Arruda delivers the goods for football Cougars

Three weeks ago Champlain College star quarterback Michael Arruda had what could best be described an off day. Last year’s conference offensive player of the year and all-star quarterback completed just 10 of 24 passes for 204 yards, his worse statistical performance of the season. To compound the issue he was intercepted three times.
“Michael was a little off tonight, it was not his best game,” Champlain head coach Jean-Francois Joncas said after the Grasset game. “He didn’t play poorly, but he normally plays at such a high level that we expect a lot from him.”
Those high expectations were met the following week when the Philemon Wright High School graduate had an outstanding game in leading the Cougars to a 41-24 road win over previously unbeaten Campus Notre Dame de Foy.
He completed 27 of 44 pass attempts for 345 yards including three touchdown passes and also ran for another major.
Those stats earned him Offensive Player of the Week honours and solidified his ranking as the top passer in the CEGEP Division I circuit. For the season he has completed 125 of 233 passes for a 1,877 yards including 17 touchdowns, and he is also a threat to run the ball when needed.
“He is a competitor who wants to win and I am not surprised he bounced back,” Cougar head coach Jean-Francois Joncas said in an interview Tuesday. “In the game against Grasset, his receivers didn’t help by dropping some passes and two of the passes were deflections off the receivers.”
According to Joncas, last week’s performance was an example of the cream rising to the top.
“In big games you want your best players to be at their best and that is what happened against Notre Dame,” Joncas said. “He has a very strong arm so we can attack every zone on the field and he can run with the ball. He doesn’t have blazing speed, he’s not running the 40 in 4.4 seconds but he is elusive.”
Arruda, who was being heavily recruited by universities, has signed a letter of intent with the Ottawa Gee-Gees where he will play in front of family and hometown fans. First however there is a matter of leading the Cougars to a Bol d’Or title.