DeMerchant looks to lay down the law on ‘Canes

Published Thursday October 28th, 2010 by Bill Hunt of the Daily Gleaner

Justin DeMerchant says he has “a pretty terrible football record” over his 10-year career.

But he’s still trying to change.

The 24-year-old law student at the University of New Brunswick is in the latter stages of his final season as a player with the University of New Brunswick Red Bombers, the local entry in the five-team Atlantic Football League.

The 2-3 Bombers play their final regular season home game Saturday night at 7 p.m. at Chapman Field against the Holland College Hurricanes – the same team they beat 52-48 in Charlottetown a couple of weeks ago in a game that was an affront to defensive football.

They turned around and lost last week, a 5-3 defeat at the hands, or more correctly, the feet of the UNBSJ SeaWolves on a late field goal by UNBSJ kicker John Phillips, so they need this win to get back on an even keel heading into the playoffs. The hope is that DeMerchant and friends can recreate history. They won the AFL’s inaugural championship a year ago, defeating the SeaWolves 3-1 in the championship game.

It was a particularly sweet win for DeMerchant, a stalwart on the Bombers’ defensive unit.

“It was a really low-scoring game, but the offence didn’t make any mistakes and the defence played the game we needed to, so it meant a lot. It was the first championship I think I’ve ever won in anything.”

Football has taught him a lot, going back to the days when the Rusagonis resident finally talked his mom into letting him play junior varsity football for the Oromocto Junior Blues.

The OHS Blues teams he played with “were terrible,” he said. “I think we won one game my senior year…we lost 82-0 to FHS…I played wide receiver and defensive back and I can’t catch to save my life.”

But he kept coming back for more. He’s played with the Capital Area Gladiators. He’s coached in the Capital Area Minor Football Associaton program.

He’ll remain with the Bombers in some capacity – as a coach, or a member of the executive, or something – after he hangs up the gear.

“I enjoy the game,” he explained. “I think I have a probably terrible football record…I’ve coached some teams that haven’t done so well, But I think I’ve really learned how to lose gracefully and take things away from games besides purely winning and losing. Obviously, winning is nice.”

The thing about this year’s Bombers is, you never know. Their scores have been somewhat schizophrenic this season, from a 30-0 loss to the Seawolves in their homecoming game one week, to a 52-48 barnburner victory over the Hurricanes a couple of weeks ago to…well, who knows?

“It’s got to be somewhere in between,” said DeMerchant. “It’s too bad we couldn’t have pulled it out against Saint John (last week). That would really have characterized how our team is. It was a heartbreaker, but coming back after losing to them 30-0 earlier in the season, it was almost a victory.”

DeMerchant doesn’t expect the defensive unit to be so generous against the Hurricanes Friday.

“We’ve made some adjustments to take care of what they like to do,” he said. “They want to get their quarterback out of the pocket. If he does that this week, he’s going to get planted on his butt a few more times. We know what to expect from their receivers now.”

DeMerchant played a single quarter in that contest. He’s been sidelined since breaking his left thumb in the first meeting of the season against the SeaWolves, but returned for a quarter against the Hurricanes a couple of weeks ago and played the entire game with his thumb wrapped up last week.

DeMerchant isn’t getting sentimental about his football career just yet.

“We’re focused on one thing right now…going 3-3 and getting a revenge game against Dal. We have to beat PEI this week to get that revenge game against Dal. And we proved last year that once it gets to playoffs, the regular season goes out the window.”

For Demerchant, who will graduate with a joint LLB-MBA degree next spring, it’s been, and will continue to be, a labour of love.

“Some sports are really one-on-one and some are team sports. Football is the ultimate hybrid. You’ve got one guy you’re lined up against and it’s your job to beat him. And you have 12 guys on each side of the field trying to do that. It’s a great game.”

The Red Bombers wish to welcome three new members of the coaching staff

Neil Cody, Linebackers:  27 year old and attending UNB in September to take MBA in Sports Management.  For the past four years Neil has been the Defensive Coordinator at Lockview High School in Fall River, Nova Scotia.  He has helped turn that program around from an 0-8 team to a contending program, finishing 8-2, while having one of the top ranked defenses in the province.

Terry McIntyre, Defensive Backs:  Terry is a product of the ‘70’s from Mt. Allison and has worked relentlessly in building football in Fredericton and New Brunswick for the past 15 years.  He has been instrumental in building a “football machine” in the Capital Area Minor Football Association and has been part of all aspects of the football scene in New Brunswick including the introduction of men’s and ladies Senior football.  Terry in anxious to shift gears back on to the field and work the Red Bomber DB’s.

Andrew Fisher, Receivers:  A product of  Fredericton High School football program with a stint at Mt. Allison and New Zealand Gridiron.  He has extensive coaching experience at various levels and with his return to Fredericton from several years in Taiwan, he is keen to help the 2010 Red Bomber receiver corps.