Raiders win Joe Pistilli Cup

The Chateauguay Raiders have won the Joe Pistilli Cup, symbolic of Quebec Junior Football League supremacy, by scuttling the South Shore Bruizers 29-9 last Sunday at LPP.

«Last year we lost all eight of our games, » recalled Raiders head coach Derek Durocher. This year, we finished in first place with a 7-2 record and we won the cup. We can't ask for a better finish. I am very proud of my team. Everyone played well. »

His squad really took off in the second half of the 2015 championship game. With bright sunlight shining down on them, they outscored ther visitors 23-0 in the second half to erase a 9-6 deficit.

In the third quarter, the Raiders shifted gears to high speed. Remi Hort equalled the score with a 13-yard field goal. A few minutes earlier, Jelanie McLaren had pulled off  a spectacular interception. His teammates and the estimated 350 spectators watched with admiration as he weaved into enemy territory, all the way to the Bruizers' seven-yard line, to set up Hort's game-tying field goal.. « That was one of the key plays of the game, » Durocher remarked.

The Raiders then tacked on three unanswered touchdowns on a 29-yard pass from quarterback Maro Porecca to Daniel Mancini and a pair of one-yard plunges by Alex Cronn and Ryan Forrest. The latter had notched the Raiders' first major with a four-yard run in the opening quarter.

Raiders president John Mouland saluted the club's accomplishment, saying, « I am very proud of the coaches and all the players. »

The Raiders' last championship was captured in 2009.

The players

Abdul K. Pierre, Anthony Hall,, Brandon Hart, Ryan Forrest, Anastasios Korafotis, Reuben Johnson, Mario Porreca, Sanders Armand, Edward Valme, Kevin Cronn, Chis Fields, Vincent Bourgon, Austin Riley Toohey, Raphael Giauris, Jordan M. Thompson, Phan Mederick, Liam Moreau, Jeremy Anderson, Kevin Glannville, Patrick Mitchell, Shaun Sobers, Malik Sydney Antoine, Alexandre Audette, Julian McLaren, Jacques Insixigngman, Danny H. Reindeau, Wadley Angibeau, Cullen Burrell, Alexander Cronn, Jeffery Montreuil, Anthony Mercier, Cedric N. Molapie, Jevin Jordon Richards, Tanner Burrell, Cory Robertson, Yussef Philogene, Joven Joel Richardson, Gabriel Mercier, Shakeel D’Agular, Dwayne Hunte, Remi Hort, Jelani McLaren, Daniel Mancici, Kyeon Anthony Nicely, Kieran Ranger, Marvin T. Steinberg, Ryan David, Christian Valdex Occil, Greg Newman, Jernell Lewis, Malcom Desire et Devon Deer.

The coaches

Derek Durocher, head coach
  Allan Ramsey, offensive coordinator
  John Pilon, receivers
  Jordan Cusson, offensive line
  Mathieu Rene, quarterbacks
  Robert Young, defensive line
  Mike Harrington, linebackers
  Dave Centomo, defensive backs

(Translation Dan Rosenburg)