CFC CEGEP “POWER 5” (9): Final regular season rankings sees Cougars as the favourites to win it all!

What a wild season it was and the last weekend was no exception. Right down to the wire, playoff spots were on the line and unbeaten seasons in jeopardy. The top two teams all season were Lennoxville and CNDF and both were pushed to the limit last weekend. The Cougars won 21-20 over Vieux Montréal, while CNDF won a 47-45 shootout with Lévis-Lauzon. At the other end of the standings Garneau, Vanier, Limoilou and Montmorency were four teams battling for only two spots and when the dust settled it couldn’t have been any more complicated as all four finished at 3-6. With the tiebreaker Garneau and first year division 1 team Limoilou make the playoffs.

There were no changes in the “Power 5” this week, but with the “second season” starting and everyone at 0-0 the next few weeks should be really interesting. Below are the final CEGEP POWER 5 rankings for the 2015 season.

 

WEEK NINE CFC CEGEP POWER 5 (Last week’s “Power 5” ranking in parenthesis):

 

1) CHAMPLAIN-LENNOXVILLE COUGARS (1) 9-0 (won 21-20 @ Vieux Montréal)

The Cougars got the one-point win in the meaningless season finale to finish the season unbeaten and keep their hopes of a perfect season intact. There is no doubt the Cougars are the undisputed regular season champ and favourite to win it all. Champlain outscored their opponents 299 to 145 in 2015, while seemingly getting stronger each week. #CFC100 standouts DE Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund and DB Adam Auclair, along with LB Samuel Brodrique lead the league’s top-ranked defense, a unit capable of taking over a game at any point. On the other side of the ball, #CFC100 and uOttawa commit QB Mike Arruda leads an explosive offense featuring #CFC100  receiver Marc-Antoine Pivin and the league’s second ranked rusher Thomas Bertrand-Hudon. In a year of parity the Cougars were head and shoulders above the rest, but even they are keenly aware that all that is history and in a winner take all format, anything can happen. (Next Up: FIRST ROUND BYE)

 

2) LE NOTRE DAME DE COLLEGE NOTRE DAME-DE-FOY (CNDF) (1) 7-2 (won 47-45 @ Lévis-Lauzon) After starting the season 6-0, CNDF lost back-to-back games, including a rather one-sided affair to top ranked Champlain-Lennoxville. After being atop the “Power 5” Rankings for much of the season, CNDF all of a sudden looked vulnerable. Perhaps last weekend’s shootout win is what they need to get back on track, only time will tell but there is little doubt that when healthy they are a top 3 team and capable of winning it all. #CFC100 OL David Sevigny  anchors an offensive line that can and will dominate games as the calendar turns to November and you know this group would love another shot at the top ranked Cougars, this time with more at stake. (Next Up: QUARTER-FINAL vs. Limoilou)

3) LES FAUCONS DE LÉVIS-LAUZON (3) 6-3 (lost 47-45 vs. CNDF)

Les Faucons led the league in scoring, notching 381 points in nine games this season. If you’re keeping score that’s a shade over 42 points per game. With that type of output Lévis-Lauzon can hang with anyone and let’s not forget they lost to top ranked Champlain by only five points, 26-21. That’s a five point and two point loss against the #1 and #2 teams. To call them this year’s dark-horse, would really undervalue the season they had. Don’t be shocked if les Faucons end up playing for it all in three weeks, but do they have a championship defense? (Next Up: QUARTER-FINAL vs. Garneau)

 

4) LES SPARTIATES DU VIEUX MONTRÉAL (4) (5-4) (lost 21-20 vs. Champlain-Lennoxville)

The defending champs appear to be “trending” as we head into the 2015 playoffs. Although a program of the prestige of CVM does not count moral victories, last weekend’s one point loss to Lennoxville has to leave them feeling OK about life. Couple that with their 23-19 win over #2 CNDF and all of a sudden look to be a threat. (Next Up: QUARTER-FINAL vs. #5 André-Grasset)

5) LES PHÉNIX D’ANDRÉ GRASSET (5) (5-4) (won 17-10 @ Montmorency)

Les Phénix win another close one, again led by their stellar defense. The front seven led by DEs Benoit Marion and Phil Lemieux-Cardinal and LBs Bruno-Philippe Desfosses-Simard and Louis Cavanagh is as good as they get. Each week the Grasset defense gives this team a chance to compete and as the weather deteriorates, the D promises to be even more dominant. The question is can they score? Of all the playoff teams only seventh seeded Limoilou scored less than the 185 points tallied by les Phénix. They need a major turnaround on offense if they hope to go deep in the playoffs.

. (Next Up: QUARTER-FINAL @ #4 Vieux Montréal))

 

HONOURABLE MENTION: SAINT-JEAN (D2) VALLEYFIELD (D2)