Okpro’s memorable university football career

BY MICHAEL PIASETZKI

Numerous West Islanders have enjoyed successful university football careers in the past, but few have been able to put together as impressive a resume as Pierrefonds resident Sammy Okpro.

The 22-year-old defensive halfback, who learned his pigskin abilities with Pierrefonds’ Alexander Park before going on to play for the bantam AAA North Shore Lions, midget AAA North Shore Mustangs and CEGEP AAA Vanier Cheetahs, has been nothing less than outstanding since joining the Concordia Stingers three years ago. After putting together a solid freshman year in 2004, the third-year finance major took off, rising to the top of his position not only in the Quebec University Football Conference (QUFC), but in Canada as well.

For the past two years, he was selected a first-team defensive all-Canadian, the highest individual honour a player can attain outside of a major Canadian Interuniversity Sport trophy. His 44 tackles and three interceptions this past season, including one for a touchdown against the Université de Montréal Carabins that turned the game around in favour of the Stingers, were also good enough to earn him his second consecutive QUFC all-star first-team selection.

“My success at this level would never have been possible without the coaching and support I received while growing up in the West Island and playing for local teams,� said Okpro, who at 5-foot-10 and 197 pounds, is blessed with tremendous speed, something that has helped him immensely,not only defending the pass, but returning punts and playing on special teams. “The coaching that I received, particularly with the Lions, was great. That’s where I started to develop my footwork. They don’t teach you the techniques when you get older, and to have a solid base when you reach the higher levels makes it so much easier.� Technique may be one thing you can learn, but a solid work ethic is something you’re born with. It’s a trait Stingers defensive co-ordinator Warren Craney said Okpro exhibits on a daily basis.

“That includes his approach towards school,� said Craney, a Kirkland resident. “And not only towards football, but towards getting prepared for football. He works out on a daily basis in the weight room and runs track during the off-season. Everything Sammy does, he puts 100-

per-cent effort into it.�

If there has been one frustrating aspect to Okpro’s football career so far, it lies in the fact he has never played on a championship team, incredibly enough, even dating back to his day with the Lions. This year was particularly hard to accept. The Stingers had shown much promise during a fine regular season and a first-round playoff victory over the Carabins before being eliminated on the road by eventual Vanier Cup champion Laval Rouge et Or.

“I’d trade all my accolades just for a chance to get a championship ring,� said Okpro, who was part of two Team Canada silver-medal winning efforts in 2002 and ‘03 at the NFL Global Junior Football Championships. “It hurts so much to train so hard, get there and just lose it.�

Okpro, who Craney said barring any unforeseen circumstances, should stand a very good chance of getting drafted by a Canadian Football League club following next season, will get anther chance to win that elusive title next year with the Stingers. It won’t be easy, though. Outstanding middle linebacker Patrick Donovan, the Stingers’ defensive leader who captured the Presidents Cup this past season for best defensive player in the country has departed. As a result, Okpro will be counted up to take over as one of the leaders.

“I believe Sammy can do that, and is a definite candidate to win the Presidents Trophy next year,� said Stingers head coach Gerry McGrath, a Pierrefonds resident. “He’s that good. If he keeps playing hard and driving himself to be better all the time, good things will happen to him.�

Hopefully for Okpro — and the rest of his Concordia Stingers teammates — that will include winning a championship

as well.