CEGEP AAA football Cheetahs hold annual spring pre-camp

BY MICHAEL PIASETZKI

With memories of last fall’s CEGEP AAA football Bol d’Or championship still fresh in its mind, the Vanier College Cheetahs returned to the gridiron last weekend with its annual spring evaluation camp.

As has been the case in the past, a healthy contingent of West Island-based players and coaches were part of the mix, reflective of the strong minor football programs presently in place in the North Shore Football League and Lakeshore and St. Lazare football associations.

“There’s always been a strong West Island presence on our team,” said Cheetahs head coach Peter Chryssomalis, who led his team to its first title in 15 years in 2006. “We’ve done very well recruiting West Island kids, and we’re hopeful we can continue in the future. Yes, we do cross paths during recruiting with John Abbott College, and some West Island kids opt to go there, and that’s great. We’re pretty happy with those who have chosen to come to our program, though.”

As any knowledgeable football observer will tell you, a successful head coach is merely the end product of a reliable and talented group of assistants, and towards that end, Chryssomalis will by relying heavily on a pair of West Island residents. Grant Allan, a former head coach with the Quebec Junior Football League North Shore Broncos and a former assistant coach with the Concordia Stingers will serve as his defensive co-ordinator while Marc Lalonde, a former offensive lineman with the Stingers who also served as an assistant coach with the bantam AAA North Shore Lions and midget AAA North Shore Mustangs will be in charge of his running backs.

“We’re making more and more inroads with North Shore and Lakeshore,” said Allan, whose brother Hugh is a former head coach with the Mustangs and an ex-assistant coach with the John Abbott Islanders. “We don’t do blanket recruiting, though. We try to do a little more cherry-picking, so to say.”

Two of those cherries on this year’s defensive unit will be third-year players from Pierrefonds, including Ameet Pall, a five-foot-11, 230-pound defensive end and Samuel Lavaud, a six-foot, 220-pound linebacker. Both acquired their skills in the North Shore system.

“It’s like I have always said, we just have to go out and play ball,” said Pall, named the league’s defensive Most Valuable Player last year after setting a record with 14 sacks. “As a veteran, all I can do is help a younger player who needs some direction out there or misses an assignment.”

With quarterback Liam Mahoney having graduated and registered at Concordia, where the former Lion and Mustang hopes to earn a job with the Stingers, the responsibility of leading the Cheetahs back to the promised land this year will fall upon the shoulders of Myles Gibbon, also a former Lions and Mustangs quarterback.

“I don’t feel any pressure, but realistically, I have some pretty big shoes to fill in Liam,” said Gibbon. “I managed to get in some pretty good playing time last year though, so I am familiar with the offence. I won’t be taking anything for granted, though. There is always a backup ready to take my job. They’ve even flown guys in from Toronto for this camp, so I have to be on my game at all times.”