Wednesday, July 20, 2005
IN THE TRENCHES
Another fun win
By Marc Pilon
(Courtesy of the Barrhaven Independent and ottawacitynews.com)
 Renegades defensive lineman Marc Pilon, left, re-united with his brother, Jeff, an offensive tackle with the Calgary Stampeders last Saturday when the two teams faced each other at Frank Clair Stadium in Ottawa. (Photo courtesy Jeffrey Morris, Barrhaven Independent) |
Winning is always fun.
It was a hot and muggy day Saturday, and then having to wait through a lightning delay was not much fun. But when it came time to play football, we had our best game of the season and won 33-18 over Calgary.
There was a lot of attention before the game in the newspapers and on the radio that my brother Jeff and I would be playing against each other. Both of us wish we were playing on the same team, like we did growing up playing minor football and at St. Pius. We both played at Syracuse in college together. In fact, Jeff was an offensive lineman there and his job was to protect Donovan McNabb.
We both ended up in Calgary together and won a Grey Cup there, but I eventually moved on to Edmonton and then B.C. and now I_m back home playing for Ottawa, while he is still in Calgary. Even though we were on opposite sides of the ball, we didn_t face each other too often. He is a tackle and looks after the outside rush, while I play in the interior. A couple of times in the game we ended up knocking (heads).
On the football field, however, it's business.
We play hard and we play clean, and we don't take liberties against each other. We respect each other too much for that. There have been a lot of times in the CFL when brothers have to play against each other, like Darren and Doug Flutie for example. It's just part of the game. It's only unusual for us because we are lined up against each other.
I think it's hardest on our mother. She wants us both to win and to both to play well. Other than for those three hours, we are each other's biggest fans. We try to help and support each other. We have a football equipment business called Impact Sports Gear together, and we run the Pilon Brothers Football Camp in Barrhaven every May. If you are a high school player or if you came to our camp, I hope you noticed Jeff's footwork. Even though we train hard in the weight room and work on upper body strength, Jeff has good feet and is quick with his first step. You especially need that while defending an outside pass rush.
Their offense also had him cut blocking on short pass plays. Again, that is a play where he needs to be agile and quick. I think he_s the best offensive tackle in the CFL, but he is my brother.
As for the game itself, I think we had our best game of the season and had a great first half. Our offensive line had another big game and opened up some pretty big holes for Josh Ranek. When your running back rushes for over 160 yards in any league, you have a pretty good chance of winning. Josh hit the holes hard and made two big runs that really turned the game in our favour.
The Stampeders were not able to sustain any drives against our defence until the end of the half, but even after they scored we still went into halftime with a 27-11 lead. We shut down their running game, and our defensive backs again played very well and shut down some great receivers. Their defence played better in the second half and held us to a couple of field goals, but we were able to put together some good drives and control the clock.
Henry Burris had a better second half, and the Stampeders have a lot of speed and a lot of talent so they are always capable of making big plays. But when they were trying to make a comeback, Korey Banks came up with a really big interception for us to turn the momentum back in our favour.
Even though they announced the crowd at just over 16,000, it was very noisy and there was a great atmosphere at the stadium. We have some very loud fans with a lot of passion for football. It_s a great crowd to play in front of.
We had a short week to get ready for Edmonton Thursday night. It will be a big game for us because we have a lot to prove. We are a much better team than we were five weeks ago when we went in for our season opener. They have the number one rated offense in the league, and Ricky Ray is one of the best quarterbacks in the CFL. We are going to have to contain him and put a strong pass rush on him to help out our secondary.
On offense, we will need to protect Kerry Joseph and give him the time he needs to make plays.
Hope to see you there and talk to you next week!
Take care,
Marc
NOTE: Defensive tackle Marc Pilon's diary of the Renegades season appears each week in the Barrhaven Independent and at www.ottawacitynews.com
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