St. Clair stocks up on prospects
Herman, Holy Names programs supply talent to new St. Clair College football team
The new St. Clair Fratmen have pulled in a handful of prospects from the top two high school football programs in Essex County.
A trio of Herman Green Griffins products in Tiaje Holmes, Caleb Mastronardi and Chris Renaud joined a pair of prospects from the Holy Names Knights in Nick Brajkovic and Tyus Browning in committing to the Fratmen on Thursday. Two out-of-town players also joined the group in committing in Barrie’s Chris Costigan and Sarnia’s Austin Colter.
“It’s a good group,” Fratmen head coach Mike Lachance said. “High-end guys from high-end schools that were all-stars and from winning programs. That’s what you want to surround yourself with.”
Holy Names and Herman have battled for high school supremacy in the area for years. For some of the new recruits, it’s simply moving from one successful program to another with the Fratmen.
“I came from Holy Names high school, where we were pretty successful,” said the 18-year-old Browning, who plays defensive back. “It’s a winning culture here and we just want to win.”
The 5-foot-9, 175-pound Browning won three WECSSAA titles with the Knights and a pair of OFSAA Bowl championships along with the 19-year-old Brajkovic, who actually won four WECSSAA titles in his time.
“The reason I chose the Fratmen was because I saw the environment and culture of the Fratmen and wanted to be part of this special team that is being formed,” said the 6-foot-2, 240-pound Brajkovic, who can line up at defensive end, linebacker and tight end.
The Ontario Football Conference team’s new affiliation with St. Clair College has not hurt the team in recruiting.
“I know that the Fratmen have been around forever and they are a successful program,” said the 18-year-old Renaud, a 5-foot-10, 350-pound defensive tackle.
Lachance said many of the players had options to play university football, but opted to join the Fratmen.
“To be honest with you, I was thinking about playing university ball, but I really had to sit down and think to myself,” said the 19-year-old Holmes, a fivefoot-11, 165-pound defensive back and receiver. “I really find it awesome how St. Clair and the Frat program are collaborating together to give the student a better experience.
“Before talking to the coaches and getting to know them, I didn’t really have a lot of info about this football program.
But as I got to know the coaches more and talked to them, they helped me get set up with classes for school and also (filled me in) on how the Frat and St. Clair are working together to create a program, which is very cool.”
Instead of just being an option to play football, the Fratmen have now become an option to pursue academics and athletics at the same time.
“I decided to play for the Fratmen because it was the best option for me to continue playing football while also continuing my education at St. Clair College,” said the 18-year-old Mastronardi, a 5-foot-10, 235-pound defensive lineman that can also play centre and fullback.
“I was offered to play university, but I have heard good things about the Fratmen football program. I’m looking forward to continuing playing with my old teammates and playing with teammates I never got a chance to from Essex County.”
The 5-foot-11, 275-pound Costigan was an all-star offensive lineman in the OFC in his one season with Niagara before opting to head to Windsor for school, while the 6-foot-6, 250-pound Colter has been playing much older opponents in the semi-professional Northern Football Conference with the Sarnia Imperials.
“Just the physicality of the two,” Lachance said. “Real dominant linemen that are physical with a nasty, mean streak.”