Noel Prefontaine

Noel Prefontaine

No. 7     Toronto Argonauts
Date of birth:	December 23, 1973 (1973-12-23) (age 37)
Place of birth:	Camp Pendleton, California
Career information
Status:	Active
CFL status:	Non-import
Position(s):	K
Height:	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight:	205 lb (93 kg)
College:	San Diego State
High school:	El Camino
CFL Draft:	1998 / Round: Supplemental 6
Drafted by:	Toronto Argonauts
Organizations
As player:
1998–2000 2001 2001 2001–2002 2003 2003–2007 2008–2010 2010-present	Toronto Argonauts Los Angeles Xtreme Baltimore Ravens* Toronto Argonauts Kansas City Chiefs* Toronto Argonauts Edmonton Eskimos Toronto Argonauts *Offseason and/or practice roster only
Career highlights and awards
CFL All-Star:	1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006
CFL East All-Star:	1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2011
Playing stats at CFL.ca

Noel Prefontaine (born December 23, 1973) is a professional Canadian football punter / kicker with the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League.

Early years

Prefontaine was born to a Canadian father and a Vietnamese mother at the Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton in California. His father was born and raised in Verdun, Quebec and Noel lived with his grandmother in Verdun as a child, which enables him to be considered a non-import for CFL purposes. He returned to the United States and attended El Camino High School in San Diego County, California.^[1]

Prefontaine played baseball, soccer, and played offensive tackle in American football as a child and continually trained himself to improve as an athlete and at high school, he played quarterback as well as punting and placekicking.^[1] He was named San Diego Tribune Athlete of the Year for North County as a senior and led El Camino High School to a 22–2 record and a CIF Championship as their starting quarterback.^[2]

Prefontaine hoped to play quarterback in college football but could only obtain a scholarship as a punter at California State University, Fullerton. His punting average his first year led the state but the football program folded at the end of the season. Prefontaine received offers to play for multiple college football teams including Michigan, Michigan State, Georgia, LSU, and Texas but chose to go to Arizona State University because it was close to his family and friends. He was unhappy there, however, and left to go to San Diego State University. After a required redshirt year because of his transfer, he was named All-Conference as a punter in his junior year and first-team All-American as a punter in his senior year.^[1]

Professional career

CFL

Prefontaine began his CFL career in 1998 with the Toronto Argonauts and spent the next ten seasons with them before getting traded to the Edmonton Eskimos on May 31, 2008 for a first round pick in the 2009 CFL Draft and a conditional draft pick in 2010.^[3][4] On October 12, 2010, Prefontaine was traded back to the Argonauts in exchange for defensive tackle Étienne Légaré and the negotiation rights to defensive back Damaso Munoz.^[5]

XFL

In 2001, Prefontaine also played in the XFL with the Los Angeles Xtreme as their punter/kicker. He went on to play in the one and only XFL championship game on April 21, 2001 with the Xtreme, with his team ultimately winning the championship.

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} Jones, Terry. "Prefontaine's more than just a kicker" (in 2008-07-09). Edmonton Sun. http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Football/CFL/Edmonton/2008/07/09/6107876-sun.html. Retrieved 2009-02-19. 
2. ^ "Noel Prefontaine". Roster. Toronto Argonauts Football Club. http://www.argonauts.ca/index.php/roster/show/id/103. Retrieved 2009-02-19. 
3. ^ "Argos confirm trade of Prefontaine to Eskimos". CBC Sports. 2008-05-31. http://www.cbc.ca/sports/football/story/2008/05/31/football-argos-prefontaine.html. Retrieved 2008-05-31. 
4. ^ "Argonauts trade kicker Noel Prefontaine". TheStar.com. 2008-05-31. http://www.thestar.com/Sports/article/434724. Retrieved 2008-05-31. 
5. ^ http://www.cfl.ca/article/argos-deal-brings-prefontaine-back-to-t-o

External links

• Official Stats and bio at CFL.ca
• Toronto Argonauts bio
• One on one with Noel Prefontaine (Slam.ca article)

Persondata
Name	Prefontaine, Noel
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	December 23, 1973
Place of birth	Camp Pendleton, California
Date of death
Place of death