Sault Ste. Marie Cougars

OFC New Year Resolutions

By CJFL Media 01/11/2026, 6:00am PST

A 2026 resolution for each of the six teams in Ontario

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.

Cougar Sightings

By CJFL Media 12/23/2025, 6:00am PST

The Sault Ste. Marie Cougars kick off inaugural season

Photo courtesy of @sccougarsftbl

Each CJFL season is full of exciting stories on the field and off it. One of the most interesting stories on the gridiron was the inaugural season of the Sault Ste. Marie Cougars after several years in the making.

The Cougars were officially announced as a new CJFL franchise following the 2023 season in anticipation of their debut in 2025. The announcement also included details of how the football team would partner with Sault College who stated it was committed to building a competitive program immediately with Athletic Director Paul Orazietti also named as the head coach.

Fast-forward to this year the Cougars filled their roster with talented players predominantly from Ontario but also had a few international players join from Australia and the United States. All of them making history as the first players to ever suit up for this CJFL franchise.

On the field they made an immediate impact winning two of their first three games, both on the road. Oddly enough, three of their four wins this past season were away from the Sault. Their lone home victory was their final regular season game, allowing them to clinch fourth place in the Ontario Conference and a berth in the CJFL Canadian Bowl Playoffs.

For a first-year team, the Cougars played tough on both sides of the ball. Their offence averaged the second highest point total per game averaging 37.5 each contest while their defence allowed 24 a game. Offensively they featured a solid running game led by CJFL Offensive Rookie of the Year and All-Canadian Sam Mustapha who won the Conference rushing title with 854 yards on 76 carries and scored eight touchdowns.

Another incredible standout was Jaiden Trudeau who was a dual threat as a receiver and kick returner. He led the Conference with three punt returns for touchdowns while also hauling in 31 receptions for 411 yards and two more majors.

Following the regular season, six players were named to the Conference All-Star team leading to Mustapha and defensive back Daikaden Gauthier being named CJFL Second Team All-Canadians.

As the fourth seed the Cougars qualified for the postseason in their inaugural campaign but headed to Windsor for a semi-final road matchup with the undefeated Saints. The Cougars played the heavily favoured Saints very tough keeping the game close until the Saints pulled away for a 49-37 victory. Despite the loss, the Cougars feel like they have plenty to build on and will be an attractive destination for some highly touted recruits who also have the desire to enrol at the College.

“As a minimum heading into our first season in the Sault, we thought we were capable of being a playoff team and credit to our young group and the hard work of our coaches, it was mission accomplished,” says head coach Paul Orazietti.

“From a coaches' perspective, we went into our first year feeling like we could be in a nationally relevant team right out of the gates. On the surface that may sound presumptuous or arrogant but having been a former CJFL head coach and an assistant coach at the USport level, I am a big believer in the power of dogged recruitment. I'm certainly not alone in this respect and I think all good competitive coaches take the field with the expectation they should win each and every week and we put in the work recruitment wise to validate those expectations.”

With six players named Conference All-Stars, coach Orazietti he was very impressed with his overall roster in 2025, “The thing that stands out most to me from our inaugural season is how our group of 18 and 19-year-olds got exponentially better from the beginning to the end of the season. Hanging within 12 points of the defending National Champs in the playoffs after being savaged by them at the beginning of the season really underlines the growth of our team over an eight-game schedule.”

With the 2025 season in the rearview mirror Coach Orazietti has his eyes firmly set on next season and beyond, “Sault Ste. Marie has strong football roots and we're working hard to match that with great talent from across the country. Our goal is to continue to build our program so that each and every year we have a chance to compete for a championship and ultimately be viewed as a top tier program in the CJFL.”

The Cougars inaugural season was a successful one by all accounts and quite the CJFL Storyline in 2025! They have set a new standard for expansion teams entering the CJFL and planning for an improved next year is in full swing in the Sault.

Outstanding Player Awards

By CJFL Media 11/08/2025, 6:15pm PST

The best of the best from the 2025 season

The Canadian Junior Football League (CJFL) is proud to announce their Outstanding Player Award winners for the 2025 season. The awards were handed out Saturday night at the Celebration of Excellence in Saskatoon, SK

The award winners are:

Gordon Currie Coach of the Year
Jamie Boreham – Prince George Kodiaks – he led his team to their best regular season record and the franchise’s first playoff berth.

Offensive Rookie of the Year
Running Back Sam Mustapha – Sault Ste. Marie Cougars – he won the Ontario Conference rushing title with 854 yards on 76 carries and scored eight touchdowns.

Defensive Rookie of the Year
Linebacker Chris Mattiello – Edmonton Huskies – in his rookie campaign he tallied 26 tackles, assisted on nine others, had a sack, a forced fumble, recovered three other fumbles and returned his lone interception 28 yards for a touchdown.

Special Teams Player of the Year
Place Kicker Liam Attwood – Okanagan Sun - with 13 field goals he set a new CJFL record for made field goals in a career with 76, knocked through his personal longest kick of 51-yards and accounted for 109 points this season.

Larry Wruck Outstanding Defensive Player
Defensive Lineman Jaylin Burnett – St. Clair Saints - he had a Ontario Conference high 11 sacks to complement his 28 tackles, 18 assisted stops, forced a fumble, recovered three fumbles, one for a touchdown and made 17.5 tackles for a loss.

Peter Dalla Riva Outstanding Offensive Player
Quarterback Matthew Guenette – St. Clair Saints– he set a new CJFL record for completing 75.9% of his passes for an Ontario Conference high 2299 yards and set a new Conference record with 35 touchdowns for a quarterback efficiency of 163.5%.

CJFL Past Commissioners Award
Saboor Zeeshan – Calgary Colts

Rick Smoke Community Involvement Award
Hamilton Hurricanes (third consecutive season)

The 117th Canadian Bowl will kick-off Sunday November 9, at 1:00pm at SMF Field in Saskatoon, SK.

BROADCAST INFO

Watch the pay per view Canadian Bowl broadcast HERE