City slickers head to small town Gryphons

Guelph welcomes three Ottawa commits to their 2018 class.

It has been quite the ride for receiver Willy-Pierre Dimbongi, defensive back Abdul-Karim Ismail and CFC100 running back Jean-Paul Cimankinda from St. Matthews High School, and their story together is far from over as the trio will be heading to the University Guelph Gryphons for the 2018 season.

Willy-Pierre Dimbongi

Courtesy of Willy-Pierre Dimbongi.

Having grown up in the nation’s capital, Willy-Pierre Dimbongi will be looking for a change of pace in university. “I chose Guelph because it truly felt family-orientated and I’m really big on family. Guelph is a small town and the football team gets a lot of support from the community,” he said.

“The coaching staff is great. They are devoted to making players on their team (into) great men and that was mainly what I was looking for. They seem really organized and close with their players. They take really good care and they push the players to their absolute best,” he added.

Dimbongi, who is 6’2, 190lbs, has been playing football for 11 years for such teams as the St. Matthews Tigers (NCSSAA) and the Ottawa Sooners (OPFL). He has won several NCAFA championships and helped the Tigers’ capture a 2017 city and OFSAA championship. In 2015, he participated in the Ontario Prospect Challenge, which is now called the Fox 40 Prospect Challenge.

When thinking about a career post-football, Dimbongi would like to help shape young lives. “I would love to become a teacher after football,” the potential social science student said. “That’s something I really keep at heart thanks to my high school coach, Jean Guillaume. He’s truly a blessing and a really big inspiration.”

Understanding the value of a supportive coach, Dimbongi felt a similar sentiment with the Gryphons. “I felt like I was truly wanted there. I also saw myself calling Guelph a home-away-from-home,” Dimbongi said. “I am truly blessed and excited to continue my education at the University of Guelph. I’ve already started training and getting myself ready to compete for a job from day one at training camp.”

Abdul-Karim Ismail

Courtesy of Abdul-Karim Ismail.

As big as football was in his decision, Abdul-Karim Ismail was primarily drawn to the unique opportunity presented to human kinetics majors at Guelph. “Their human kinetics labs are some of the top in the country with a program that allows third-year students to operate on human bodies and I found that very interesting,” he said.

On the football front, Ismail said that the team’s facilities and program “seems steps ahead of others and seems like a good fit for me in that defense.” He plans on competing for a job right away.

“(The coaches are) truly a transparent group that I was very comfortable with,” he added. “They made me feel like family and truly treated me like a little brother, which is big for me. The atmosphere was (also) just great, small-town feeling with downtown just 30 minutes away.”

Along with the Tigers, Ismail has also played with the OVFL and NCAFA versions of the Cumberland Panthers. He has won three NCAFA championships in 2011, 2013 and 2014. He also has multiple offensive and team MVPs. He was apart of the 2017 OFSAA Bowl championship Tigers.

Standing at 6’0, 180lbs, Ismail has been playing football since the age of eight. “(I have) a strong passion for it and I give all glory to God,” he said. “My parents have (also) played a huge role in getting me here.”

CFC100 Jean-Paul Cimankinda

Jean-Paul Cimankinda spent the 2017 OPFL season with the Ottawa Sooners. In nine games, including two playoff games, he had 160 carry attempts for 1823 yards and 12 touchdowns. He averaged 11.4 yards, ran for 202.6 yards and one successful two-point conversion in a playoff game. He is 6’1, 225lbs and was the overall MVP at the 2017 Ottawa edition of the Fox 40 Prospect Challenge. Including the Tigers, he has also played with the Myers Riders (NCAFA), the Bel-Air Lions (NCAFA) and the Canada Prep Raiders.

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