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Falcons Penfold to play for Queen's

Slot receiver follows in the footsteps of several other Thunder Bay players on the Gaels' gridiron roster.

THUNDER BAY – The pipeline between the gridirons of Thunder Bay to Richardson Memorial Stadium in Kingston continues to flow.

On Saturday, St. Ignatius Falcons receiver Noah Penfold became the latest local player to agree to take his talents to the Canadian university game, inking a letter of commitment with Kingston, Ont.’s Queen’s University.

Penfold, who had a penchant for scoring on long touchdown plays with the defending senior high school football champion Falcons, says he’s excited to begin the next chapter in his athletic life.

“It’s basically the biggest milestone I’ve had so far,” the 18-year-old said at a special signing ceremony held Saturday afternoon during a high-performance football clinic put on by the Queen’s coaching staff.

“Winning OFSAA was awesome. This is just another part of the chapter. This is a big moment in my life right now.”

Penfold, who will likely red-shirt in his first year with the Gaels, is following in the footsteps of three other Thunder Bay athletes currently on the Queen’s football roster.

Running back Jake Puskas, who will play in the upcoming East-West game, which could put him on the radar of Canadian Football League scouts ahead of this year’s draft, is entering his fourth season at the school.

His brother Liam, a defensive back, is set for a second season with the team, while defensive lineman Liam Wrigley, a former Hammarskjold Viking, is also on the roster.

Penfold said he chose Queen’s for more than just football.

“The excellent academics and the student life is unmatchable,” said Penfold, who coaches have pegged as a slot receiver once he hits the field.

Ryan Bechmanis, the assistant head coach who also runs the team’s defence, said Penfold’s play caught the coaching staff’s attention.

“We first saw Noah at some of the prospect games in the Niagara area last year,” Bechmanis said. “He came down and played. We were very impressed with his speed, how he moves. He had a good physicality for a younger player. He was put together and you knew he’d been in the gym and done a lot of good work.

“That first started our interest in him. We had him up at our camp in the summer and were impressed at how he performed there.”

Pointing to the success of three consecutive OFSAA wins by Thunder Bay schools, Bechmanis said the local football community won’t remained largely untapped for long, adding that Queen’s plans to keep a close eye on the city.

“It’s a good market for us. There’s some good football here, some great players with some good potential down the road. They’re hard-working, good blue-collar kids that come in and we know they’re going to work hard, they’re going to put in the time, buy into the process. And they’ve all been very coachable kids that we’ve gotten,” he said.



Leith Dunick

About the Author: Leith Dunick

A proud Nova Scotian who has called Thunder Bay home since 2002, Leith is Dougall Media's director of news, but still likes to tell your stories too. Wants his Expos back and to see Neil Young at least one more time. Twitter: @LeithDunick
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