Orleans Raftsmen Rake It In at QMFL Awards Banquet

The Quebec Midget Football League held it awards banquet this past weekend and unsurprisingly, in light of their league championship win, the Orleans Raftsmen cleaned up. The following members of the team were honoured.


Offensive MVP: Nicolas Rico
Defensive MVP: Nickolas Decoste

Long Snapper: Connor Glenn
Offensive Live MVP: Alex Vinette

The following players were named to the league's all-star team.

Offensive Line: Jacob Traynor & Zachary Seguin

Running Back: Dante Spadaccini

Receiver: Johnny Aoud

Punter: Patrick Massicotte

Defensive Line: Juanito Joseph & Jason Marion

Linebacker: Austin Leshien

Defensive Backs: Justice Koradi & Eric Cumberbatch

Alexandre Vinette profile pic from hudl.com

These results are taken from the Raftsmen Instagram account.

I'm not fully certain about the award given to Connor Glenn, but it was the best translation of "spécialiste de longue remise" that I could come up with.

Evidently someone named to the MVP spot can not occupy a spot on the all-star team at the same time. This appears to apply to Vinette and Glenn above, as well as Nickolas Decoste and Nicolas Rico. If Rico was not the all-star QB otherwise, I'd love to see who got the nod. His highlights are spectacular.

Finally, the coaching staff as a whole was honoured as well. Based on the team's success over the past couple of seasons, that hardly comes as a shock.

Kanata Knights are Interprovincial Midget Champions! But First...

Kanata Knights had an eventful night this past Sunday. They not only successfully defended their 2018 NCAFA Midget championship, they defeated the Quebec Midget Football League champion Orleans Raftsmen to win Interprovincial recognition as well. Not interprovincial in any real way, but it goes down in the books as such, anyway.

I didn't find anything about the interprovincial game in the Sun/Citizen and local papers can be slow to report on these things. Case in point, the Orleans Star reported on the game the Raftsmen played in Montreal on November 3rd against the North Shore Mustangs only on November 12th.

But we'll take it for now! A portion of that article, by long-time local sports reporter Fred Sherwin, is copied below. The full version is here.

...the Raftsmen caught a break midway through the first quarter when the (Mustangs) went for it on fourth and one on the three-yard line and end up coughing up the ball. Orléans linebacker Eric Cumberbatch was Johnny on the spot to recover the loose ball and end the threat. 

The Raftsmen were unable to move the ball on their series and decided to give up a safety rather than attempt a punt from their end zone. It would be the only points the Mustangs would score all game. 

The Raftsmen's first touchdown came early in the second quarter on a 38-yard run up the middle by Dante Spadaccini. 

The Raftsmen's second touchdown came on a 25-yard pass from Nick Rico to Colin Doherty who managed to keep his feet in bounds at the back of the end zone with 1:02 left in the first half. 

The final touchdown was set up by a 58-yard punt return by Ethan Wilson. The decisive blow was delivered by Rico who threw a bullet to Jonathan Aoude who was standing on the goal line. 

The Raftsmen would add a single off a punt in the fourth quarter that the Mustangs were unable to get out of their end zone to make the final score 22-2 in favour of Orleans.

It was a dominating performance by the Raftsmen who finished the regular season with an 5-2 record. Their two losses came against the Kanata Knights in a crossover game with the NCAFA team in their season opener and the Mustangs who beat them 22-7 on Sept. 28. 

Among their five wins were five shut-outs which contributed to their league best points against total (58) and points differential (+57). The Raftsmen allowed just 158 yards in offence against the Mustangs in the championship game while racking up 297 yards when they had the ball. 

Rico completed 11 of 14 passes for 157 yards...He also ran for 30 yards on seven carries and a TD. Spadaccini finished the game with 97 yards on 16 carries and a touchdown...

The Raftsmen's stellar season would end on a sour note in the Interprovincial Bowl on Sunday, Nov. 10. 

The NCAFA champion Kanata Stallions beat them 22-14 to maintain the National Capital Amateur Football Association dominance over the QMFL. NCAFA teams are now 9-1 against their Quebec counterparts in the season finale for both leagues.

It was actually 28-14. And when local papers catch up, I'll try to locate and post a recap of that game.

The photo above was lifted from the Knights' Facebook page. I'm not certain who took it but it certainly wasn't me.

I should also mention that it was good to see Fred Sherwin's name attached to one of these articles. He was a go-to guy for me when I ran the original version of this website/blog from about 2007 to 2012 or so. He provides a lot of detailed coverage about the youth sports programs in Orleans. His work was, and continues to be, appreciated.

Orleans Bengals Midget Squad To Be Named The Orleans Raftsmen

Today, the storied Orléans Bengals Midget Team is pleased to announce that as part of joining the Quebec Midget Football League for the 2018 season, the team will be named the Orléans Raftsmen. 

 

The Raftsmen bilingual heritage of Orléans and Ottawa is rich in tradition and our Midget football club will echo the spirits of the land, the rivers and the people of the Ottawa Valley. 

“This will be an exciting and rewarding opportunity for our players to play in one of the best football leagues in the country,” said George Zigoumis, president of the Orléans Bengals. “Our football club is committed to developing these student athletes by enhancing higher education possibilities for them.” 

For athletes 16 and 17 years of age looking to play for an Ontario-Quebec inter-provincial championship and gain exposure to CEGEPs and universities, message the Head Coach-Ron Raymond at ronraymond@rogers.com

Raftsmen was one of the names being floated around for the new CFL franchise though I don't recall (or care, at this point) if it was an option teased by the team or one suggested by fans.

This is just personal opinion, but I detest when teams name/brand themselves after existing franchises. I think the Orleans organization went in the right direction here and while it's doubtful I'll get to attend too many of their games, I'd love to load up on merchandise bearing that logo.

MIDGET FOOTBALL BIG 10

Montreal/Ottawa, May 4th, 2018 – The Quebec Midget Football League and the National Capital Amateur Football Association announce the official launch of the Midget Football Big 10 Canada. This is a game-changing football experience for players and coaches in Eastern Canada. The Midget Football Big 10 Canada will be made up of 10 teams among the 16 clubs of the QMFL and NCAFA. 

Teams in the Midget Football Big 10 Canada will play 2 cross divisional games which will count in each team’s respective league standings. The QMFL and NCAFA champions will participate in the Midget Big 10 Championship Game held each November. Teams not scheduled to play in the regular season cross over games can still qualify for the Midget Football Big 10 Championship Game by winning the QMFL’s Wilbert Scott Division and entering the QMFL play-off structure as the 4th rank team.

As part of the revamp, we are pleased to announce the addition of the Orleans Bengals to the QMFL Wilbert Scott Division, as well as the return of the Gatineau Vikings to QMFL play in 2018.

The Midget Football Big 10 Canada is now the premier place to get prepared and scouted for the next level. Stay tuned for more exciting news as we announce the 2018 schedule and establish regular podcasts and power rankings.  

Midget Football Big 10 Line up for 2018 

Bel-Air Norsemen (NCAFA)  
Greenfield Park Packers (QMFL)
Kanata Knights (NCAFA)
Lasalle Warriors (QMFL)
Myers Riders (NCAFA)
Nepean Eagles  (NCAFA)
North Gloucester Giants (NCAFA)
North Shore Lions (QMFL)
St Leonard Cougars  (QMFL)
Sun Youth Hornets  (QMFL)


Wilbert Scott Division

St Laurent Spartan
Chateauguay Raiders
Gatineau Vikings
Sherbrooke Bulldogs
Orleans Bengals
St-Lazare Stallions 

The QMFL was formed in 1978 and has 11 teams. The NCAFA was formed in 1955 and has five midget teams participating in the Big Ten conference. Stay tuned for more exciting news as we announce the 2018 schedule and establish regular podcasts and power rankings.