2010 FOOTBALL SEASON PREVIEW
The Lions enter a new era in 2010 under Warren Craney, who was hired as the new head coach of the program in May. Craney, who joined the Lions after seven seasons as the defensive co-ordinator with the Concordia Stingers, immediately began the task of turning around a team that is coming off an 0-8 season.
At the top of his priority list was bringing in a high-calibre coaching staff. He did so with the addition of Michael Faulds and Harry Laflamme as the offensive and defensive co-ordinators, respectively. Both bring tremendous experience to the Lions, Faulds as the CIS career passing leader and a two-time Yates Cup champion with the Western Mustangs and Laflamme as a seven-year defence positional coach with the Montreal Carabins.
After the coaching staff was in place, Craney and his assistants used the months they had this summer to begin establishing a plan for the 2010 season.
“We expect them to get better every day, every week,” said Craney about the year ahead. “The players have responded well to the coaches and I am confident they will continue to do so throughout the season. There is tremendous skill and athletic ability among the athletes on the team and they are very passionate about working hard and getting better.”
The coaches also focused on recruiting and have brought in a number of new players. Among the recruiting class are receivers Andrew Collymoore and Derek Knight, who transferred to the Lions from other CIS programs. Both bring phenomenal talent to the squad and have already shown strong leadership abilities as first-year players.
Offensive linemen Ed Michel and Chris Tsarvenkov have also been impressive early. Michel began training with the Lions in the summer and has shown unparalleled commitment to the team and to improving his game while Tsarvenkov, who came to York straight out of high school, has proven he deserves a spot in the starting line-up.
There may be several new faces on the field and on the sidelines this season but there is also a strong core of veteran players that will be relied upon to carry the squad.
Highlighting this group is quarterback Nick Coutu, who has made significant strides in the off-season under the expert tutelage of Faulds. The third-year pivot benefited greatly from consistent playing time last year, nearly quadrupling his passing yards total from the previous season and recording his first throwing touchdown. He will be the leader of a pro-style offence put into place by Faulds in the off-season.
Fifth-year veteran Boris Radulovic will be counted on for his leadership abilities. As a lineman without the big stats his contributions to the squad are often overlooked but his experience and guidance will be instrumental on a young squad.
On the other side of the ball, linebacker Steven Reading and defensive back Theo Feriou will be the leaders of a unit that will showcase an aggressive style of play under the direction of Laflamme. Reading led all players in the CIS in tackles last year with an average of 9.5 per game and has been the Lions leader in that category for the past two seasons, while Feroiu is healthy again after missing games due to injury in 2009 and is ready to become an impact player.
“I am very happy with the progression of the team in such a short period of time,” said Craney during training camp. “We have set a number of internal team goals that we will strive to achieve during each game this year and if we do that, the results on the field will come.”
Key Returning Players
RB Jacob Appiah, CB Andre Clarke, QB Nick Coutu, DB Theo Feroiu, OL Boris Radulovic, LB Steven Reading
Key Recruits
DB Andrew Collymore, WR Derek Knight, DL Mike Kramolc, OL Ed Michel, OL Chris Tsarvenkov
