LAVAL YOUNGSTERS LOOK TO LEAD THE WAY

2009 was supposed to have a been a dream season for the Laval Rouge et Or.

After all, they had just captured their seventh consecutive Dunsmore Cup as Quebec University Football League (QUFL) champions and needed one win to return to Quebec City to play for the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) championship, the Vanier Cup in front of their hometown fans.

But the dream turned into a nightmare on the natural turf of Richardson Stadium as the Ontario champion Queen’s University Gaels stunned Glen Constantin’s squad 33-30 in the CIS semi-final.

That loss signalled the end of the stellar careers of several senior members of the Rouge et Or including all-star quarterback Benoit Groulx (Montreal) and quarterback César Sanchez-Hernandez (Mexico City, Mex.).

But their departures open the door for younger members of the Rouge et Or to step up and show their metal.

A pair of quality pivots has been battling throughout training camp to determine who will get the nod to replace Groulx this September. After impressive performances at the Rouge et Or winter training camp in Florida, fourth year student-athletes Bruno Prud’homme (Lasalle, Que.) and sophomore Tristan Grenon (Quebec City) are neck-and-neck in the competition to replace Groulx as starting pivot.

Whomever emerges as the new field general of the Rouge et Or, they will have a group of all-star receivers at their disposal. Returning to the Laval side in 2010 are standouts Julian Feoli-Gudino (San José, Costa Rica), Mathieu Picard (Quebec City), Jérémie Chrétien (Cantley, Que.), Mathieu Bouvette (Quebec City) and Guillaume Rioux (Paris, France).

On the defensive side of the ball, the Rouge et Or will have to over come the loss of impact defensive tackle Jean-Philippe Gilbert (St-Victor de Beauce, Que.). However, Laval maintains its strength on the defensive line as Marc-Antoine L.-Fortin (Quebec City), and Marc-Antoine Beaudoin-Cloutier (St-Basile, Que.) return to the fold. Beaudoin-Cloutier comes back to ULaval after spending time at the Edmonton Eskimos training camp this summer.

The Rouge et Or also get an injection on the d-line with the arrival of a pair of players with NCAA experience. Arnaud-Gascon-Nadon (Montreal) comes to Laval from Rice University as well as Bruno Lapointe (Ste-Justine, Que.) who previously played for the University of Buffalo and was selected 38th overall in the 2010 Canadian Football League (CFL) draft by the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

Laval loses a pair of giants at defensive back with the departure of Samuel Lajoie (Quebec City) and Alex Surprenant (Farnham, Que.) but picking up the slack will be corner backs Dominique Noël (Sorel-Tracy, Que) and Olivier Turcotte-Létourneau (Quebec) who are projected to be starters in 2010.

Barring any surprises, Maxime Bérubé (Valleyfield, Que.) and Daniel Shober (Munich, Germany) will patrol the back field and may be joined in the starting line-up by rookie Christopher Lavaud (Montreal) who comes to the Rouge et Or from Sir John Abbott College. Finally, Jonathan Laliberté (Varennes, Que.) gets the nod as the starting safety for the Laval defence.

With the depth and talent of the Rouge et Or, they might complete the dream of playing in the Vanier Cup on their home field, even if it might be a year later than they hoped. The 2010 Desjardins Vanier Cup will be played November 27 at PEPS Stadium.

2009 in review:
Regular season record: 7-1
Regular season standings: 1st
Playoff record QUFL: 2-0
Playoff result: QUFL champions (def. Montreal 31-7)
CIS playoff result: Lost to Queen’s 33-30 (Mitchell Bowl)

Coaching record – Glen Constantin
Number of seasons as head coach with team (including 2010): 9
Number of seasons as head coach in CIS (including 2010): 9
Career regular season record with team: 58-14
Career regular season record in CIS: 58-14
Career overall record with team (reg. season & playoffs only): 80-22
Career CIS overall record (reg. season & playoffs only): 80-22

OFFENCE

Offensive coordinator: Marco Iadeluca

Key returning players: QB Bruno Prud’homme (Quebec Cit.), QB Tristan Grenon (Quebec City), RB Sébastien Lévesque (Laval, Que.), RB Maxime Béland (Neuville, Que.), REC Julian Feoli-Gudiño (San José, Costa Rica)

Key recruits/transfers: RB Guillaume Bourassa (La Tuque, Que. – Chaplain College-Lennoxville), RB Pascal Lochard (Montreal – Cégep du Vieux Montréal), C Pierre Lavertu (Quebec City)

Key departures: Benoit Groulx (Montreal), Louis-David Gagné (Quebec City), David Bouchard (Trois-Rivières, Que.), Samuel Fournier (Lacolle, Que.)

DEFENCE

Defensive coordinator: Marc Fortier

Key returning players: Marc-Antoine Beaudoin-Cloutier (St-Basile-de-Portneuf, Que.), LB Frédérick Plesius (Laval, Que.), DB Jonathan Laliberté (Varennes, Que.), DB Olivier Turcotte-Létourneau (Quebec City), DB Maxime Bérubé (Valleyfield, Que.), LB Samaël Lavaud (Montreal)

Key recruits/transfers: DL Arnaud Gascon-Nadon (Montreal, Rice University), CB Christopher Lavaud (Montreal – John Abbott College), DT Bruno Lapointe (Ste-Justine, Que. – University of Buffalo)

Key departures: Alex Surprenant (Farnham, Que.), Samuel Lajoie (Quebec City), Jean-Philippe Gilbert (St-Victor de Beauce, Que.), Kelly Hilaire (Montreal)