Chatham-Kent Cougars Pounce On Opportunities With Windsor Lancers
JereMiah Hamilton playing for the Chatham-Kent Cougars
When the Windsor Lancers hit the field next season, they’ll have a Chatham-Kent feel as they have announced three local players will be joining their lineup. Chatham-Kent Cougars players JereMiah Hamilton, Jordan Deneau, and Mike Nicholson, will join another Cougars alumni, Cody St. Pierre who was a freshman last season, on the Windsor Lancers roster.
“We are very excited about our players from Chatham,” Lancers Head Coach Joe D’Amore told CKSN. “We felt Chatham was an area we need to focus on during our recruiting season. We believe there is some great football being coached and played in the Chatham area and we wanted to get the tops kids from the area.”
JereMiah Hamilton, a John McGregor Secondary School graduate and former JMSS Football MVP, league all-star, and school athlete of the year, as well as a defensive MVP for the Cougars, is expected to challenge for playing time immediately as he is not a true freshman. Hamilton was a top recruit of Saint Francis Xavier last year, but the defensive back is looking to contribute immediately in Windsor after transferring,
“We are really excited about adding Jeremiah to our defense,” said Coach D’Amore. “A transfer from SFX we think he can step in right a way and contribute to our secondary. He is physical and very athletic and will allow us to do some different things system wise, compared to last year.”
Jordan Deneau, who is a UCC Lancers product, was a defensive line MVP for the Cougars, and represented the Ontario Rising Stars in a regional all-star game last season, as well as Team Ontario West at the Canadian Championships, will also be joining the Lancers next season.
Coach Joe D’Amore again spoke highly of the potential and athletic ability Deneau displays, “Jordan is a big strong kid coming out of high school. We feel he can contribute immediately because of his size. We are excited about his potential.”
Mike Nicholson, a big defensive tackle, who plays for the Cougars, although he hails from Petrolia and plays high school football for the Northern Vikings, is the third Cougars player to join the Lancers recruiting class.
“Mike is an athletic big man who comes from great football programs in Sarnia Northern and the Chatham Cougars. Once we get Mike into a our strength and conditioning program we believe he can add some quality depth to our rotation,” Coach D’Amore explain about Nicholson.
The new Windsor Lancers, will join Cody St. Pierre, another John McGregor graduate, who attended Windsor last year, but struggled to get on the field as a true freshman on a strong Lancers team. Coach D’Amore however, expects St. Pierre to challenge for playing time this season, “Cody is going into his 2nd year with the Lancers. He has had a great off season and we are excited to see him blossom in 2012. He is very athletic and smart. We know he will have a chance to compete for playing time.”
For Chatham-Kent Cougars president, and Windsor Lancers defensive line coach Selwyn Jordan, the presence of four Cougars players on the Windsor Lancers roster is a huge accomplishment for his organization,
“Our Chatham-Kent Cougars Football Club is very proud of the players that have moved on to play football at the University Level,” said Jordan. “We have only had SR Varsity level football for 2 years and we have had 12 players graduate to play University and 7 go on to play JR football.”
According to Jordan, the Chatham-Kent Cougars aren’t simply trying to build winning teams, but are aiming to showcase their athletes to University programs, “One of our main goals for our football club is to provide our players and coaches the skills to excel at the next level. Promoting our players to the next level is a more important goal than winning.”
Jordan also praised the Lancers for their commitment to developing local talent, “Joe D’Amore and the University of Windsor has a goal to keep local talent here. Joe has done a great job recruiting players from Windsor, Sarnia, and Chatham-Kent.”
After falling to the University of Western Ontario in the OUA semi-finals, the University of Windsor Lancers will be looking to build on a successful season next Fall.