The Windsor Lancers are off to their best start in 48 years and will put their 5-0 record to the test against the Western Mustangs Saturday afternoon.
Lancers head coach J-P Circelli feels his success and the success of many others around the league is a tribute to the mentorship received from Western head coach Greg Marshall.
“A lot of the lessons I learned from him I use on a regular basis here,” Circelli said. “There's definitely a big influence in his ability to not just coach me as a player but as a coach and lead me to be a better person.”
The USports top-10 features three OUA teams displaying the ‘Greg Marshall effect.’
Western is ranked #1. At #4 is Windsor, and Laurier is at #7. Their head coach, Michael Faulds, was a star quarterback for Marshall at Western.
“The success Waterloo has had with Chris Bertoia. The success Queen's has had with Steve Snyder and then even look at the CFL level, special teams’ coordinator with the Argos Mickey Donavan.”
Windsor's success was built with local players and Londoners who believed in Circelli when he landed the Windsor job in 2019.
“Just kind of saw J-P, the Circelli family coming on and seeing what they were going to bring to the city. [To kind of] be a part of something special that's going to happen here, I saw where this is moving and the positive direction and I wanted to be a part of it,” said defensive back Bret MacDougall.
Liam Talbot followed Circelli to Windsor from London, “I just had a lot of faith in the coaching staff. I knew I'd be taken care of here. I knew they were building a great program, great culture. I wanted to be a part of it.”
So did Carlos Pena, “When I heard he was coming down here I was like, “Yeah, that's a place where I want to be.’”
Four years later, the Lancers are in a position to take a shot at a conference title with wins over Western and Laurier. Their defence has led the way, leading the country with 9 interceptions and 24 quarterback sacks.
“The defence has been the backbone of our team and will continue to be so,” Circelli said.
Players can’t wait for kickoff. It's gonna be a great atmosphere here,” said MacDougall. “Two 5-0 teams. One of the 0's has to go. It's going to be a good one.”
