Chateauguay school brings back football program after nearly 50 years
Howard S. Billings High School is turning on the Friday night lights, bringing back its tackle football team after a nearly 50-year hiatus.
"This is super exciting. We haven't had football here at Billings for a very long time," said manager Sophie Caisse.
Caisee says her excitement is shared by the entire school community.
Now, as the Billings Blazers prepare to make their comeback, players hope they live up to expectations.
"It feels good to know that, but at the same time, we have something to prove coming into a new league as a new team," said student athlete Jahki Parkinson.
The team is open to grade 10 and 11 students. Head coach Luc Pelland says the team's resurgence is due to several factors, but mostly to help keep teenagers in school.
"Let's keep them busy, let's keep them off the streets, teach them a great game where they will make friends and learn good habits and increase the school spirit," Pelland told CTV News.
While he has 25 years of experience coaching at the CEGEP and university levels with Concordia and McGill, this is Pelland's first high school gig.
"It’s a little different. I'm used to working with older men, so I've had to, maybe, watch my language a little bit more," he laughed. "But you know, football is football."
Howard S. Billings High School in Chateauguay, Que. is bringing back its tackle football team after almost 5 decades. (CTV News/Olivia O'Malley)
Future players hope to learn from his experience and take their game to the next level.
"I'm still learning the game, and I'm hoping with coach Pelland and everyone helping me out, I'll just get better by the year and go onto CEGEP," said grade 10 student Thomas Granberg.
There are still about three months to go, but the almost five-decade wait will be worth it when the team steps onto the field.
"I really hope when it comes to game time, a ton of people are going to show up. It's going to be really good," said Granberg.
The high school season officially starts in late August.
Shopping Trends
The Shopping Trends team is independent of the journalists at CTV News. We may earn a commission when you use our links to shop. Read about us.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING
BREAKING Rescuers bring 8 of 41 trapped workers out of tunnel in northern India
Pushkar Singh Dhami, the top elected official in the state of Uttarakhand where the accident occurred, said eight workers have been rescued so far. They are being pulled out through a passageway made of welded pipes which rescuers previously pushed through dirt and rocks.
Life expectancy for Canadians fell in 2022 for third year in a row, says StatCan
Life expectancy for Canadians decreased for the third straight year in 2022, and more people died of COVID-19 than in any other year since the pandemic began, according to a report released Monday.
Israel and Hamas extend their truce, but it seems only a matter of time before the war resumes
A truce between Israel and Hamas entered its fifth day on Tuesday, with the militant group promising to release more civilian hostages to delay the expected resumption of the war and Israel under growing pressure to spare Palestinian civilians when the fighting resumes.
Mother of 2 and 4 exchange students identified as victims killed in crash in Huntsville, Ont.
The woman killed in a head-on collision in Huntsville over the weekend that also claimed the lives of four teenagers has been identified.
How Western Canada's sugar shortage is affecting bakeries, chocolatiers
Amid an ongoing strike at Western Canada's largest sugar refinery, bakery owners and chocolatiers are finding it hard to locate the amounts of sugar they need to keep their businesses going as we head into the holiday season.
Conservative deputy calls MP 'unhinged' for linking Poilievre and Winnipeg killings
Federal Conservative deputy leader Melissa Lantsman is calling a Metro Vancouver MP 'unhinged' for a social media post that questioned if there was a connection between Pierre Poilievre and a weekend shooting in Manitoba that killed four people.
Six teens in court in connection with beheading of French teacher
Six teenagers go on trial behind closed doors on Monday in connection with the beheading of French history teacher Samuel Paty in 2020, a murder that shocked the country.
B.C. boy dies by suicide after online sextortion: RCMP
Mounties in northern British Columbia are investigating after a 12-year-old boy died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound following an apparent case of online sextortion. Warning: This story is about a child who died by suicide and may be distrubing to readers.
Man who pleaded guilty in incel-inspired murder at Toronto spa to be sentenced today
A man who pleaded guilty to the incel-inspired murder of a Toronto massage parlour employee is expected to be sentenced today.
Toronto
-
Man charged with 1st-degree murder after B.C. woman found dead in Markham, Ont. residence
A man has been charged with first-degree murder after a 34-year-old woman from British Columbia was found dead at a Markham, Ont. residence.
-
Ontario integrity commissioner will not investigate Las Vegas trip involving Greenbelt developer
Ontario’s integrity commissioner will not be pursuing an investigation into a former Progressive Conservative cabinet minister’s trip to Las Vegas given the broad RCMP Greenbelt investigation underway.
-
Man who pleaded guilty in incel-inspired murder at Toronto spa to be sentenced today
A man who pleaded guilty to the incel-inspired murder of a Toronto massage parlour employee is expected to be sentenced today.
Atlantic
-
Life expectancy for Canadians fell in 2022 for third year in a row, says StatCan
Life expectancy for Canadians decreased for the third straight year in 2022, and more people died of COVID-19 than in any other year since the pandemic began, according to a report released Monday.
-
'It's pretty bad': Halifax mall retailers reeling after major flood
Scores of retailers at a busy shopping mall in downtown Halifax are counting their losses after a major flooding event on the weekend, and some worry they won't recover.
-
N.B. man, 24, dies after pickup truck rollover
A man has died following a rollover crash in Lawrence Station, N.B., last Thursday.
London
-
Snow squall warnings in effect
Regions under a warning could see anywhere from 15 to 30 cm of accumulation with intense snowfall rates exceeding 5 cm per hour at times.
-
Teen charged after allegedly robbing three east-end businesses
A London, Ont. man is facing charges after police responded to three robberies in the city’s east end.
-
Rival hockey teams at Western raise money for cancer while pushing for sports equality
Two rival faculties at Western University went head to head — raising a chunk of money for charity.
Northern Ontario
-
No injuries after plane destroyed in airport crash in Wawa, Ont.
The Transportation Safety Board has sent a team of investigators to northern Ontario following a crash on Monday that destroyed an aircraft.
-
Employee of Sudbury business charged with stealing $712K from employer
A now former employee with a Sudbury business has been charged with fraud and is accused of stealing from their employer over a period of seven years.
-
Sudbury man launches petition to have bike lanes cleared in winter
A Greater Sudbury man wants the city to clear bike lanes and pathways during winter following inclement weather.
Calgary
-
Bridlewood resident in critical condition after carbon monoxide leak
A carbon monoxide leak sent four people to hospital in the southwest community of Bridlewood on Monday night.
-
Weegar scores late in OT to lift Flames to 2-1 win over Golden Knights
MacKenzie Weegar scored with 5 seconds left on the clock in overtime, lifting the Calgary Flames to a 2-1 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights on Monday night.
-
Danielle Smith invokes sovereignty act on green electricity, concedes it's for symbolic effect
Premier Danielle Smith invoked Alberta’s sovereignty act on Monday to implement new measures in her fight against Ottawa’s looming clean electricity rules while conceding she didn't need the act to put the changes in place.
Kitchener
-
Court rejects WRDSB attempt to dismiss defamation lawsuit
A retired teacher is claiming a “major victory” in her ongoing legal battle with the Waterloo Region District School Board.
-
Waterloo-Wellington could get up to 20 cm of snow
Southwestern Ontario got its first blast of winter weather Monday.
-
Waterloo approves updated fire master plan, expands stations
Some calls for help from Waterloo firefighters have been answered by the city.
Vancouver
-
Vancouver city councillor tables plan to 'unlock' housing in DTES
A Vancouver city councillor is proposing an ambitious plan to create greater housing stock in the Downtown Eastside.
-
B.C. boy dies by suicide after online sextortion: RCMP
Mounties in northern British Columbia are investigating after a 12-year-old boy died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound following an apparent case of online sextortion. Warning: This story is about a child who died by suicide and may be distrubing to readers.
-
B.C. education minister responds to recall petition over SOGI
B.C.’s Education Minister, Rachna Singh, was at a ground-breaking announcement Monday for a new Cedar Hill Middle School when she responded to the recall petition launched last week to remove her as an MLA for Surrey-Green Timbers.
Edmonton
-
Danielle Smith invokes sovereignty act on green electricity, concedes it's for symbolic effect
Premier Danielle Smith invoked Alberta’s sovereignty act on Monday to implement new measures in her fight against Ottawa’s looming clean electricity rules while conceding she didn't need the act to put the changes in place.
-
Edmonton city council reduces proposed property tax increase to 6.6% from 7.09%
Between cuts to existing services and approval of new spending, Edmonton city council on Monday voted to reduce next year's proposed property tax increase by almost half a percentage point to 6.6 per cent from the proposed 7.09 per cent.
-
Life expectancy for Canadians fell in 2022 for third year in a row, says StatCan
Life expectancy for Canadians decreased for the third straight year in 2022, and more people died of COVID-19 than in any other year since the pandemic began, according to a report released Monday.
Windsor
-
Road closures for Windsor Santa Claus Parade 2023
Windsor police are informing the public about upcoming road closures for the Windsor Santa Claus Parade this weekend.
-
$100,000 study approved for Jackson Park bandshell
Members of Windsor’s Black community spoke before council Monday night about the historic importance of the facility, which has hosted the likes of Martin Luther King Junior and Eleanor Roosevelt.
-
Windsor mayor hopes province will upload E.C. Row Expressway after Toronto deal
Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens expressed hope Monday night that the city will be able to upload E.C. Row Expressway to the province after the City of Toronto made a deal with the Ford government to upload two expensive area highways earlier in the day.
Regina
-
Regina Fire, police called to 'large structure fire' east of downtown
Emergency crews were called to what police said was a “large structure fire” east of Regina’s downtown shortly after 3:00 Tuesday morning.
-
Rider head coach search narrowed down to 2 candidates: reports
According to reports from TSN’s Farhan Lalji, the race to become the next head coach of the Saskatchewan Roughriders is down to two potential candidates.
-
After predicting a surplus, Sask. now forecasts a $251M deficit
After predicting a surplus of $736 million, the Saskatchewan government is now forecasting a deficit of $250.5 million in its mid-year financial report released on Monday.
Ottawa
-
OPS busts four stunt drivers on Monday, some repeat offenders
In posts to social media by the OPS Escort and Enforcement Unit, officers stopped four separate drivers who were caught going at excessive speeds.
-
Deal between Ottawa and province similar to Toronto likely coming: sources
The city of Ottawa could see a deal similar to one brokered between the city of Toronto and the Ontario government, provincial sources say.
-
Bundle up: Freezing temperatures in the forecast for Tuesday
Expect to add an extra layer of warmth this morning as temperatures will remain low today with a slight chance of flurries throughout the day.
Saskatoon
-
Saskatoon business leader says city should not compare its spending to other municipalities
As city councillors ready for marathon budget discussions, a business leader says it's time for to stop looking to other cities to judge Saskatoon's spending.
-
Sask. man gets prison time for paying daughter's friend, 14, to have sex on camera
A Saskatoon judge says a man who paid his daughter’s 14-year-old friend to have sex with him and recorded it on video is likely to re-offend.
-
Rider head coach search narrowed down to 2 candidates: reports
According to reports from TSN’s Farhan Lalji, the race to become the next head coach of the Saskatchewan Roughriders is down to two potential candidates.
