By John DeCoste
Arguably the best football player ever produced in Kings County has committed to Acadia University for this fall and beyond.
Acadia Varsity Athletics announced Friday, Jan. 11 that former Horton Griffins’ all-star lineman Adam Melanson has signed a CIS letter of intent to attend Acadia.
Melanson, whose family home is in North Alton, is spending the current school year at Champlain College in Lennoxville, PQ, where he helped the Champlain Cougars to a 9-1 record and a berth in the Bol D’Or championship final this past fall.
The 6’2, 260-pound defensive lineman was recognized as a CEGEP all-star in his freshman season after leading the Cougars’ defensive line in tackles per game.
A perennial all-star and multiple major award winner at Horton and before that with the Valley Bulldogs, Melanson won a gold medal for Canada at the 2012 IFAF championship against the U.S. He hopes to be a part of Team Canada 2013 as well.
Following the 2011 NSSAFFL season, in which Horton advanced to the provincial championship, Melanson was named the league’s Most Valuable Player as well as an all-star at two different positions, defensive line and fullback on offense.
His football ‘stock’ rose with his participation in several IFAF Team Canada and Team World selection camps over the past year.
Despite interest from numerous schools in both Canada and the U.S., his goal remained to join the Axemen – a team he grew up watching, and for whom his father Steve and uncles Greg Melanson and Brad Tierney all played in the ‘80s.
Axemen head coach Jeff Cummins is thrilled to have Adam decide to attend Acadia. “It’s a pleasure to have Adam join our team in 2013,” he said in a Jan. 11 release. Cummins described Melanson as “a great local athlete whose family has deep roots in the Acadia community. Adam is a welcome addition to our quest for a third straight AUS championship. Not only is he a great football player, he is an exceptional person who fits well into our mold.”
Athletic Director Kevin Dickie is also excited with the addition of a high-profile local athlete to Acadia. “Adam is a national caliber, blue-chip athlete who, most impressively, is a product of the Annapolis Valley football development system that includes the Valley Bulldogs and Horton High,” he said in the release.
“A special congratulations to Adam in selecting Acadia as his home to develop as a football player and student.”