Maritimers highlight 2009 Acadia football recruiting class

BY JOHN DECOSTE

The Kings Register

The 2009 recruiting class for the Acadia football Axemen has a real Maritime flavour.

Acadia officially announced May 12 the commitment of 20 recruits who will be on campus when training camp gets underway in late August.

Five of these players – two quarterbacks, two linebackers and a receiver – call the Maritimes home.

Former Sir John A. Macdonald High quarterback Even Brown returns to Nova Scotia after attending Champlain College in Lennoxville, Quebec. Brown was the starting quarterback for Champlain in 2008, leading the Cougars to the CEGEP AAA championship. His leadership skills should allow him to compete for playing time with the Axemen right away.

Adding depth to the quarterback mix is Andrew Healy, formerly of the C.P. Allen Cheetahs. Healy led C.P. Allen to the NSAAF Tier 2 championship in 2008 and the Tier 2 MVP.

Another highly regarded recruit is 6’4” receiver A.J. Durling, a multi-talented athlete from Fredericton High School, the New Brunswick Western Division high school Player of the Year in 2008.

On defense, the Axemen add two physical linebacker recruits to their 2009 roster: Andrew Rowe, a 6’1”, 210-pounder from Sir John A. Macdonald High, was the NSSAF Tier 1 Defensive Player of the Year in 2008; Nevarre Sokolowski from Riverview, N.B., possesses great linebacker range that allows him to be a real presence on the field. His efforts last season earned him New Brunswick Eastern Division Player of the Year honours as well as an all-star berth. His mother, father and uncle have all competed for Canada at the Olympics.

Head coach Jeff Cummins is happy with the results of the Axemen recruiting so far, and hopes to add additional top-notch recruits before the summer is over. “We have a young team, and hope to build on the great core we have in the coming years,” he said.

Other recruits include a trio of offensive linemen – 6’2”, 250-pound Simon Grimard; 6’5”, 275-pound Roy Medeiros, a former two-year starter at St. F.X.; and 6’6”, 295-pound James Lindsay, asked to fill the void left by the graduations of three of last year’s starters on the O-line.

Fullback Joel Taylor of Fort Qu’Appelle, SK; and receivers Mike Park of Surrey, B.C., Brock Schumuland of Beaverbank (Sackville High) and Austin Morrison of Halifax (C.P. Allen) round out the offensive recruits.

Also on defense, the Axemen welcome defensive tackle James Young of Ottawa, defensive lineman Alex MacLean of Halifax (Citadel High) and linebacker Brayden Guy of St. Albert, AB.

MacLean in particular was a big part of a defensive unit that helped Citadel to an NSSAF Tier 1 title. He also has “Axemen roots:” his father, Scott, and uncle, Stuart, both won Vanier Cups with Acadia.

The list of defensive recruits also includes defensive backs Thomas Menzies of Coquitlam, B.C.; Brett Backman of Stillwater Lake (Sir John A. Macdonald), Alex Graham of Ottawa, John Kirby of Halifax (Citadel High) and Isaac Ueffing of Canning (NKEC), a “homegrown” talent.

Ueffing, an NSSAF second team all-star last season for NKEC, played multiple positions for the Titans over the past two seasons. “In Isaac, we’ve secured the best football player coming out of the Valley this year,” Cummins said, adding, “we will continue to do our best to keep the best local players home.”