Oct. 5 - Oct. 11, 2011Page 12

The Low Down

Harvest NoirOttawa’s secret picnic feast & black tie dance party

Harvest Noir is the Ottawa premiere of a legendary European “flash mob” pic-nic feast, where we celebrate the autumn harvest with food from local farms. The magical outdoor picnic is followed by an indoor dance reception with a fabulous DJ, world-class circus performers and many surprises, in a stunning grand hall whose location guests will learn hours before the event.

Harvest Noir is inspired by a 23-year tradition of genteel annual picnic din-ing & partying that originated in Paris & has spread to the world’s great cities, from Amsterdam & Berlin to New York & Montreal... AND NOW, OTTAWA.

The location is UNKNOWN.

The dress code is BLACK.

The food is LOCAL.

The guest list is LIMITED.

The most INTRIGUING event of the year.

OCTOBER 15www.harvestnoir.com

PW names fi eld after dynasty football coachBy Trevor Greenway

His coaching record is 104 wins and just six losses, com-piled when he led his Philemon Wright High School powerhouse teams to eight Quebec AAA pro-vincial titles in the 1970s and 80s, earning coach of the decade lau-rels from the Association Sport Scolaire De l’Outaouais.

And to top all that, Dave Fisher has had a football fi eld named in his honour.

“I’m almost tongue-tied,” said 72-year-old Fisher during the ceremony Sept. 30 to laud him at his teaching and coach-ing alma mater. “This is going to be 40 years that the Falcons have been playing football on this fi eld. And I am so proud to have been, probably not responsible, but certainly the fi rst to partici-pate in bringing football to the school.”

Although the Philemon Wright fi eld is now named for him, Fisher said it should have honoured the many co-coaches, aides and players that helped make the Falcons of years past the dynasty that it was.

Signifi cant others, however, credit Fisher as the architect of the team’s successes.

“Mr. Fisher, as we still call him, made me the starting quar-terback before he even saw what I could do in a game,” said Chris Flynn, the Buckingham native who was recently inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame for his university play. Fly-nn won the coveted Hec Crighton Trophy as the most outstanding Canadian college player three years in a row when he starred at Saint Mary’s University. “I

never really impressed during practice, only in games,” said Flynn. “He defi nitely got me on the right path. This was a power-house team. I was 15 (years old) and it was like going to play for the Dallas Cowboys.”

Flynn said that Fisher was the fi rst person he acknowl-edged during his Hall of Fame acceptance speech last month in Calgary. Other former PW play-ers agree that it was Fisher’s adherence to discipline that led the team to so many champion-ships. Players late for practice were sent off the fi eld and those who missed workouts would sit the bench for the next game.

Even when former Toronto Argonauts receiver Matt Nealon

helped hoist the Grey Cup in 1991, he never forgot where he learned how to play the game and who taught him.

“He always had us prepared for the next level,” said Nealon, adding that he was never “out of his league” when playing university or pro ball. He said Fisher’s dedication to the game helped him evolve.

“We practised every day, and on Saturdays we would work on special teams and then Sundays were game days, so we played seven days a week,” said Nealon.

While most high school coaches focused on running and throwing, Fisher’s understand-ing of the game resulted in the PW staff’s focusing more on spe-

cial teams. It made a difference. The team would usually get one or two touchdowns a game using special teams by faking a punt or fi eld goal or nailing an on-side kick to get the ball back.

When Fisher’s days at the Falcons coaching helm bench were over, he retired to his Chel-sea home to focus on his other love, painting. He was pulled out of retirement when his grand-son began playing football at Hadley Junior High School, the PW sister school, and he and friend Peter Connolly jumped at the chance to coach their grand-kids and kids, respectively.

“We coached Hadley in 2004 and 2005 and won the champion-ship both years,” said Connolly.

“(Dave) was a motivator, but motivators create chaos. He was systemic.”

FALCONS PERFECT 5-0

This year’s Falcons continue to soar, pushing their undefeat-ed season mark to 5-0 after ham-mering the Carrefour Cougars, 61-15, on Sept. 30.

Quarterback Michael Ar-ruda stayed on target, throwing for three touchdowns, including a 65-yard toss to Mike Wolvin on the fi rst offensive play of the game.

Philemon Wright has waltzed past Erabliere, Nicolas Gatin-eau, Mont Bleu and defending champion Buckingham in a 49-46 thriller Sept 25.

The Falcons currently sit in fi rst place with only three games remaining in their L’Association regionale du sport etudiant de l’Outaouais (ARSEO) season.

The Falcons’ next game is Oct. 7 at Erabliere, with a 2 p.m. kickoff. For more information, visit www.sites.google.com/site/pwhsfalcons.

Former Falcons football coach Dave Fisher gives falcons player Scott Thompson some words of wisdom before kickoff. The Philemon Wright footbal fi eld was named the Dave Fisher Field Sept. 30 Trevor Greenway photo

Fisher with his daughter Lisa