Cheetahs complete perfect season with Bol d'Or championship

The Cheetahs finished the regular season 8-0 before destroying the Beauce-Appalaches Condors 52-3 in the league semifinals and defeating the Spartiates in the final. Along the way, quarterback Myles Gibbon set a league record for touchdown passes in a season with 25, and defensive end Ameet Pall set a league record for most quarterback sacks in a career.

Gibbon himself accounted for a lot of the Cheetahs' offence during the big game, rushing for a 74-yard touchdown in the first quarter, after the Spartiates had jumped out to a 7-0 lead, and hitting favourite receiver and St. Laurent’s own Duraney White for two long touchdown passes later on. The second of the two, which came one play after Cheetahs defensive back James Symianick picked off Vieux-Montréal pivot Fred Dupuis on the Spartiates' 36-yard line.

“The fact is, (on the touchdown run) there were 10 other guys out there blocking for me,” said Gibbon, who was named the games' offensive most valuable player. “This was a team win, no question about it,” he said.

The Bol d'Or was the second straight for Cheetahs head coach Peter Chryssomalis, whose record in the past two seasons is an incredible 22-1.

“This win is a testament to all the hard work these kids have put in, and the hard work of the coaching staff. These kids really deserved this win, and it's pretty strong proof they were the best team in the league this year. I thought we controlled the game and our defence kept their offence in check.”

Late in the game, a crucial series of plays sucked the breath from the Spartiates' comeback. After a Maxime Bourgon touchdown pass with 10 minutes to play brought Vieux-Montréal within a touchdown, the Vanier defence and after Vieux-Montréal recovered a short kick in Vanier territory after the score, Cheetahs linebacker Kellen Aiken stripped the ball from Raymond Tonye and recovered the ball for the Cheetahs.

With two minutes to play, the Cheetahs ran out the clock and salted away their second title in a row, making them only the fourth team in league history to win two Bol d'Or championships in a row.

Another thing that should be noted is the fact that the Vanier football team is a racially and linguistically mixed team where you're liable to hear three or four different languages in casual conversation before game time.

But when the whistle sounds, you can believe they're all speaking the same language: winning football.

(Photos: Martin Alarie)