The Ottawa Junior Riders are a

Canadian football Canadian football () is a sport played in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed oval-shaped ball into the opposing team's scoring area ( ...

team based in the

Nepean Nepean may refer to: Places Australia *Nepean Bay, a bay in South Australia, **Nepean Bay Conservation Park, a protected area in South Australia, **Nepean Bay, South Australia, a locality *Nepean Highway, Victoria *Nepean Island (Norfolk Island) ...

area of Ottawa that plays in the

Quebec Junior Football League The Quebec Junior Football League (QJFL) is a junior Canadian football competition held in Quebec, Canada since 1970, as a successor to the Quebec Juvenile Football League. It began competition as a conference of the Canadian Junior Football Leagu ...

. The Junior Riders play at the

Nepean Sportsplex Nepean Sportsplex is a sports facility in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is located at 1701 Woodroffe Avenue north of the Ottawa Greenbelt, near the former Confederation High School along OC Transpo routes 74 and 75 in the former city of Nepean. Th ...

, but have previously called

Frank Clair Stadium TD Place Stadium (originally Lansdowne Park and formerly Frank Clair Stadium) is an outdoor stadium in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is located at Lansdowne Park, on the southern edge of The Glebe neighbourhood, where Bank Street crosses the ...

Lansdowne Park Lansdowne Park is a urban park, historic sports, exhibition and entertainment facility in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, owned by the City of Ottawa. It is located on Bank Street adjacent to the Rideau Canal in The Glebe neighbourhood of central Ot ...

their home.

History

The team began operations in 1995 as the Gloucester Redskins, and operated as such until the conclusion of the 1996 QJFL season. With the folding of the

CFL The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

's Ottawa Rough Riders, the Gloucester Redskins changed their name to the current Ottawa Junior Riders and changed their colors from burgundy, yellow and white, to the current red, black and white. The organization began competing in the

in 1995, and did so until the end of the 2000 season. In 2001, the Ottawa Junior Riders began play in the

Ontario Football Conference The Canadian Junior Football League (CJFL) is a national Major Junior Canadian football league consisting of 19 teams playing in five provinces across Canada. The teams compete annually for the Canadian Bowl. Many CJFL players move on to profess ...

of the Canadian Junior Football League. The Ottawa Junior Riders played in the CJFL until the end of the 2005 season, when they returned to the QJFL for the beginning of the 2006 season. Although the team did not garner much success in the OFC/ CJFL, they have won nine QJFL Championships over their time in that league (1998, 1999, 2000, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2018, 2019). Upon their entry into the QJFL, the Junior Riders had developed a rivalry with the Ottawa Sooners, but the Sooners moved to the CJFL in 2009. The Junior Riders again left the QJFL after the 2013 season, but returned to the league for the 2017 season.

Coaches

Dean Dorsey Dean Dorsey (born March 13, 1957 in Toronto, Ontario) is a retired Canadian football placekicker in the Canadian Football League and the National Football League. He played college football at the University of Toronto. Dorsey took over kickin ...

1995-1998 Dan Murphy 1999-2002 Andy McEvoy 2003 Luigi Costanzo 2004-2009 Max Palladino 2010-2017 Rob Bento 2018-present

Notable former players

Scott Gordon, a Defensive Back for the Edmonton Eskimos. Pat Fleming, played Punter for the

Ottawa Renegades The Ottawa Renegades were a Canadian Football League franchise based in Ottawa, Ontario founded in 2002, six years after the storied Ottawa Rough Riders folded. After four seasons, the Renegades franchise was suspended indefinitely by the league d ...

, Hamilton Tiger-Cats and

Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West division. They play their home games at IG Fie ...

. Lenard Semajuste played Fullback for the

. Ettore Lattanzio, played on the Defensive Line for the

Ottawa Redblacks The Ottawa Redblacks (officially stylized as REDBLACKS) (French: Le Rouge et Noir d'Ottawa) are a professional Canadian football team based in Ottawa, Ontario. The team plays in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). Starting ...

Hall of Fame

The following is a list of Players, Coaches and Builders who have been inducted into the Ottawa Junior Riders Hall of Fame. Bob Brazeau - Equipment Manager - Builder Sue Brazeau - General Manager - Builder Dave St-Pierre - Statistician - Builder Teresa Gilchrist - General Manager - Builder Karen Cameron - Trainer - Builder

- Head Coach - Coach Dan Murphy - Head Coach - Coach Eddie Ghantous - RB - Player Scott Gordon - DB - Player Steve Kasouf - LB - Player Tucker McCabe - QB - Player Devin Murphy - DB - Player Richard Tremblay - WR - Player Curtis McCausland - OL - Player Casey Bergeron - OL - Player Aaron Snow - OL - Player Dexter Ross - DL - Player Joe Costanzo - RB - Player Brandon Mahon - OL/LB - Player Defensive tackle Nicholas Rouleau

External links

QJFL Website (French)

Junior Riders Official Website

Canadian Junior Football League official website
icholas Rouleau Junior Riders defensive tackle and best defensive player of the league in 1995

Sources

* https://web.archive.org/web/20081018230316/http://www.jrriders.highfivesports.ca/ * http://capitalregionfootball.info/index.php?pr=Junior_-_Jr_Riders * https://web.archive.org/web/20080109042838/http://www.emmediateweb.com/jrriders/jrhistory.asp {{Ontario Sports Jun Quebec Junior Football League teams Sports clubs established in 1995 Former Canadian Junior Football League teams 1995 establishments in Ontario