Photo courtesy of Bob Davies

The New Year is well underway, how are your resolutions holding up?  For the 19 CJFL teams, preparation for the 2026 season is proceeding as they hope their own New Years resolutions will help them to success by holding the Canadian Bowl trophy over their head in November.

With resolutions fresh on your mind, here is just one for each of the six teams in the Ontario Conference.

ST. CLAIR SAINTS

Ross says Pivot!

Since joining St. Clair, the Saints football program has been blessed with some incredibly talented quarterbacks including Maurice Sodja, Michael Beale and of course Matt Guenette last year who set a new Conference record with 35 touchdowns and a CJFL completion percentage record of 75.9%.  So now what? All three of these pivots have graduated and moved on, so the Saints are in search of the next great quarterback for the program.  Two other pivots appeared on their 2025 roster; George Arbez and Quinn O’Billovich who could be ready to take over the reigns, or will the Saints coaching staff be able to attract another QB that could challenge for the starting role?  Time will tell but one thing is certain, the Saints have aspirations to get back to the national stage for the fifth consecutive season in 2026.

LONDON BEEFEATERS

Pass the ball

Last season the Beefeaters became a one-dimensional offence predominantly using the run to move the football.  Nick Fonti, Elijah Prosper and Zach Dewlo carried the load offensively chewing up 1153 yards and scoring seven touchdowns.  They combined for more yards on the ground then what quarterback DJ Fonti collected in the air finishing with 1091 yards on 83 completions.  He did complete 59% of his passes, but to win in the CJFL teams must have a nice mix of the run and pass.  When defences can see an offence is one-dimensional, it makes their job a bit easier.  A new head coach in London could bring a pass first mentality once one is named.

HAMILTON HURRICANES

Ride the momentum

It’s been a minute, but the Hurricanes came storming back in 2025 with a rebound type of season winning six games, captured a road playoff win and got back to the Conference championship game for the first time since 2018.  They made major strides the past campaign in all three facets of the game, perhaps none bigger than on the defensive side holding the opposition to the second fewest points per game, allowing 17.1.   Graduating quarterback Kayrus Sam leaves behind big cleats to fill, but the Hurricanes have momentum after a successful season and will have players considering the steel city when looking at potential CJFL destinations.

SAULT STE. MARIE COUGARS

Avoid sophomore slump

What a great inaugural season for the Cougars, who finished 4-4 and claimed a playoff spot in the Ontario Conference.  Their semi-final game on the road in Windsor showed that they grew and developed over the course of their first campaign, setting themselves up for a highly anticipated second season.  The Cougars are not a typical “expansion franchise” who needs to find their footing before becoming a threat on the field, thanks in part to their relationship with Sault College.  Instead, the Cougars and their coaching staff expects to win immediately and plenty of questions will be answered in the sophomore season.

QUINTE SKYHAWKS

Higher compete level

The Skyhawks will enter year six of their franchise and will have high expectations to compete for a playoff spot in 2026.  Head coach Leith Fisken was named the Conference Coach of the Year in his first season at the helm last year and no doubt took some giant steps in learning what is needed to compete in the CJFL.  He will recruit and coach his players to have a desire to move this Skyhawks franchise to a new level and get them back to the postseason.  Many expect the Skyhawks to surpass their 2025-win total of three.

OTTAWA SOONERS

Find scoring

The Sooners named Tony Canonico their new head coach for 2026 allowing Kevin Ling to concentrate more on getting the right players and talent into the program to get back to the CJFL Canadian Bowl playoffs.  It’s no secret the Sooners need to find scoring after recording only 64 points all of last year.  Running back Rashaad Johnson did most of that scoring himself with five touchdowns. They had skilled players on their roster a year ago but just couldn’t find the scoreboard on a consistent basis particularly through the air with only two passing touchdowns.  Both Canonico and Ling will be busy this offseason looking to get this storied franchise back into contention.

One of the CJFL storylines of 2025 was the off-field commitment by the Hamilton Hurricanes to give back to their community.

For the third consecutive season they were named the Rick Smoke Team Community Award winners for excellence in volunteerism over the past 12 months.  The players, coaching staff and front office once again gave countless hours of volunteer time to assist several charities in the Hamilton area to ensure they had the help and funds to continue to do their good work.

Charities like Hamilton Out of the Cold, Food 4 Kids, BGC Hamilton and others benefitted from the participation of the Hurricanes.  Make no mistake, the players also benefit by learning several lessons of giving back, something head coach Barry Emo wants to instill in his players.  These lessons will serve the players well once they graduate from the Hurricanes.

He talks with Ryan Watters about the inspiring program they have developed and how it’s a win, win, win!