After the success of the event held in the Cégep de Trois-Rivières facilities in 2023, the Quebec Student Sports Network (RSEQ) made the decision to return to Mauricie in 2024 in order to once again present the four finals of its most competitive school football leagues in the province.
“Thanks to the cooperation of the Cégep de Trois-Rivières and the experience encountered last year, this allows us to repeat that here. It is clear that for next year, there will be a review of everything we do, but usually, we are at one site for two or three years,” said RSEQ CEO Gustav Roel.
RSEQ CEO Gustav Roel is delighted to see college football being presented on TVA Sports this weekend. (Stéphane Lessard/Le Nouvelliste)
The latter is also delighted at the dawn of the weekend matches to see that football is on the rise in Quebec. After the pandemic, registration numbers had dropped to around 10,000 across the province. A few years later, the total rose to 16,200, a major increase.
“What we must remember is that these are the best teams formed through the 16,200 football players in Quebec.”
During the weekend, some of the action at Stade Diablos will be broadcast on TVA Sports. This will be the case for the division 1 collegiate final between the Champlain Lennoxville College Cougars and the Notre-Dame du Campus Notre-Dame-de-Foy.
“It’s a partnership that we have had for ten years with TVA Sports. This is the third year college football has been featured. We find this important, because it highlights the next generation of football. Last year, what’s interesting is that the quarterback of the losing team, despite the disappointment of the defeat, admitted that he was happy to have had such an experience.
The four finals on the menu
Collegiate Division 1: Notre-Dame du Campus Notre-Dame-de-Foy (8-0) vs Cougars du Collège Champlain Lennoxville (6-2), Friday, November 15, 7 p.m.
Two proven powers of collegiate division 1 for years, Notre-Dame and the Cougars will face each other in the final for the second time after the 2015 edition. It was then the representatives of Estrie who won on the count of 43 to 22.
The Champlain-Lennoxville College Cougars will try to add a 15th Bol d’Or title to their record. (Jean Roy/Archives La Tribune)
Notre-Dame, which recovered by capturing the Bol d’Or the following year, will therefore try to avenge the honor of their predecessors this time. Author of an immaculate record of eight wins and no losses, the Quebec team seems in a good position to get there. They had the best attack in Division 1 with 305 points scored and they were also the strongest defensively with only 139 points allowed.
True references in football for decades, the Cougars have won the Bol d’Or of division 1 14 times since 1978, also reaching the final on ten occasions. They have not been crowned champions since 2019.
However, the Cougars are not to be taken lightly with 270 points scored and 155 points allowed.
Collegiate Division 2: Falcons from Cégep de Lévis vs. the Laureates from Cégep de Saint-Hyacinthe, Saturday, November 16, 1 p.m.
For the second year in a row, it will be a confrontation between the Laureates and the Falcons in the collegiate division 2 final. Last year, it was the representatives of Cégep de Saint-Hyacinthe who were able to win 42 to 32 in an explosive battle. It was the first championship for the Laureates in D2 while the Falcons are still looking for their first coronation.
As for the 2024 edition, it is the Laureates who seem to start hostilities as favorites even though they have had a perfect season. Their offense was the most powerful in the league with 311 points scored. Their defense, however, was a little more generous with 184 points.
Coach Bryan Duval-Morales will try to lead his Falcons to a first Bol d’Or title in division 2. (Erick Labbé/The Sun)
On the Lévis side, they did well on offense with 297 points scored. Defensively, they were more airtight than their opponents with only 139 points allowed.
The Laureates and the Falcons crossed swords in the first match of the year and it was the reigning champions who had the better score of 35 to 23.
Collegiate Division 3: Gaillard from Cégep de Jonquière (7-1) vs Griffons from Cégep de l’Outaouais (7-1), Saturday, November 16, 6 p.m.
At this level, logic was also respected as it is the two best teams who will have the chance to compete for major honors.
On the one hand, the Gaillards dominated Division 3 with an offensive production of 303 points in just eight games, an average of around 38 points per game. On the other hand, the Griffons represent the toughest defensive unit at this level as they have only allowed 100 points to their opponents.
For the Gaillards, this presence at the Bol d’Or in 2024 is the continuation of a sequence of eight seasons where they have reached the final each time since 2016. The representatives of Saguenay are the reigning champions of the trophy they won in 2023, 2018, 2016, 2007 and 2006.
For the Outaouais team, they have the chance to win the first title in the history of the program. Their last qualification for the final dates back to 2015.
Accustomed to meeting in the final, the Gaillards have taken part in all the division 3 finals since 2016. (Tom Core/The Daily)
Juvenile Division 1: Saint-Jean-Eudes High School Condors (6-2) vs. Curé-Antoine-Labelle High School Wolves (6-2), Sunday, November 17, 1 p.m.
The provincial final of elite school football will feature the two best teams from the regular season.
The two teams faced each other once during the schedule and it ended 22 to 21 in favor of the Wolves, author of the victorious field goal in the final moments of the game.
Overall, the Condors had the best offense with 241 points scored as well as the best defensive unit with only 115 points allowed to their opponents. However, the Wolves are not left out with the third most prolific offense (185 points produced) as well as the second strongest defense (135 points allowed).
The Condors are the reigning champions at the juvenile division 1 level. The Wolves’ last provincial triumph dates back to 2014.
