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While the club was actually established in 1995, the 1997 season was the first under the Jr Riders moniker. Originally known as the Gloucester Redskins, the club took advantage of a liquidation sale of the Rough Riders equipment following that team's demise and as a result, changed its name and colour scheme to resemble that of the former Canadian Football League franchise.
The Jr Riders lost their first two games of the season but began something of a roll after edging out the Chateauguay Raiders 26-24 in the third. This was a followed by a victory over the cross-town rival Sooners and an eventual 6-4 regular season record, good enough for third place in the Quebec Major Junior Football League standings.
In the playoffs, the team travelled to Montreal and upended the North Shore Broncos by a score of 37-10.
The Jr Riders struggled to move the ball in the Manson Cup championship the following week in a 07-13 loss to the Ottawa Sooners. Nevertheless, the foundation was set for a club that would go on to appear in the next four consecutive league championship games.
Head Coach: Dean Dorsey
Offensive Coordinator: Stephen Jones
Defensive Coordinator: Dan Murphy
1997 Results (incomplete) - Quebec Major Junior
Football League
Aug 23rd- North Shore Broncos 37 @ Jr Riders 24 L
Aug 30th- Chateauguay Raiders 24 @ Jr Riders 26 W
Sep 6th- Ottawa Sooners 10 vs Jr Riders 19 W
Sep 20th- South Shore Packers 18 @ Jr
Riders 21 W
Sep 27th- Jr Riders 24 @ North Shore Broncos 27 L
Oct 26th- Ottawa Jr Riders 37 @ North Shore Broncos 10 W (Playoff)
Nov 2nd- Ottawa Jr Riders 07 @ Ottawa
Sooners 13 L (QMJFL Championship Game)
1997 Roster
Players highlighted in red were named league all-stars
Name Position Ht / Wt
Willy Ade-Nanah WR 6'03 / 190
Travis Allen DB 5'10 / 160
Borotsik, Mike OL 6'00 / 250
Bowles, Dwayne LB 6'03 / 200
Bradley, Grant PK 5'11 / 170
Brenneis, Sheldon QB 6'00 / 185
Caldwell, Mel LB 6'01 / 195
Chernets, Mike LB 6'00 / 200
Conlin, Bill DL 6'03 / 215
Cousineau, Roch WR 5'11 / 180
Davies, Troy OL 6'03 / 265
Dean, Brian DB 5'11 / 175
Dikah, Mazen DB 6'00 / 170
Dodds, Les DB 5'10 / 170
Dougherty, Andrew LB 5'10 / 220
Doyle, Hugh-John SB 6'01 / 200
Ducharme, Rob LB 5'10 / 185
Fairfield, Jarrod DB 5'10 / 185
Fury, Paul LB 6'00 / 210
Foley, Jarrid DB 5'10 / 175
Ghantous, Eddy RB 5'11 / 200 Most Valuable Player
Gilmore, Mike DL 6'03 / 225
Huskins, Ivan DL 6'01 / 235
Jabboury, Zeyad P 6'03 / 220
Johnston, Nathan OL 6'00 / 250
Kluver, Chad SB 6'01 / 200
Kyer, Jacob OL 6'01 / 260 Outstanding Lineman
Lafleche, Guylaine DB 5'11 / 175
Lang, Bill SB 6'04 / 200
Lemieux, Jason QB 5'11 / 180
Mignac, Dominic OL 5'11 / 250
Monaghan, Patrick DB 5'11 / 180
Morgan, Darren DB 5'11 / 175
Morin, Roger OL 6'01 / 230
Mullen, Shane LB 6'00 / 200
Pelletier, Garry QB 6'00 / 175
Richer, Jeff DB 6'01 / 180
Rouleau, Ivan FB 6'01 / 255
Rouleau, Nicholas DL 6'01 / 255 Outstanding Defensive Player
Savoy, Leo SB 5'11 / 175
Shoihet, Joel FS 5'11 / 180
Smith, Daryle RB 5'10 / 165
Touzin, Shawn DL 6'03 / 255
Tremblay, Richard WR 5'10 / 175 Outstanding Offensive Player
Verdecampo, Joe SB 6'00 / 180
Westlake, Craig SB 6'01 / 175
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