CIS Countdown 2010: Windsor Lancers

In 50 words or less: Can a team that has never outright won a Yates Cup break free from the bottom tier and begin establishing a solid foundation on which to build a winning program?

Burning questions: Will the Lancers win a game against a team not from Toronto?

Will the Lancers defense step up and not allow another team to pile 60 points on them?

Will the offense step up and combine for more than just 10 touchdowns?

Will the program be able to find another star player they can build either an offense or a defense around since the departure of Daryl Stephenson?

2009 recap: The Lancers were the OUA's #1 team through the first two weeks, but that was almost certainly because of wins against York and U of T; after that contest they dropped 6 consecutive. The lowest of low points had to have been the 60-7 loss at the hands of the Western Mustangs in front of the school's alumni. Following that loss they dropped their next game 49-0 to the Waterloo Warriors. However, the Lancers bounced back from those atrocious performances and took the Marauders to overtime, losing 15-14 before losing to Ottawa in the final game of the regular season just 24-9. A loss is a loss, but relative to the ones that came previous, the Lancers ended the season on a low, high-note.

Departures: OL Matt Morencie, LB John Celestino

Arrivals: QB Austin Kennedy, DB Derrick Hurst (SMU transfer)

Keep an eye on:
QB Sam Malian had a fantastic freshman season and a disastrous sophomore season. Over the next two years Windsor goes as Sam goes, so the program is hoping the highly touted pivot can regain the form that makes him, some believe, one of the most talented QB's in the country.

Coach & coordinators: Where to begin? Last season it was widely speculated and in some circles believed that Head Coach Mike Morencie was going to be kicked to the curb following those aforementioned embarrassments at the hands of the Mustangs and a program that might never exist again. As we all know by now, Morencie kept his job, saved a little face with those strong performances at the end of the season, but then Special Teams Coach Scott Fawcett decided to leave the program citing "personal reasons" (Lancer slang for "tired of losing") and this off-season Morencie hired Joe D'Amore to fill the vacant position. Citing the need to find someone who wasn't going to "come in and change the world" Morencie stayed close to the program and selected D'Amore, a former Lancer Captain and standout receiver. However, one has to wonder, with the recent woes of the program, maybe a world changer is what the Lancers need.

Off-the-field factors: If the Lancers get mired in another lengthy and embarrassing losing streak, Morencie's head will certainly be put back on the chopping block, and that's never a good thing for any program.

From last season's preview:
Last season's preview turned out to be quite prophetic in noting that "Windsor's swing games are likely the Waterloo and Mac contests." As it turned out if the Lancers had managed to squeak out that overtime victory over McMaster, who knows how they would have performed against Ottawa, had they been able to pull a win out, they would have been in the playoffs.

Stock up or stock down: Down, Windsor seems unable to retain much of the impressive young talent coming out of the Windsor area, and seems to only recruit the second or third tier prospects. Windsor is a football factory, but the highest level of football in the city does nothing to support that statement.

Schedule:
Tue Aug 31 vs Ottawa, 7:00 PM
Mon Sep 6 at Toronto 7:00 PM
Sun Sep 12 at Queen's 1:00 PM
Sat Sep 18 vs Western 7:00 PM
Sat Sep 25 at McMaster 1:00 PM
Sat Oct 9 vs York 1:00 PM
Sat Oct 16 at Guelph 1:00 PM
Sat Oct 23 vs Laurier 1:00 PM
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1 comment:

  1. Please god, someone fire Morencie. He's killing the team.

    ReplyDelete