St. James, John lead QBFL to big win in Wilson Challenge

Maxx St. James had two choices as he barreled toward the goal line in the second quarter of the QBFL Elites' 2009 Wilson Challenge opener Sunday afternoon at Molson Stadium.

He could take the chance that the one Geants de Richelieu player between him and pay dirt would be unable to keep him out of the end zone physically, or he could go another way.

So St. James took to the air and hurdled the Richelieu defensive back, leaving the latter grasping for air. The score put the QBFL Elites, made up largely of players from North Shore, Lakeshore, St. Lazare and St. Laurent, ahead 20-0, and effectively sealed the game for the Elites who ended up winning 40-10.

St. James, a St. Lazare resident, led the North Shore Lions to the provincial championship last season, and will suit up for the North Shore Mustangs this year.

"I hurdled a guy two years ago in peewee, and when I saw him, I wasn't sure right away what I was going to do. And then I just did it," he said.

St. James completed 12of 21 passes for 207 yards and rushed for two touchdowns. Fellow North Shore Lion Matthew John also rushed for two scores, and linebacker Alex Raymond ran back an interception for a touchdown.

The Elites led the game 26-3 at halftime.

In the third quarter, Richelieu scored their only touchdown of the game on a fluky play. Geants running back Julien Messier caught a pass in stride that was intended for another receiver and tipped by not one, but two, QBFL defenders. Seventy-five yards later, Messier was in the end zone.

A sloppy third quarter filled with penalties and missed assignments was troublesome for the QBFL coaching staff, but in the fourth quarter, the QBFL offensive line, led by Matt Goodfellow, Ben Slapcoff and James Benhamou took over, and the Elites marched the ball on the ground at will.

On defence, Kyle McGregor, Killian Moore and Jesse Walsh all had big games,

"You have to expect a certain amount of sloppiness, after only three weeks of practice. A lot of the kids simply haven't played together all that much," said Elites head coach Jason Jourdenais. "The positives were the kids stayed mentally tough and didn't stay down. We fully believe these kids will carry this team to a gold medal in this tournament."

The Elites will take on the Etoiles Metropolitain Scolaire (EMS) team tomorrow night at 6 p.m. in the second round of the tournament at Universite de Montreal's CEPSUM stadium.

For more information on the 2008 Wilson Challenge tournament, visit Football Quebec's website at www.footballquebec.com.