Montreal Carabins: Year of the wildcat?

MONTREAL – The Montreal Carabins are looking to build upon last season’s 5-3 record and challenge once again for top spot in the Quebec University Football League (QUFL). But in order to do so, they’re going to have to deal with many changes in personnel from the squad that fell to Laval in the Dunsmore Cup a year ago.

The Montrealers opened the 2009 campaign with a convincing 66-14 win over the McGill Redmen followed by a costly victory over the Concordia Stingers, a match that saw both the first and second string quarterbacks go down with injuries as starter Marc-Olivier Brouillette (Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Que.) and back-up Alex Rivet (Le Moyne, Que.) were forced to the infirmary by the tough Stingers defence.

Seven days later, the Carabins found themselves facing the daunting task of heading to Quebec City to take on the top ranked team in Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS), the Laval Rouge et Or without a quarterback. Despite using a wildcat formation to its fullest, Montreal lost by a respectable 30-8 mark, signalling to the rest of the CIS that les Bleus were on the verge of something special.

And that something happened two weeks later in the rematch against Laval as the team from the north side of Mount Royal exacted an ounce of revenge knocking off the Rouge et Or 28-7 in front of a packed house at CEPSUM Stadium. The win thrust the Carabins to the number 1 ranking in the CIS Top-10 for the first time in school history.

Marc Santerre’s squad clinched second place in the QUFL with a thrilling 14-9 win over the Sherbrooke Vert & Or in the final game of the season thus giving them home-field advantage in the league semi-final against Bishop’s where they took full advantage of playing at home downing the Gaiters 40-15.

Running back Rotrand Sené (Montreal) was brilliant during his first season of interuniversity football, finishing the campaign ranked third in the CIS in rushing with 981 yards. His performance largely contributed to the success of the wildcat formation used by the Carabins and is expected to be a kingpin in their offence in 2010.

Sené’s importance to the Carabin attack may have increased when their quarterback Marc-Olivier Brouillette shocked the football world by earning a starting position with the Canadian Football League (CFL)’s Montreal Alouettes. So after four years of stability at pivot, les Bleus will have a new field general in 2010. Heading into training camp, third-year pivot Alexandre Nadeau-Piuze has the inside track to lead les Bleus offence.

A defining characteristic of the Carabins last year was their excellence on the defensive side of the ball and 2010 should be no different for the Montrealers. A year ago, the defensive line dominated the QUFL recording 19 quarterback sacks. But like the offence, the coaching staff will have some gaps to fill after the departure of key veterans Martin Gagne (Laval, Que.) and Mathieu Brossard (Montreal).

“We have lost a lot of key players,” said head coach Marc Santerre. “Brouillette, Hamid Mahmoudi (Tehran, Iran), Joash Gesse (Montreal) and Jerry-Ralph Jules (Montreal) are all players who have left us for the professional ranks and then there are others like Gagné and Brossard who completed their five years of eligibility. So there are winds of change are blowing through our team but we have a really solid in-coming recruiting class and also have second and third year players who are ready to step up and claim starting positions.”

2009 in review:
Regular season record: 5-3
Regular season standings: 2nd
Playoff record: 1-1
Playoff result: Lost to Laval in Dunsmore Cup (31-7)

Coaching record – Marc Santerre
Number of seasons as head coach with team (including 2010): 5
Number of seasons as head coach in CIS (including 2010): 5
Career regular season record with team: 20-12
Career regular season record in CIS: 20-12
Career overall record with team (reg. season & playoffs only): 21-16
Career overall record in CIS (reg. season & playoffs only): 21-16
OFFENCE
Offensive coordinator: Pat Gregory
Key returning players: Frank Bruno (Montreal), Mark Deluca (Montreal), François Leclerc (Montreal), Simon Légaré (Montreal), Rotrand Sené (Montreal)

Key recruits/transfers: Maxime Fournier-Rioux (Sherbrooke, Que. – Champlain College -Lennoxville), Jean-Christophe Morin-Phaneuf (Cégep du Vieux Montréal)
Key departures: Marc-Olivier Brouillette (Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Que), Stéphane Turner (Trois-Rivières, Que.)
DEFENCE
Defensive coordinator: Denis Touchette
Key returning players: Gregory Alexandre (Montreal), Jonathan Beaulieu-Richard (Trois-Rivières, Que.), Jean-Gardy Clermont (Montreal), Garlins Duclervil (Quebec City)
Key recruits/transfers: David Ménard (Jonquière, Que. – Collège François-Xavier-Garneau), Antoine Pruneau (Collège Montmorency), Delien Charles (Montréal, Bishop’s University) et Tony Rayapin (Flash de la Courneuve, France)

Key departures: Mathieu Brossard (Montreal), Martin Gagné (Laval, Que.), Joash Gesse (Montreal), Jerry-Ralph Jules (Montreal), Hamid Mahmoudi (Tehran, Iran)
Source:
QSSF