With two Yates Cups, a Vanier Cup ring, a Hec Crighton trophy nomination and a long list of OUA honors to his name, Michael DiCroce will now face a new journey ahead, one that will hopefully see him playing professional football in the Canadian Football League.

The 2011- 2012 football season for the McMaster Marauders football club was one of the best season’s the school has ever seen.

With doubt surrounding the Marauders, the team was able to secure a spot in the Vanier Cup game after taking down the Western Mustangs in the Yates Cup match and the Acadia Axeman in the Uteck Bowl.

The Marauders were then matched up with the reigning Vanier Cup champion Laval Rouge et Or squad. In what TSN dubbed “the best game ever”, Mac came out victorious, putting an end to a picture perfect season.

That season in particular was a special one for Michael DiCroce not only because the Marauders came out as champions or as the first place team in the nation, but because DiCroce was recognized for his efforts which included winning the 2011 OUA Most Valuable Player award and receiving a nomination for the coveted Hec Crighton trophy.

“Being a member of the football team has been pretty special,” DiCroce said.

“Knowing what we did in my third year here and what we did last year and this year, it’s been pretty special.”

Despite a picture perfect season for the Hamilton native, DiCroce would not always experience good luck throughout his career at McMaster.

After coming off a textbook 2011 season and into one of the most important years of his football career, DiCroce would suffer a devastating injury at the start of the 2012 season, which also happened to be the start of his draft year.

The second day of the 2012 season’s training camp would prove to be a day, which would begin the battle that was his fourth year.

A broken bone in his foot would make a developmental year one that would be a lot order viagra online harder to deal with.

“That injury set me back a lot and I didn’t play the whole regular season. I was in the physio clinic for those eight to nine weeks and I was in the walking boot for about nine weeks,” DiCroce said.

“It was hard because I had trained all year and all summer for that year hoping that it would be a special year for me going into the draft.”

After a frustrating blow to his season DiCroce would face another battle. One that meant proving his injury would not let his style of play or skill falter.

He wanted to prove that he had recovered from his injury and that CFL scouts would not be disappointed with his return.

DiCroce ended up receiving an invitation to the CFL combine where he impressed both coaches and scouts with his recovery, proving that he was playing better than ever.

With a light slowly beginning to show at the end of the tunnel, DiCroce would earn a CFL contract in his draft year as he was drafted 29th overall by the Winnipeg Bluebombers.

Opting to return to McMaster for a fifth year DiCroce wanted to ensure that school also remained an important priority for him.

“My decision to come back this year was so that I could finish up with my degree so that I had a back up plan if football didn’t work out,” said the fifth-year receiver.

“Coming back this year to finish off my last year was something I wanted to do. Winnipeg does have my [negotiation] rights so I will be reporting back to camp in June and that’s definitely something I am looking forward to.”

DiCroce has also proved that height is not a determining factor of how big you play.

At 5’11” he is one of the smaller receivers in the OUA, but his style of play says otherwise.

“There is one guy in the NFL who is my favorite receiver, his name is Steve Smith of the Carolina Panthers. He’s the same height as me but he plays so big and he’s so fast and goes up and gets the ball when it’s in the air and he makes guys miss,” said DiCroce.

“That is always something I have tried to do myself because I am not the biggest receiver on the field so if you can believe in yourself to play big, then you will.”

When asked what DiCroce would miss most about being a Marauder his response would perfectly encompass what made the sport special to him.

“I think I’m going to miss my time with the guys on the field the most. That’s why we all came back to play the game this year, that’s why we love it so much is just to hang out with the guys and see the guys everyday,” he said.

Despite a long list of achievements that any university athlete would envy, DiCroce remains humble and understands the sacrifices that must be made in order to achieve success.

With a prosperous career in his midst it would be no surprise to see DiCroce’s athletic achievements only continue to grow.

Brandon Meawasige

Assistant Sports Editor

Under the lights of Ron Joyce Stadium, with his arms crossed in pride, Kyle Quinlan turned to pose triumphantly for the crowd after a powerful 12-yard run.

Seeing the playing field for the first time in three games after a suspension, Quinlan received a warm welcome from the Marauder faithful.

Although it was not his first game, his last or a contest featuring a top-ranked opponent, Oct. 6 presented the fourth year star a unique opportunity to remind the CIS why he is widely considered to be one of the best quarterbacks in the country.

By the time Quinlan was taken out of the game, with almost an entire quarter remaining, he had lit up the scoreboard for five touchdowns and 455 yards passing. The yardage was spread out with seven different receivers getting at least one catch.

"Kyle did not look even a little bit rusty, it was as good a football game as you can play, he stretched the field vertically, horizontally and that’s as good as our offense has worked in a while,” said coach Stefan Ptaszek.

Perhaps the Toronto Varsity Blues were the victims of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.             Quinlan’s return seemed to add tremendous electricity not only to the passing game, but to the entire team as well. Rallying around the all-star performance of their quarterback, McMaster won the game handily by a score of 50-14.

Once again the defence chipped in with a dominating performance, intercepting Toronto’s quarterback Andrew Gillis three times.

"The defense has come back from getting their nose bloody in the second week to playing four solid games, they've really helped carry our team through this win streak and hopefully it continues not only for the next two games but after that as well" said Ptaszek.

The victory brings the Marauders winning streak to four games after beginning the season 1-1. Not that the good news ends there, but up next on the schedule are two of the more formidable opponents in the OUA.

The Laurier Golden Hawks, whom the Marauders play on Oct. 15 in Waterloo, possess one of the strongest passing attacks in the conference. Shamawd Chambers and Dillon Heap are both having tremendous seasons receiving the ball.

Each player has also had personal success against the Marauders as well. In the two games the teams have played against each other in since 2009, Chambers has recorded 10 catches for 200 yards and a touchdown. Heap has had even more success also making 10 receptions for 226 yards while torching Mac on kick and punt returns.

The Marauders have not had good luck visiting the Tri-City area, something that pre-dates Ptaszek as head coach of the team.

“[Laurier] have athletes from top to bottom, we haven't won there since 2001, that’s a decade ago" says the coach currently in his sixth year with the team.

Ptaszek has weapons of his own to use. This week marks the return of all-star running back Joey Nemet from injury opening the possibility for the Marauders to have a triple-pronged attack in the backfield.

Running backs Jimmy Hill and rookie Chris Pezetta shared the load effectively while Nemet was out. Now the coaching staff is charged with the task of getting them the ball on Saturday.

"We’re a better football team with all three of those kids getting their fair share of touches, Joey is probably the best pass protector on the team and he’ll keep Kyle (Quinlan) off his back, while the burst and change of pace that we get from Jimmy and Chris means they will still have to touch the ball,” said Ptaszek of his running game plan for the weekend.

With such consistent play coming from both sides of the line of scrimmage, Ptaszek expects that a pair of regular players will have big games.

“[Kick returner Gary] Spero is due for a big return, he's been playing wonderful at receiver, he's going to have a breakout game and Joey Cupido has been resting, and he’ll have an All-Canadian receiver [in Heap] across from him.”

After a shaky start and numerous injuries to key players, the Marauders look better than ever. The return of Kyle Quinlan adds veteran leadership and championship caliber play at pivot, while the defense looks ready to take on any challenge.

The matchup with the Hawks can be seen on the Score’s University Rush. Game time for the Oct. 15 clash is 1 p.m.