With the SDSSAA high school football season set to kick off today in Val Caron, here is a quick look at all 10 teams, along with their predicted regular season records — all in good fun:
West Division
Lo-Ellen Park Knights (5-0) - A perennial optimist at most times, head coach Kevin Ellsworth has seldom seemed as excited about any edition of the Knights as he is about this year’s team. Brady Ellsworth comes off a solid summer with the Jr. Gladiators to take on the role of starting QB, allowing Ryan Rysdale to make the move to wide receiver. Yet it’s the defence that had coach Ellsworth ready to start the season yesterday. Linebacking monsters Ian Thomson and Jeff Neault form a major hurdle for any running game, while a secondary of John Kosar, Eric Donaldson, Thomas Marti and Brady Lavigne won’t make things any easier for opponents who take to the air.
St. Benedict Bears (4-1) - Blessed with a roster that returns more players than any other in the city, St. Benedict first catches your attention with their offensive line. The “big five” of Carter Long, Erik Lessard, Emilio Frometta, Troy Kingsbury and Spencer Dailey are easily the class of the SDSSAA ranks. The sibling backfield tandem of Alex and Christian Battistelli made an impressive jump from their hockey background one year ago, while on defence, linebackers Conor Sullivan, Jordan Vendramin and Alex Insinna look to take another step forward this year.
Lockerby Vikings (3-2) - Joe Mac veteran Carson Barr steps in at QB for Lockerby and former defensive back Connor Griffiths moves to the backfield, although some stability offensively remains in the form of wide receivers Mark Verrilli and Zack Larabie. A traditional strength at Lockerby, the defence will need some invaluable contributions from key newcomers in order to lessen the load on a core group of vets that includes Will Harding, Cameron MacDonald, Justin Ealdama and Curtis Ferron.
Lively Hawks (1-4) – Lively can finally field a top-end array of talent that matches many of the larger schools in the area. Unfortunately, depth across most positions is still a concern. Coach Rej Bonin will allow both Milo Gaudin and Hunter Holub to spend time at pivot, while Scott Friesen, Jesse Brear, J-R Larocque and lineman Ben Autio would be welcome additions for any other offence in the city. Defensively, a linebacking corps that consists of Jake Punkari, Devin Pellerin, Adam Ferris, Brandyn Taylor and Andrew Andretta will help keep Lively much closer against the big boys.
Chelmsford Flyers (1-4) - Offensively, progress is being felt at CVDCS as coach Walter Wilson inherits some noteworthy talent to work with this year. Linemen Rowan Cheechoo and Bauer Negrych both cut their teeth with the Jr. Gladiators this year, as did receiver Tyler Sinclair, just entering Grade 9. With veteran quarterback Pat Berthelot returning for a victory lap, Austin Kirky still in the backfield, and Aaron Hisey making the move from linebacker to fullback, the Flyers should be able to move the ball against most teams.
East Division
Collège Notre-Dame Alouettes (4-1) - The spotlight at Notre Dame this year shines on veteran quarterback Dan Poirier, not only the best pure passer in the league, but also easily the most creative scrambler at his position. And when he’s not running, he will be looking for receivers Jon Landry, Mathieu Boileau and Kevin Lavoie to supplement the ground attack under Zack Roque, Ryan Rochon and converted one-time lineman Louis Chartrand, who looks to start at fullback. Defensively, the Als will feature a nice mix of experience and youth, with Brett MacDonald (MLB) and Zach Charlebois (DB) coming off a solid summer of football.
St. Charles Cardinals (3-2) - Another team with some impressive individual talent but plenty of youth across the roster, St. Charles will rely heavily on the likes of Ian MacDonald and August Danyluk. Joel Charlebois steps in at QB, Jake Graham is looking to anchor the receiving corps and Sean Lynott and Ben Huot provide some experience on the offensive line. Defensively, Cody McGillis returns to the line, Jonah Lynott moves from the O-Line to the D-Line and newcomer Dan Rego and Chris Fabiilli have looked impressive thus far.
Lasalle Lancers (2-3) - The defending champions, as usual, are hit hard with a large graduating class, including league MVP Josh Cuomo and virtually all of their linemen on both sides of the ball. But a backfield tandem of Scott Smith and Ken Bottrell will cause headaches for opposing defences, and a receiving corps that returns both Matt Keetch and speedster Brandon Shirk provides new quarterback Rob Staszak plenty of options.
Confederation Chargers (2-3) - Another team for whom graduation left some gaping holes, the Chargers will look to second-year pivot Ethan Gorman and wide receiver Scott Beaton as the likes of Brandon Gaudette, Dylan Lloyd, Erik Stokes and Joey l’Heureux all get their feet wet at skill positions. Defensive end Maverick MacDonald joins Tyler Nadon in providing a 1-2 punch on the line, while safety Josiah Walt is as good as any in the league at his position.
Bishop Carter Gators (0-5) - Making their inaugural appearance within the SDSSAA loop, BAC coach Matt Greening will have to hope that bringing together a mix of enthusiasm and plenty of natural athletic ability will offset a clear lack of football experience for the first year Gators.
Randy Pascal is the founder of SudburySports.com and a contributing sports editor for Northern Life.
- Posted by Laurel Myers
