Laval’s Benoît Lacasse wins $500 bursary from Alouettes
17-year-old quarterback has an impressive record of play
Published August 25 , 2010
By Martin C. Barry • NEWSFIRST

A senior high-school student attending École Curé-Antoine-Labelle in Laval is among a select group of more than two dozen football athletes from across Quebec who will be sharing $26,500 worth of athletic scholarships over the coming year thanks to a bursary program sponsored by the Montreal Alouettes.
Sporting excellence
Benoît Lacasse, who plays for Les Loups at the school on Marc Aurèle Boulevard in Sainte-Rose, was awarded a 500 bursary for “sporting excellence” during a special pre-game presentation held on Aug. 19 in the Als’ President’s Club at the rejuvenated Molson Stadium. Following the presentation, at which the 25 recipients with their parents and friends enjoyed a light meal, they were then invited into the stadium to view the football match which was won by the Als.
The 17-year-old Lacasse has an impressive athletic record in football indeed. He was selected the top player in the  2009 Bol d’Or juvénile AAA and the Alouette Classic in 2010. He played quarterback in last year’s Bol d’Or, in which he completed 20 passes out 35 attempts for 314 yards gained. Having completed his studies at École Curé-Antoine-Labelle, he’s moving on to play for the Cheetahs at Vanier College where he plans to pursue studies in the social sciences starting this fall.
Encourage young athletes
This was the sixth year in a row that the Alouettes handed out bursaries to student-athletes in Quebec in conjunction with the Quebec Foundation for Athletic Excellence. Alouettes President and CEO Larry Smith believes the program is consistent with the Als’ philosophy of developing minor football resources. He hopes it will encourage the best of Quebec’s young athletes to stay in the province to study and to pursue careers in sports.
“Since the launch of the program in 2004, we’ve continued to see the growth of football in Quebec,” Smith told the bursary winners and supporters attending the ceremony. “We are proud to have been part of this since re-joining the CFL in 1996 and are even more so since becoming directly involved with this bursary program.” It was the Alouettes themselves who first helped get the athletic bursary program off the ground in 2004 when they announced a three-year $75,000 commitment to it.
Renewed commitment
Through the program, the team hands out bursaries annually to student-athletes who excel in a recognized secondary, collegiate or university-level football program. Several types of bursaries are distributed to highlight excellence in both sports and academics, perseverance in education, and for leadership and participation in the community. In 2007, the Alouettes announced the renewal of their partnership with the foundation by committing an additional $90,000 through 2010.