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Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Lions simply the best
posted by jmeagher at 15h30
The Lions celebrate 17-8 win over St.Léonard in QBFL final. (Dave Sidaway Gazette)
Love ‘em or hate ‘em, as some apparently do, the North Shore Lions are the crème de la crème of amateur football in Quebec.
The Lions capped another perfect season Sunday with a 17-8 win over the St.Léonard Cougars in the Quebec Bantam Football League final.
It was a fitting punctuation mark on a sparkling 13-0 season for the Lions, who’ve won a remarkable 69 consecutive games since losing the 2003 provincial final.
The Lions were hoping to win their fifth consecutive provincial championship, and 31st since 1967, but the QBFL got into a hissing match with Football Quebec and sat out this year’s big dance.
Without the Lions to defend their provincial title, the 2008 provincial crown went to the LaPrairie Diablos of the rival Montreal Metro League.
Sunday’s league title left Lions head coach Jason Jourdenais with a bittersweet taste in his mouth.
“It is what it is,” said Jourdenais. “It’s a Quebec Bantam Football League championship.
“I don’t personally want to acknowledge the provincials going to the other league. It’s not because I don’t feel that they can win it, it’s just because I feel the provincial has to be a playoff...of all Triple-A bantam programs.”
Like most other football enthusiasts who care about the future of the game, Jourdenais is hoping the issue can be resolved in time for next season.
“We can’t just let this sit on the backburner; we have to come up with a solution now for next year.”
Assigning blame won’t solve the problem either. As Jourdenais pointed out, “Everyone has to be on the right page. There’s too much miscommunication between Football Quebec and the two leagues.”
As for his 2009 edition of the Lions, Jourdenais said simply:“They’re champions.”
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