±«ÓãÖ±²¥ football grads lead Grenoble to historic win in France
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[ANTHONY LUKCA (#22) SCORES TD AFTER TAKING HANDOFF FROM CHARLES ANTOINE SINOTTE (#4). PHOTO COURTESY OF THE GRENOBLE FOOTBALL CLUB]
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PARIS, France - Anthony Lukca and Charles-Antoine Sinotte, two former all-stars with the ±«ÓãÖ±²¥ Redmen, have led the Grenoble Centaures to an unlikely berth in the championship game of France's Ligue Élite de Football Américain.
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Grenoble, which was elevated to Division I this season, dumped the Aix-en-Provence Argonautes 36-15 in a league semifinal before more than 4,000 fans on June 5. Playing for the Argos was Jonathan Bower, another ±«ÓãÖ±²¥ football grad from Calgary.
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Lukca, a native of St. Laurent, Que., scored one touchdown on a long running play, while Sinotte, from Trois-Rivieres, Que., threw three TD passes, guiding the Centaures to victory.
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"No one in France saw this team coming up from Division 2 and have an immediate impact, but Lukca and Sinotte did an amazing job over there," said Francois Chagnon, the linebackers coach at ±«ÓãÖ±²¥, who operates a summer football camp in France. "Just about everyone over there recognizes the impact those two had on the team. They are now part of history."
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Grenoble, which finished second in the eight-team league with a 6-3-1 record, takes on the division-leading La Courneuve Flash (9-1-0) in the league final in Paris, June 18, it will mark the first time in the 30-year history of the French football league that a team promoted from Division 2 reaches the championship game. The Flash defeated Grenoble 44-15 in their only previous meeting.
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SOURCE:
Earl Zukerman
Communications Officer
±«ÓãÖ±²¥ Athletics & Recreation
514-398-7012ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý
earl.zukerman [at] mcgill.ca