Cornford right at home at Red Bombers controls

Published Saturday October 2nd, 2010 by Bill Hunt of The Daily Gleaner

It’s Homecoming Weekend on the campus of the University of New Brunswick – and quarterback Brendan Cornford feels right at home at the controls of the University of New Brunswick Red Bombers.

It wasn’t always that way for the 20-year-old Fredericton native, who was actually cut by the St. Mary’s Leo Hayes Lions when he tried out for the team in Grade 11.

“They cut me for MacKenzie Washburn,” he said. “Then, in the first game against Hampton, he broke his arm. Tommy Broad was the backup, and in our second game against Saint John High, he messed up his shoulder. So halfway through the second game against Saint John, they asked me to go in. I was so nervous…all season long, really.”

But he learned and he improved – and, lo and behold, last year he and the Bombers captured the Atlantic Football League’s first championship.

Tonight’s Homecoming Game – a 7 p.m. kickoff under the lights at Chapman Field – is a rematch of that game and a duel between the UNB campuses: the hometown Bombers against the University of New Brunswick in Saint John Seawolves.

Some 1,200 fans watched the Bombers’ home opener, a 22-19 loss to the Dalhousie Tigers.

“I love the atmosphere,” said Cornford. “It’s one of the best feelings you could ever feel to get on the field and hear the crowd go nuts.”

As they did a couple of weeks ago, for instance, when Cornford and company concocted a reverse flea flicker play and connected with Andrew Hubbard on a 35-yard touchdown play that gave the Bombers a 19-15 fourth quarter lead and had the crowd buzzing. Alas, it didn’t last long: Dalhousie returned the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown and held on for the three-point victory.

There may be more where that came from, but Cornford, cagey quarterback that he’s become, isn’t tipping his hand.

“That might have to be for you to see,” he said, chuckling. “That’s for me to know and you to find out.”

Cornford has clearly come a long way from the kid who was summoned in an emergency. He attended instructional quarterback camps at St. Francis Xavier, in Maine, and at home in the summer between his Grade 11 and Grade 12 seasons at Leo Hayes. He also played summer football with the Capital Area Gladiators and has now been around the block with the Bombers a bit.

And while he recognizes there’s room for improvement in the areas of reading plays, to knowing the playbook to being in better shape to leading the team – “there’s always room to grow,” he said – he also recognizes how far he’s come.

“In my mind, I’ve developed a lot better techniques,” he said.

“At the camps, I worked mostly on footwork, and reading defences to find out where the coverage is going to be…how to read the field when you get to the line instead of snapping the ball and then you see where the players are going. It’s basically second nature to me now. Sometimes it’s a little confusing, but I can basically see what’s going on. You need to know what players are doing at all times. It’s mentally challenging. But there’s nothing that compares to being able to play quarterback.”

Cornford says the calibre of the Atlantic Football League – expanded to five teams this season from the three charter members a year ago – is “10 times better” than the ball he played in high school.

“It’s night and day,” he said. “You have guys who are way bigger, you have speed like nothing you saw in high school. Just the game play, and the plays that you run and that kind of stuff…it’s completely different.”

He expects tonight’s game to be much different from the last meeting between the squads – a 3-1 victory for the Bombers in the championship game in Moncton last November.

“We’re going to put some points on the board,” promised Cornford. “They’ll probably put some points up too. But we plan to come out on top.”

Cornford has plans of his own. The six-foot-two, 190-pound signal caller hopes to go to the newly opened New Brunswick Community College opening on the UNB campus next season to become an engineering technician. The new building is only a few long bombs away from the Bombers’ Chapman Field home.

“I don’t know if the CIS (Canadian Interuniversity Sport football) is calling my name, but I can keep playing UNB ball,” he said.

Pelly’s TD makes for successful grid debut for Tigers

Published Monday September 20th, 2010 in the Daily Gleaner by Bruce Hallihan

Greg Pelly is one quick cat for the Dalhousie Tigers.

Pelly’s 104-yard kickoff return with 6:41 remaining in the fourth quarter lifted the Dalhousie Tigers to a thrilling 22-19 victory over the UNB-Fredericton Red Bombers in club-level Atlantic Football League action on Saturday night.

The back-breaking run before 1,200 fans at Chapman Field lifted the Tigers to a ground-breaking win: it was their first football game since 1976.

“This is really exciting,” Pelly said. “Taking that kick back felt really good. To be part of the school’s first game in 34 years is special. We knew it would be a battle. UNB wanted it bad, too, but there’s a sense of pride to get the job done on opening night.”

The league’s other expansion entry, the Holland College Hurricanes, also won their debut Saturday, downing the Moncton Junior Mustangs 44-33 in front of 2,100 fans in Charlottetown.

The defending champion Red Bombers had just taken a 19-15 lead on a reverse flea flicker pass, with Jeff Madsen pitching the ball back to quarterback Brendan Cornford, who hit a wide-open Andrew Hubbard for a 35-yard touchdown strike. Cornford overthrew Hubbard on the two-point conversion attempt.

That set the stage for Pelly, a former Halifax West star who gathered in Zac Cann’s booming boot at his own six and took off.

“I almost stopped in the centre, waited for them to come at me, then just turned on the jets on the outside,” Pelly, 20, said. “I saw the hole and took it to the house.”

Hubbard tipped his helmet to Pelly: “He was electric. That was a game-changing play right there.”

“Part of the problem with our kicking game is that we have such phenomenal kickers,” Red Bombers head coach Mike Dollimore said of Cann and Alden Pezerovic, who unleashed long punts all game. “Alden is outkicking his coverage by 12-15 yards -the same with Zac – so we have to be a lot more strategic. When you put the ball in the hands of No. 24 (Pelly) or No. 27 (former St. FX all-star RB James Green), if you don’t have that coverage down tight on them, they’ll start picking the angles on you. They’re really hard to contain.”

After two defensive stands deep in their own territory, the Red Bombers took over at their own 11-yard line with 39 seconds left. But Cornford’s sideline pass intended for Andrew Guest was tipped into the waiting arms of free safety Bryce Wade, who hauled it in for his third interception.

Wade, whose brother Cameron plays CIS football at Acadia, was an all-star in 2007 for Bernice MacNaughton High in Moncton.

“It’s exciting to finally get to put on the pads again,” Wade said. “It’s competitive football. Both teams battled. Special teams were pivotal, especially when Pelly took off to give us the lead for good.”

“Both teams played great, it was tough,” Hubbard said. “It’s unfortunate to come out on the losing side of it, but there are some mistakes that we’ll fix in practice and come back stronger.”

Hubbard wasn’t surprised by the Tigers’ solid showing.

“We heard they had 80-to-100 guys out for tryouts, so they have a big pool to choose from. We knew they were going to be tough.”

The Tigers scored their first points of the 21st century late in the first half when QB Brendan Festeryga hooked up with former Mount A receiver Darko Stasevic for an 85-yard pass-and-run play.

Wade’s point after made it 7-0. UNB, with Jeff Madsen replacing Cornford for a spell, drove down to Dal’s 21-yard line in the final minute, but Cann was wide right on the field goal attempt.

The Red Bombers tied it early in the third quarter, though. Hubbard’s 30-yard punt return to Dal’s 26 was followed up by Randy Madsen scampering into the end zone. Cann’s convert tied it 7-up.

The Tigers went back in front with 5:32 left in the third quarter. Pelly’s 24-yard run took it to UNB’s 39. Festergya, who was picked off three times but was 18-of-23 for 254 yards, completed a 14-yard pass to Andrew Adamczyk, a nine-yarder to Cody Hollohan and a 16-yard TD strike to Stasevic to make it 13-7.

Wade alertly picked up the ball on a botched snap and ran it in for a two-point convert and a 15-7 lead.

After a string of strong runs by Tommy Broad, UNB started the fourth quarter at the Dal 11-yard line. Electing to go for it on third-and-6, Cornford zipped a TD pass to Pat Forbes to cut the deficit to 15-13. Cornford couldn’t connect with Guest for the tying two-point convert, but the the Bombers were back in business.

A Pelly 50-yard kickoff return, UNB penalty and a seven-yard run by Green had Dal down to UNB’s 33. But DB Ryan Soles picked off a Fertergya pass to give the Bombers the ball back at their own 23 with 12:40 remaining.

The key plays in UNB’s go-ahead drive were Cornford’s 24-yard pass to Forbes and, of course, the aforementioned trick play to give the Bombers their first lead.

“I think it’s going to be (tight) like this all year long from all teams,” Dollimore said. “This was very entertaining. As a coach standing on the sidelines, it was fun to watch.”

The Red Bombers are idle until hosting the UNBSJ Seawolves as part of homecoming weekend Oct. 2 at 7 p.m. – a rematch of last year’s final, won 3-1 by UNB.

Phillips screws up storybook ending

Published September 28th by Chris Fox of the Daily Gleaner

The Fredericton-UNB Red Bombers seemed to have John Phillips’s number all night, unless, of course, you don’t count the final minute.

Phillips, the slotback and kicker for the UNBSJ Seawolves, overcame two blocked punts and a blocked extra-point attempt, to kick a game-winning 29-yard field goal with less than a minute left on the clock at Chapman Field Saturday night.

As a result the Seawolves won the first game in the newly-created Atlantic Football League by a score of 16-14 and Phillips became the unlikely hero.

“We haven’t had the chance to polish things and the things we needed to do tonight to finesse our offense or our defence we just weren’t able to do,” said Red Bombers head coach Mike Dollimore.

“To see the offence make the advances that it did a couple of times was really rewarding, though and I do think we have a lot of potential here.”

About 1,500 fans turned out for what was the first university football game contested at UNB since the original Bombers’ team was disbanded nearly 30 years ago. Many of the ex-Bombers were on hand to take in Saturday’s tilt including new UNB president Eddy Campbell who delivered the ceremonial opening kickoff.

Things got of to a slow start with both teams exchanging three and outs, but minutes into the second quarter, Justin Cavan of the Seawolves returned a Red Bombers punt 40 yards for a touchdown and the atmosphere turned electric.

Not to be outdone, UNB quarterback Brendan Cornford engineered a 50-yard drive shortly thereafter that was capped off with a 10-yard touchdown pass to Andrew Hubbard, alone in the corner of the end zone. Hubbard had set up the score by catching a 30-yard pass through double coverage three plays prior.

Hubbard in fact, was a fairly busy man on the night, also seeing action as a running back on several reverses.

“He (Hubbard) is a impact player for sure and we were able to hit him early, but of course they doubled up on him,” said Dollimore. “When you have players like that, they will shift over and double team him and it makes it hard, but Andrew is the kind of guy who can break away from some of that stuff.”

After UNB got the score, the teams battled back and forth for most of the quarter, but neither side could put points on the board. With 20 seconds left before half, the Seawolves broke through when Joe Crawford aired out a 30-yard pass to a shockingly open Ryan Morris, who reeled it in for the touchdown.

With much of their momentum seemingly sucked out of them, the Red Bombers struggled to even get a first down for the third quarter and most of the fourth. Then Cornford got hot. He threw five straight completions – three of them were to Hubbard – and took the Red Bombers 55 yards in about four minutes. Josh MacArthur, who had a relatively quiet night on the ground otherwise, then rumbled in from two yards out to put the Red Bombers up by one point with less than five minutes left.

At the time, it seemed like the winning score, but Seawolves’ quarterback Joe Crawford had other ideas. He threw first down passes to Joel Saele and Justin Cavan to set up Phillips for the game-winning field goal.

After the game MacArthur, who played football at Oromocto High School, said win or lose, getting to be on the field for the Atlantic Football League’s first ever game was a thrill.

“I wished we could have pulled out the W tonight, but it was great to be a part of,” he said. “Guys have been trying to get this up and running for years and it was just great and I loved the crowd.”

UNB’s next action will come on Friday, Oct. 16 when the Moncton Raiders come to town. Kick off is set for 7 p.m. at Chapman Field.

Dollimore says Red Bombers ‘just want to win’

Published Saturday September 26th, 2009 by Chris Fox of the Daily Gleaner

It’s a new team, playing in a new league and on a new field, but when the UNB Red Bombers take the Chapman Field turf tonight against the UNBSJ Seawolves, one thing will be the same.

Head coach Mike Dollimore, who coached UNB’s varsity football team for 11 years up until their disbandment in 1980, will once again be calling the plays from the Red Bombers sideline.

“I have been trying to bring this team back for almost 30 years, so it will be pretty exciting to be able to see them actually on the field,” Dollimore said on the eve of tonight’s 7 p.m. contest. “UNB has been starving, the community has been starving, and hopefully we get a good crowd out.”

The Red Bombers will play a six-game season in the newly minted Atlantic Football League, a three-team circuit that also includes an entry from the University of New Brunswick Saint John and a club team from Moncton.

Brendan Cornford, the former Leo Hayes Lions quarterback who played senior football for the Capital Area DQ Gladiators this summer, is expected to be the go-to guy behind centre, and Andrew Hubbard, a star wide receiver out of Fredericton High School, will undoubtedly get plenty of balls thrown his way.

Past that, Dollimore is taking a wait-and-see approach.

“We haven’t had an awful lot of chances to do too much scrimmaging, so it’s hard to predict what they are going to be like in game circumstances, but I like the team,” he said. “(Andrew) Hubbard is a big threat, Josh McArthur is a good solid running back and defensively we have a solid core of linebackers who are moving and flowing to the ball quite well and we have some good quick defensive ends.”

Though the Red Bombers are associated with the University of New Brunswick, the Atlantic Football League is not a university league and Dollimore said the Red Bombers’ final roster includes several players from St. Thomas University and a few not currently attending classes at either of the city’s two universities.

Several players with prior university football experience, including defensive back Elliot Hicks, who was the rookie of the year with the Mount Alison Mounties last year, will also suit up.

“We have several people who have played some CIS ball and because of the short amount of practice we have had that is a real asset,” Dollimore said.

In addition to Dollimore, former Oromocto High School coach Mike DeMello will coordinate the offence and three former Canadian university players, Jamie Edwards, Jeff Taylor and Dave Knott, will serve as assistants.

Larry Wisniewski, general manager of the Red Bombers, said that coaching staff will in fact be the biggest strength of the 2009 UNB Red Bombers.

“One of the real strengths is the coaching staff. It is first rate. Mike Dollimore, Mike DeMello, all of these guys have played CIS football, all these guys know CIS football, all of these guys have coached at all kinds of levels and they are a very very good coaching staff who the kids will gain a great deal from,” he said.

Dollimore said he just wants to win and is planning to have a football team that represents that attitude.

The top team in the Atlantic Football League at the end of the regular season will get a bye to a championship game. The other two teams will fight it out in a winner-take-all semifinal.

“Hopefully we will have everything we need to win a ball game in our kit bag,” Dollimore said.

“We’re just going to go out and take what they give us, spread the field both ways to open up our long game and if we can connect with that great and if they take that away from us we will have another threat to come back,” he said. “We don’t want to be one-dimensional.”

Red Bombers return to UNB today

Published Saturday September 26th, 2009 by Chris Fox of the Daily Gleaner

Larry Wisniewski is the man bringing football back to the University of New Brunswick.

Wisniewski, a sociology professor at the school, is the general manager of the new UNB Red Bombers club football team, which begins play tonight.

Though not the varsity Red Bombers of the 1980s, Wisniewski has high hopes for this 2009 incarnation.

He recently chatted with reporter Chris Fox about the team, his excitement level for the coming season and the newly created Atlantic Football League, in which the Red Bombers will play.

***

Q: What was the last movie you saw and the last concert you went to?

A: Oh, I don’t even know. I am much more inclined to do neither of the above. What I am inclined to do is to go to my garden and work there or to go out with the dogs for a long walk.

I read books, walk dogs, garden, but do not get to movies or go to concerts.

***

Q: What is the excitement level like right now?

A: Right now, I couldn’t really tell you.

I am so busy running around doing a thousand little things and anticipating what the next catastrophe will be, but it does seem to be growing.

There are two sides to me – the side which is eternally optimistic and looking forward to a fine turnout Saturday, and the side which is saying let’s wait and see.

One of the most interesting things I think will be in finding a way to blend the enthusiasm and the initial energy about what is happening into a season-long commitment.

Nothing would make me happier than to sit at Chapman Field and see the stands filled and the players having a great time.

***

Q: Are you hoping to capture some of that old Red Bombers mystique?

A: Yes. Some of them (former UNB football players) are coming, and we hope quite a few.

That is important. I am hoping the new players will see them and understand what it meant to those players of the past to be part of a football program at university and that they will see the possibilities of continuing their support of football at UNB in order to achieve that.

I am also hopeful that the fans and the people at the game – young and old – will get a sense of how much can be gained by coming on campus at UNB, enjoying the fall and participating in the university community and in sports at UNB.

***

Q: What is this team going to mean to the developmental and high school football programs locally?

A: We hope it fills sort of a missing gap for them.

We have really strong programs that have been growing over the years at the pee wee, mosquito and minor levels and our junior varsity and high school programs have grown as well.

We have three high school programs that are doing very well indeed, and we just want this to be the missing piece in that football chain which will give them an opportunity after high school to stay play football while going to university.

***

Q: How did this league come about?

A: It started in part because of the efforts to organize a movement to CIS (Canadian Interuniversity Sport) admission with a group from Ottawa that failed to materialize.

The university just wasn’t prepared last summer to engage in that kind of activity for any of a number of reasons.

When that did not work, a number of people sat down and said, “What do we do now?” and to everyone’s credit at the table, the thought of club football came up and we began sitting down, having meetings and talking about how it might work.

That lead to the development of a league, a constitution, a set of by laws and a financial budget, which, earlier this summer, gave us the foundation in which we began the organizational challenges of each community coming up with the resources and the organizational structure they needed.

That took a fair bit of a time, especially the financial part, and we did not get it resolved until the end of August when we had three weeks to get everything up and going.

***

Q: Any players in particular people will be excited to see on the Chapman Field turf?

A: I think it is going to be fun to see how it all works.

It is going to be a little bit disorganized, a little bit fractured and we in particular have only had two or three weeks of practice time, so it will take the league three or four games to hit its stride and for the players to sort of emerge.

***

Q: Is this a trial run towards CIS (varsity level) football at UNB?

A: Yes, that might be a long-term objective, but I am not focused on that at all.

My focus is on creating opportunities athletically for students at UNB.

It was part of what my experience was at university, it was part of what I thought was an important part of the university experience along with a library of guest speakers and academic programs, and I thought it would be useful, especially at UNB where we have had difficulty getting student participation and enthusiasm generated for all our sports, to create more opportunities.

Down the road if we can improve some facilities and generate enough interest in terms of community participation, and, most importantly, student participation, we can look again to see where we are and where we want to go.

Reporter Chris Fox is a journalism graduate of St. Thomas University. Q&A appears each Saturday.

Red Bombers back in the air and on the gridiron Saturday night

September 23, 2009 by David Ritchie of the Daily Gleaner

It’s been 30 years since there was a football game played at the University of New Brunswick.

So when they turn on the lights and crank up the music at Chapman Field for Saturday’s inaugural game in the Atlantic Football League, it’s anybody’s guess what kind of response they’re going to get.

Larry Wisniewski, the general manager and public face of the Fredericton-UNB Red Bombers, and others involved with this project including head coach Mike Dollimore certainly have every reason to be a little nervous about ‘opening night,’ if you will.

Wisniewski has stated that one of the criteria for determining the long-term viability of bringing back football to UNB, even if it’s a club team operating under the school’s campus recreational program, is the response of the paying public.

No guarantees. Even on opening night. Maybe because it’s opening night.

There are the selling points: the curiousity factor. The mystique of a new league. UNB vs. UNBSJ. Fredericton vs. Saint John. Part of the lure.

It’s not CIS-calibre football, but the league has been very up front about that. That doesn’t mean these guys can’t tap into Red Bombers’ nostalgia. Football at UNB. For people who used to make their way to College Field on Saturday afternoons, it’s got a nice ring to it. Or at least, people like Wiz sure hope so.

“From where I stand, I’m hearing from a lot of people who are planning to go to the game Saturday. But who really knows? There are any number of factors about whether people actually go or not,” says Wisniewski.

“Talk is cheap. You don’t know until you actually get up there on Saturday. A thousand? I’m hoping.”

Wisniewski says people need to understand what the league is all about. There are three teams for the maiden season including the Red Bombers, Sea Wolves out of UNBSJ and a club team out of Moncton run by former Football N.B. president Dan Fougere. Teams each play other twice plus playoffs.

“Basically, what we’re offering is a place for local kids to play local sports locally,” says Wisniewski. “In our case, it’s football. This is not about bringing back CIS football into UNB. But that doesn’t mean we can’t be part of the food chain for players who might aspire to play at that level. It’s a big step from high school to the CIS. For some kids, maybe a year or two playing at this level is what they need to prepare for the next level. Not everybody wants to go away to play CIS football, at least not right away. Those are the kids we hope to attract.”

Under the guidelines by which club teams operate, a team such as the Red Bombers includes both UNB and St. Thomas students plus youngsters from the community who are not attending university but meet the age critiera (18-24).

“We had about 70 people express an interest when we first started camp,” says Wiz. ” But you know how it is. When they realized we practised twice a week, some of them didn’t want to do that. It hasn’t been easy because we’ve had to move around (different facilities). But now we’ve got about 40 players in full gear now, and that’s about what we were really expecting. It’s workable.”

Wisniewski says the breakdown is about 25 from UNB, another eight to 10 from STU and the rest from the community.

“It’s an interesting mix,” he says. “Ideally, the players who are from the community are looking at football as a way of furthering their education down the road. That’s our goal with this.”

The $64,000 question, of course, is whether enough people will be intrigued enough to care.

Even under the ‘club’ designation, Wiz and his group are banking somewhat on the magic associated with resurrecting Red Bombers football, hoping for the best but fully cognizant that it could be a huge bust as well. Times have changed. People aren’t inclined to give the new kid on the block much of a chance anymore. And remember, the climate was such that UNB felt compelled to kill the sport from its athletic lineup 30 years ago.

But hope springs eternal.

For opening night at least, the group is pulling out all the stops to make it enticing. Flat fee of $5 for adults with students getting in free. Wiz says people within the alumni association at the university have been working diligently to contact many of the former Red Bombers to invite them to be part of the festivities.

The family of Pat Gillen, an alumus who was a major financial contributor to UNB athletics and a supporter of football before his death, will be on hand to receive a token of appreciation in his honour.

“We’re not planning any great elaborate pre-game ceremonies, but we’re hoping that many of the former Red Bombers will be on hand to help usher in the new Red Bombers and to be a part of all this,” says Wisniewski.

“There’s a rich tradition of football at UNB. We want to recognize that. It’s important that we do that.”

Sports editor David Ritchie can be contacted at ritchie.david@dailygleaner.com or at 458-6484. His y column appears each Wednesday.

Club Version of Red Bombers Poised to Play Canadian Football at UNB

By Dave Ritchie
Published in the Daily Gleaner on Wednesday June 3, 2009
Appeared on page B3

It’s first down. The Red Bombers are pinned deep on their side of centrefield.

It looks daunting.

Their playbook is all about doing the little things right. No big bombs here. Cool under pressure. Methodical in the approach. Get everybody involved. And operate as one smooth offensive machine.

With chin straps firmly attached and positive they’ve got the right game plan in place, the Red Bombers begin their drive to paydirt.

Slowly but surely they build some momentum. The doubters start to buy into the game plan. The fans are feeling the excitement. But there’s no getting ahead of themselves. The defenders aren’t about to give up their turf easily. It’s not about risk and reward. It’s about taking care of business and operating as one smooth offensive machine.

It’s a time-consuming drive. But the Bombers are now in position. It’s third down and goal to go. The fans are cheering. Anticipation is high. There’s a lot at stake for a lot of people. It’s do-or-die.

Can the Bombers get it done? Can they push across that bottom line? And can they find paydirt?

Paydirt for a group of alumni from the days when Canadian college football used to be played at College Field and there was a team called Red Bombers operating out of the University of New Brunswick is getting CIS football reinstated at UNB.

Over the years, they’ve tried the big-play approach and it’s got them nowhere. But times, to quote Dylan, might be a changin.’

When the sport at the school ceased to exist any longer in the spring of 1980, there was hardly a ripple. The team had been losing. The coach didn’t want to continue. The program was a financial drain. And there were but five high school teams playing the sport in New Brunswick. Minor football wasn’t an option either.

That was nearly 30 years ago.

The football landscape has changed. Seventeen high school teams now play the sport at the varsity level. There’s viable minor programs operating in the three biggest centres. There’s a Maritime senior league, dominated the last few seasons by a team out of Riverview. Heck, there’s even a Maritime senior women’s circuit that seems to be growing in popularity each year.

And beginning this fall, there will be a Red Bombers football team playing out of UNB’s Chapman Field.

It will operate as a ‘club’ team and play in what will be known as the Atlantic Football League. Eligible players will be between the ages of 18-24. Three teams will make up the inaugural season. Barry Ogden’s Sea Wolves will play out of University of New Brunswick in Saint John and operate much like the Red Bombers. The third entry is a club team out of the Moncton area directed by former Football N.B. president Dan Fougere.

The league will play Canadian-style rules. Three downs. Fields 110-yards in length and 25-yard end zones where possible. Rosters consisting of 40 to 45 players per team. The hope is to play games on Saturday night under the lights in the three centres, although the high school schedules might dictate a Friday night scenario instead.

A league executive, playing schedule and league constitution will be finalized at a meeting scheduled for Sussex June 16. Teams will open camp the first week in September with the plan to begin playing on September 26. Each team will play four regular season games followed by a semifinal between teams two and three and a final between the penannt-winner and semi survivor.

The idea is a three-year pilot project to see what kind of interest can be generated, and then move forward (or backward) from there. Translated, that could mean more teams in a viable Atlantic circuit.

Or for a group of UNB football alumni, a different kind of paydirt for the two university-based programs.

There’s no hidden agenda here. There’s a reason why UNB’s football alumni is spearheading this particular Red Bombers operation. And why Bob Skillen, who is the chief advancement officer at UNB, is heading up the fund-raising operation with his UNB involvement helping to faciliate that effort.

Larry Wisniewski, who directed the football fortunes of the FHS Black Kats for several winning seasons and just recently retired from teaching at UNB, is the general manager heading up the Red Bombers. He’s made the commitment “to handle the off-field aspects” for the team over the three-year period.

He’s currently putting a coaching staff in place – there are a couple of options for the head guy that he’s not prepared to reveal – and an executive that he says will include representation from the teaching faculty at UNB and the players themselves “who need to have some input as to how we want to operate,” says Wisniewski.

Oh yeah, and it’s good optics, too.

As a “club” team, the majority of the players will be under-graduate students at UNB, supplemented by others who fit the age criteria if the need warrants. Under the ‘club’ designation, 65 per cent of the players “must be from up the hill.” Wiz says the ideal scenario is to have a team made up entirely of UNB students.

“Heck, we’d like to see St. Thomas think about forming its own team in the next year or two,” he says. “You want to have as many teams as you can get. We’re looking at something developing at Dal. Maybe in P.E.I. The potential’s there.”

Wisniewski says it’s not realistic to expect front-line players coming out of high school programs to end up playing at UNB. “Your top guys are being recruited by CIS schools and that’s where you expect them to go.

“We’re looking at the guys who might be further down the depth chart who are looking first and foremost for a place to get a good education and still get to play some quality football. And there are guys who might want to stay close to home when they’re looking at their (educational) options.”

The Red Bombers are responsible for all operating costs, in other words, they’re autonomous in every way from the varsity athletics program at the school. As a club team, they don’t fall under the CIS gender-equality restriction as well. That stated, Wiz wants to develop a working relationship with the UNB athletic people.

The school is prepared to make Chapman Field available as the playing venue, and there could be costs incurred with that, says Wiz. There’s also the difficult matter of finding a practice facility, preferably College Field which is owned by the university and run as a city field.

“There’s a real issue in this city with the lack of facilities and the demand. I see that (practice time) as one of our biggest challenges,” he says.

Upstart costs including the purchase of equipment, etc. has been priced out in the $40,000 range, says Wiz. Operational costs figure be close to another $10,000 factoring in fields, officials, transportation. “It costs close to $1,200 to put on a game,” he says.

Another potential issue is the playing dimensions at Chapman Field. The field is regulation size, but the end zones are smaller than the 25-yards used in Canadian rules. Wiz says they’ll do a walk-through at the venue with an officiating crew to find a compromise.

Daunting? Heck, nobody said it was going to easy. And they haven’t even kicked the ball off yet.

Wiz says the game plan is simple: to prove credibility, to demonstrate that a football program operating autonomously from the university can be a viable entity from a financial standpoint. No guarantees. It’s a gamble for sure.

His is an all-inclusive approach, working in collaboration with the university instead of fighting it. Finding harmony among the UNB people, alumni and players alike.

So when the time comes and it’s third and goal to go for the UNB Red Bombers, finding paydirt might just be that little bit easier.

David Ritchie can be contacted at ritchie.david@dailygleaner.com or by calling 458-6484. His weekly column runs on Wednesday.

UNB Red Bombers Part of Proposed Grid League

By SCOTT BRIGGS

SAINT JOHN – Darcy Barker believes there’s room for more football in Saint John.

In fact, the commissioner of the Maritime Football League would welcome another Port City pigskin team.

“I think any football we can get in eastern Canada is good,” Barker said. “If you go to Quebec they have CEGEP football, and they have junior football in Ontario.”

If a new club does indeed take the field in the fall, it would be the University of New Brunswick Saint John Seawolves of the Atlantic Football League. Organizers of the AFL also plan to field teams in Fredericton and Moncton.

The new league would target players aged 18-24 wishing to attend a post-secondary institution immediately after high school. Players in that category often have difficulty playing for university teams that are under the Canadian Interuniversity Sport umbrella.

CIS teams often recruit older players who come to campus with CEGEP or junior football experience under their belts, making it difficult for players coming straight out of high school to make the grade on the college gridiron.

Barker played high school football at Simonds with John Kane, who went on to play for Acadia. Kane, however, was the exception instead of the rule.

“He was a 17-year-old rookie going against 20-year-old rookies,” said Barker, now the head coach at Simonds. “John was probably the top prospect coming out of Atlantic Canada back then, but I know lots of high school kids who are just too small and too young (to play for CIS teams).”

Barker said the AFL would provide a good level of competition for players while providing an opportunity to live at or near home. The commissioner also feels there’s a niche for a loop with younger players.

The MFL included 10 teams in 2008, and Barker estimates that only about 20 per cent of the players were in the 18-20 age group. Most of the other 80 per cent, he said, would include players in their mid-20s to mid-30s.

The UNBSJ squad would be considered a club team. Unlike UNBSJ’s varsity teams that are registered with the Atlantic Colleges Athletic Association, club teams do not receive funding from the university.

That’s why AFL organizers need to raise funds through their own efforts and the support of others. Community activist Barry Ogden announced Monday the AFL would begin play in the fall, but admitted the league didn’t have an official schedule, constitution or venues.

Like the MFL, the AFL likes the idea of a pre-season jamboree.

“We’re definitely going to support it,” Barker said of the MFL’s position on the new circuit. “For guys coming out of high school, it’s probably their best option right now.

“It could be very interesting. As long as they stay local, they can probably run their teams for $4,000 or $5,000 per season.”

Barker said volunteers could be a key in helping the league get off the ground, adding the area’s passion for football will bring out plenty of helping hands.

“The football community is pretty small, but it’s pretty tightly-knit,” he said. “We would just love to have more football in this area.”

Barker feels a successful AFL could generate enough money to warrant a berth in the CIS. That destination, however, isn’t necessarily his prediction.

“Anything is possible. If you can get the student body on board, they can go to the university and say ‘Look what we’re doing.’ If you can bring 1,200 people or so out to a game, maybe it would be something they would be interested in (supporting).”

Former Fredericton High School head coach Larry Wisniewski is leading the charge in the Capital City. The club team would be called the UNB Red Bombers to honour the university team that ceased operations in 1980.

“From a Fredericton point of view, going the UNB route was the marketing tool to go with, especially with the UNB Red Bombers name,” said Terry McIntyre, a “resource person” working with Wisniewski.

“Those of us in the football community would support that because it’s most viable. Even the kids coming up in the minor system know about the Red Bombers. It’s like Greek mythology.”

The past president of the Capital Area Minor Football Association, McIntyre still sits on the board of directors.

He was involved in helping minor teams play games at Chapman Field on the UNB campus. He’s hopeful the same venue will be used for an AFL club.

“I know there’s time available to schedule games (at Chapman Field),” McIntyre said. “With all-weather turf and lights, you can find time to schedule games.”

McIntyre said securing corporate sponsorship won’t be a pivotal factor for the AFL, if costs are kept under control.

“We haven’t really tested the waters,” the former Mount Allison defensive halfback said. “We’re in the middle of a recession. These operations are going to be run quite frugally. Sponsors will not make or break (the AFL).”

McIntyre added the UNB team has interest in playing home-and-home dates with a club team at the University of Maine Orono, adding that a three-team AFL would create some bye weeks.

He said such a series could become an annual tradition. Those games would also keep the Red Bombers sharp for their AFL season, McIntyre added.

“I think there are three reasonably good groups involved here. There are people who’ve been involved in the game for a long time and people who’ve been involved with starting teams.”

Dan Fougere is behind the effort to bring the AFL to Moncton.

The head coach and general manager of the MFL’s Moncton Marshals favours the formation of a junior team whose better players would be in position to eventually make a CIS squad.

“I’ve always wanted to get a junior team started, so (the AFL) could be part of that,” Fougere said.

“I don’t want to be affiliated with any university, because I don’t want a university telling us how to run our league.

“We all have our opinions on where we fit, and now we just have to compromise. It may not be exactly what I want, but it’s a start.”

Fougere, the president of the Moncton Football Association and past president of Football New Brunswick, said there’s lots of work to do between now and the hopeful kick off in mid-September.

“The drawback I see happening is trying to get officials and working around the high school schedule,” he said. “If we can work that out, I can’t see why it won’t fly.”

Fougere is also concerned about how the AFL will tackle corporate assistance. MFL teams come up with their own individual team plans, and the league doesn’t work together on corporate packages.

Fougere feels the AFL should have one plan as it pursues assistance from the business community.

“The way the economy is going right now, the dollar is going to be tight,” Fougere said. “We have to decide how we’re going to splits costs. We can’t wait until the last minute.

“It’s going to come to a point where we have to sit down for a whole day. We have to do that within a couple of weeks.”

Fougere hopes to know more concrete information about the Moncton team in May.

He’s hopeful of a cycle that would see AFL players give back to the game by refereeing and/or coaching minor football in the area.

Climate Conducive to Consider Resurrecting Football at UNB

By Dave Ritchie, Sports Editor
Published in the Daily Gleaner on October 29, 2008
Appeared on B3

Sure, there are considerable hurdles that need to be cleared. And they’ve been well documented. But the time appears ripe for the return of Atlantic University Sport football at the University of New Brunswick.

It’s been a long drought. Nearly 30 years in fact. It was in the fall of 1980 that then UNB athletic director Malcolm Early announced the sport would be suspended for a year. That was the spin, but the reality was pretty obvious. It was dead to rights.

To be fair, there were telltale signs that it was going to happen. The Red Bombers were at a low ebb. The team wasn’t winning much. Beating the (Mount Allison) Mounties was the rallying cry towards the end.

The head coach, Jim Born, wanted out. The venue – College Field – was starting to show signs of wear and tear. The bleachers needed work. To hear players tell it, the turf was treacherous and needed a major overhaul.

Recruiting out of Quebec was becoming more difficult, and the impetus didn’t seem to be there anymore.

High school football in New Brunswick consisted of five schools basically out of Moncton.

There was no presence in the capital region. In fact, it’d be another six years and a lot of angst for the Parents for Football before the sport would be introduced into Fredericton High School. There was nary a minor program in existence.

The city was about to get a professional hockey franchise – the AHL’s Express – and people were getting on board for that.

So when it became official – the Bombers had indeed, bombed out – there was no hue and cry from the student body or city folks that the sport be spared.

The UNB football alumni didn’t storm the athletic office demanding the head of the athletic director.

The school didn’t come apart at the seams. It was business as usual.

And the sun continued to shine on those beautiful fall days.

OK, times have changed. Allowing for the notion that absence does make the heart grow fonder, it’s fair to suggest the football climate has evolved in these regions.

For instance, there are 19 high schools playing Canadian-style football in the province, including three in the immediate region.

Have you been to a high school game lately? These kids are big. And better yet, they’re good. So is the coaching.

A grad out of Leo Hayes (Josh Sacobie) is one of the most proficient passers in CIS history. A former FHSer (Sean Hickey) quarterbacked Mount Allison to its last Vanier Cup appearance. The punter on that team (Ron Squires) also played at FHS. Shawn Linden was a star slot back at McGill. Running back Dave Hickey racked up big yardage at St. Francis Xavier. Defensive end Josh Thomas was an All-Canadian at Acadia and likely would have been played pro ball if he hadn’t hurt his hip.

Heck, Dan McCullough, who played his high school ball at FHS, is currently with the B.C. Lions in the Canadian Football League. At the risk of failing to mention the most obvious, suffice to say there are several former N.B. high schoolers playing (and excelling) in university ball these days.

What’s made these kids even better are the solid grassroots programs now in effect. No longer are kids giving high school coaches the hairy eyeball when asked to assume a three-point stance. They know what that means now.

The Capital Area Minor Football Association offers programs for kids as young as seven all the way up to the bantam (14-15) level. There are senior teams in both men’s and women’s divisons operating out of the Capital Association and playing in Maritime Leagues.

In other words, football is now a big deal, from the youngster starting out to the high schooler looking to play university ball to mom and dad playing at the senior level.

We’ve touched on the merits of football as a sport generating school spirit. There’s no better orientation session for incoming kids: gathering on a sunny Saturday afternoon in September watching your buddies play football. Check out the crowds for most other AUS sports. You’ve got alumni and city folks, but students are hard to find. Football in the AUS seems to have a more solid student following.

With just four teams, the Atlantic Conference would dearly love to have teams return to UNB and UPEI for instance. The rumour making the rounds is if UNB brings in a team, UPEI would follow, particularly with a new facility being built to accommodate the Canada Games being played there this summer.

UNB has its new turf field at Chapman replete with football markings. With the considerable upstart cost, it would have to be a Laval-type situation where a group outside of the school would finance the team.

Alumni types tell me there’s such a group in place. And that once a team becomes reality, money won’t be a problem.

Talk is cheap, of course.

But if there’s a will, there’s always a way.

David Ritchie can be contacted at ritchie.david@dailygleaner.com or by calling 458-6484.