FCC2018 PREVIEW: NEW BRUNSWICK
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The 2018 Football Canada Cup will be the farewell tour for long-time Head Coach Chris Hopkins as he will be making the move to Ottawa for his next USports coaching stint with the Carleton Ravens.
However, he has some unfinished business on the field with Team New Brunswick.
“You can expect a team that is mentally tough,” Hopkins said of this year’s team. “One of the greatest things about our program is the development portion that is built into the program in our ability to start the team.”
“You can build a pretty cohesive unit and some pretty strong relationships. I sincerely believe we have 40 great men that are involved in our program, great coaching and some great support staff around us.”
Hopkins says the team will once again face adversity and that will be a challenge on the field.
“It’s going to be a tough tournament for them,” he expressed. “We understand that we are going to take it play by play and make sure we are better football players and better people by the end of the tournament.”
Overall, the goal for New Brunswick at the 2018 Football Canada Cup is to compete in every snap and play three strong games.
“The biggest thing for us is to understand who we are and to be confident,” Hopkins added. “We’re very process driven; we’re just going to try to be a better football team at the end of the week then we were when we started.”
New Brunswick’s offence will be led by quarterbacks Justin Vogels, Alex Cassidy and Jonah Rawlines.
“They complement each other very well because everybody possesses different attributes in terms of how they throw the ball, how they make plays but they are all the same in terms of having high character and being great leaders,” Hopkins added of the pivots.
Furthermore, there will be a mixture of veterans and rookies that have experience at the national level. The offence is highlighted by Tom Brow (offensive line), Bradly Peters (offensive line), Deo gracias Precieux Mfi (offensive line), Cody Barton (receiver) and Oliver Burnett (receiver).
Defensively, New Brunswick is expected to be more physical then in previous years. One advantage this unit will have is length in the secondary and Lucas Cormier, Sergiy Aalund, Daniel Bell and David Daniel Pendleton will be depended on to contribute and use their previous experience to guide the core. Owen O’Neal and Wesley Riley are two other players to watch for as well. Will Russell and Nathan Clark will anchor the defensive line.
New Brusnwick have their hands full in their first game of the tournament as they face defending champions Quebec on Monday July 16 at 4:00pm MST.
“We couldn’t be more excited; we’re pumped,” Hopkins said of their opponent. “In order to have development, you have to play up to a higher level; Quebec has demonstrated over the past few years that they’ve been the best and that’s what they aspire to be.”
“I have immense respect for what Football Quebec has done and what Marco (Iadeluca) has done. We’re embracing the challenge and we can’t wait to get out there and play and us to be able to make some plays against a great football team and build some confidence for the rest of the tournament.”
TEAM NEW BRUNSWICK
2017 RESULT: lost to Manitoba 43-10 to finish eighth
HEAD COACH: Chris Hopkins – 5th year as Head Coach, was a positional coach in 2012, 2013
NUMBER OF RETURNING PLAYERS: 18-21
PLAYERS TO WATCH:
| Player | Position | City |
| Sergiy Aalund | DB | Saint John |
| Justin Vogels | QB | Tantramar |
| Daniel Bell | DB | Saint John |
| Lucas Cormier | DB | Tantramar |
| David-Daniel Pendleton | DB | Moncton |
| Oliver Burnett | REC | Fredericton |
| Alex Cassidy | QB | Saint John |
| Cody Barton | REC | Riverview |
| Jonah Rawlines | QB | Leo Hayes |
| Owen O’Neal | DB | Tantramar |
| Wesley Riley | DB | Riverview |
| William Russell | DL | Kennebecasis |
| Bradly Peters | OL | Fredericton |
| Tom Brow | OL | Saint John |
| Deo gracias Precieux Mfi | OL | L’Odyssee |
| Nathan Clark | DL | Leo Hayes |
