For the third straight season the McCallie football program looks to be in solid hands with a Quebec-born quarterback leading the way.
After Jay St-Hilaire — who’s now a freshman at Vanderbilt — helped the Blue Tornado claim their fifth TSSAA football state championship last December, the torch has been passed to Elliott Drapeau.
Drapeau also has a championship pedigree, as the 6-foot-5, 200-pound junior was sensational last season for Saint-Jean-Eudes, which went 11-0 and won its Division I provincial Bol d’Or championship with relative ease. Drapeau showcased great poise behind center in the title run, as he had a 26-0 touchdown to interception ration through the Condors first eight games in his MVP season.
In just his fourth start as McCallie’s quarterback this fall, Drapeau accomplished something that had not been done since former star William Riddle’s 2021 season, which closed with the Blue Tornado’s 3-peat run as state champions.
Drapeau was unstoppable in last Friday’s 37-7 region home win over MUS, throwing his fifth touchdown pass with 10:15 remaining in the third quarter. In doing so, he became the first quarterback for the Blue Tornado to throw for five touchdowns in a game since Riddle, who accomplished the feat three times in 2021, and earned Times Free Press Player of the Week honors.