Vanier Football: A Team of Talent
The Vanier football team has been the main attraction of the athletics department since it started in 1978.
This AAA collegiate Division 1 team has been making a name for itself since it’s been around. It is considered to be one of the top teams in Quebec, and is known Canada wide, thus attracting out of province players.
Since 2005, the team has won Bol D’Or, the provincial championships, four times, and have made it to the playoffs almost every single year.
This year, the Division 1 team has a roster of 60 players, all showing exceptional talent.
Since the season started, three players have been named RSEQ players of the week.
Third year Adam Mahrouse was named RSEQ special units player of the week, first year Nathan Vivier was named defensive player of the week, and second year Nicholas Cenacle was named top offensive player of the week.
However, even though the Cheetahs football team is currently ranked 6th in the RSEQ league, with 3 wins and 4 losses, the team still has faith that they will make it to playoffs.
Quarterback, Eloa Latendresse-Régimbald, states that “the team knows that we have the talent to make it to Bold D’Or. At this point it just takes the will to win”.
Eloa Latendresse-Régimbald is a first year rookie from SunYouth Hornets, who had to step up as starting quarterback, after William Vandelac, second year, got injured at a game against Garneau. The rookie was quickly put in during the first half of the game, and despite the pressure, he managed to revive the offence by tossing a 20 yard pass to Sam El-Mashtoub who scored a touchdown.
The former Sun Youth player, expresses how “[he] felt the pressure when [he] was initially put on the field, especially against Garneau because they have a good front seven, which caused him to have trouble making passes. But with team work and experience, the pressure became easier to handle”.
Through hard work and dedication, the young athlete holds the position of starting quarterback as a rookie, which is a rare achievement.
According to Nicholas Cenacle, September athlete of the month, “this season’s team is more connected, and we are capable of competing at a higher level of football. The thing that we need to improve on is the penalties, being more disciplined and working more as a team. The goal is to make it to Bol D’Or”.
Cenacle has been named RSEQ offensive player of the week, several weeks in a row, since the start of the season. He is also a former team Quebec player and now on team Canada. This year, the team Canada athlete has been making a name for himself by showing exceptional talent by putting up great numbers on a weekly basis.
“At the end of the day we know why we lost those games. We know we have a great team talent wise. The playoffs are going to determine where we go” says Cenacle.
With all of this talent, will the Vanier Football team be able to make a comeback and win Bol D’Or after 8 years? And what is it going to take?
Written by: Morgane Haddad-Cameron
