any easier after dropping their final regular season contest 23-20 against Garneau. As mentioned above, Saint-Jean needed to win this one to hold off the Elans in the standings, but their performance doesn’t provide a ton of confidence going into the playoffs. William Paquette powered through with five catches for 105 yards and a touchdown, while Mai Jie Yuan scored their only other major on a short jog across the goal line, but they just couldn’t find an answer for the Elans rushing attack that chewed up yards and seconds all day. Are we going to see the Geants who defeated Vanier and Andre-Grasset? Or will we see the team who struggled against Lionel-Groulx and Limoilou. On the bright side they know they’re capable of beating Vanier, who they face in the first round, but that week three matchup can be considered ancient history at this point.

8. Lévis-Lauzon Faucons (2-7)
Gabriel Leblond was up for the task, but unfortunately Levis-Lauzon couldn’t offer much else in resistance during their 32-6 loss to Vanier. The Faucons finish the season with a disapointing 2-7 record that doesn’t reflect their hard work, but they did have some star players worth talking about. Adrien Guay lit it up with 21 touchdowns through the air, and another 7 along the ground, while Gabriel Leblond came just 61 yards short of the 1000 yards mark in the backfield. We’ll be highlighting the top performers from every team later in the week.

9. Lionel-Groulx Nordiques (2-7)
Lionel-Groulx win the feel good award of the week after ending the 2018 campaign with a bang defeating Limoilou 22-21 in a thriller. Emeric Hamelin was a beast racking up 15.5 tackles and two sacks for the Nordiques defence, which helped keep them alive in this one as the offence took advantage of their opportunities. Samuel Cloutier had a fine day under centre compelting 11/18 passes for 111 yards and one touchdown, then he also added another two scores with his feet. It was a rough year for Lionel-Groulx, but it’s nice to see them end it with a smile after a well-earned victory.

10. Limoilou Titans (1-8)
Somebody has to finish last, and Limoilou couldn’t avoid their ugly fate after falling 22-21 to Lionel-Groulx in the season finale. The beginning of the year wasn’t to hot with a lot of blowouts to forget about, but they did defeat CNDF at one point, and they also put a good scare into Vieux Montreal not to long ago. Unfortunately the bounces wouldn’t go their way, but they had their chances to capitalize and were still a threat down the stretch. Their defence had a lot of standout individual performances such as Philippe Lafrance, Felix Rainville and Nicholas Morin, who we’ll be highlighting later in the week in our CEGEP top performers article.

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