Lee St. Hilaire (American football)

Lee St. Hilaire
Husson Braves – No. 13, 11
PositionQuarterback
Personal information
Born:(1983-03-14)March 14, 1983
Augusta, Maine, U.S.
Died:February 17, 2004(2004-02-17) (aged 20)
Bangor, Maine, U.S.
Height6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight200 lb (91 kg)
Career history
College
High schoolWinthrop (Winthrop, Maine)

Lee Matthew St. Hilaire (March 14, 1983 – February 17, 2004) was an American college football quarterback. He played for Maine and Husson. He was considered one of the greatest players in Maine high school history. He died by suicide following his redshirt freshman year.

Early life

St. Hilaire was born on March 14, 1983, to Jon and Jean (née Laliberte) St. Hilaire in Augusta, Maine. His parents got divorced when he was in fourth grade.[1] St. Hilaire attended Winthrop High School in Winthrop, Maine, and was a four-year member of the school's football team. He began to gain notoriety as a quarterback when he was still in grade school.[2] He was known for his throwing prowess from a young age. He was the team's starter as a freshman at only 15 years old.[3] As a sophomore in 1999, he led the team to the Maine Class C championship at Gerry Poulin Memorial Field.[4] The team lost after a fourth-quarter field goal from Mattanawcook Academy in the final minute of the game.[4] After the season, he was named to the Central Maine Football All-Stars Second-team Offense.[5]

In St. Hilaire's junior season, he again led the team to a stellar season. He led the team to an undefeated 12–0 state championship season, the team's first state championship since 1975.[6] Despite not being known as a running quarterback, St. Hilaire used his legs to help lead the team over Maine Central Institute.[7] He finished the game going 14-of-28 for 168 passing yards and 46 rushing yards.[7] The success carried over into the next season as the team amassed a winning streak of 22 games before falling to Boothbay Region High School in the Maine Class C Championship, which was the team's third appearance in St. Hilaire's four years as the starter.[8] Following the season, St. Hilaire was named Maine's Sunday Telegram and Sun Journal (Lewiston, Maine)'s MVPs.[9][10] He finished first as Maine's all-time passing leader and finished 28th all-time in the nation for passing yards with 8,272 and 30th all-time in touchdown passes with 87.[11] His 63 percent completion percentage ranked 11th all-time in the nation ahead of notable quarterbacks like Heath Shuler and Ty Detmer.[10] He was regarded as the "best quarterback to ever play in Maine."[10] He also earned the James J. Fitzpatrick Trophy, which is awarded to Maine's top high school football player.[12] He became the first non-Class A winner of the prestigious award.[13] After his graduation, Winthrop retired his number 11 jersey.[1]

Alongside playing football, St. Hilaire was a member of the cooperative Hall-Dale High School and Winthrop hockey team,[14] which was coached by his uncle. He finished as the school's all-time scorer.[11]

College career

Maine

Despite St. Hilaire's historic high school career, due to his size he was not heavily recruiting coming out of Winthrop High School.[9] Teams that were interested were mainly from the NCAA Division I-AA's Atlantic 10 Conference (A-10).[15] On February 7, 2002, he signed his letter of intent to play college football for the University of Maine after considering taking a prep year with Bridgton Academy.[16] He joined his former Winthrop teammate, Clyde Moody. He went to Maine with hopes to compete for the backup position behind incumbent starter Jake Eaton.[16] On November 1, 2002, after receiving a redshirt, the Maine sports information office released a press release stating that St. Hilaire had withdrawn from the school.[17]

After leaving the team, St. Hilaire returned to his alma mater, Winthrop High School, as an assistant football coach.[18] In a quote given to the Kennebec Journal, he admitted that he was not prepared for life as a Division I athlete:

"It's 24 hours a day for five years...I can't do that right now. There is too much in my life right now that I don't want to commit to football like that."[18] and "I had a lot of pressure on me to go to college in the first place, and maybe that is not what I wanted to do...I had a lot of pressure on me, people telling me (Division I) is where I should be and Division II or III is not for you."[19]

St. Hilaire described his life as "non-stop football, interrupted by classes and studying," and that just was not what he wanted with his life.[18] When being recruited to Maine, St. Hilaire and head coach Jack Cosgrove discussed how many people don't like Division I life and that it was a "hard life" and was "not much fun."[19] The constant football on top of classes led him to burn out, but helping with his high school team felt like something he wanted to do.[18] Despite not being entirely sure of what he wanted to do afterwards, St. Hilaire knew he wanted to be involved with coaching and that he was considering potentially playing Division II or Division III football with Husson's start-up team being a potential landing spot.[19]

Husson

In 2003, St. Hilaire enrolled at Husson College to play college football in the team's inaugural season under head coach Gabby Price.[20] He was named team captain alongside Jim Tribou and Nate Roberts.[21] In Husson's first game, despite losing 42–14 to Alfred State, he threw for 160 yards and two touchdowns, including the program's first since restarting.[22] In the team's first-ever home game, St. Hilaire split time with former Oak Hill High School graduate David Chase after suffering from turf toe in the second quarter.[23] They both threw touchdown passes in the team's 38–35 homecoming loss to Mount Ida.[24] X-rays after the game came back negative for any breaks in St. Hilaire's football and he was cleared to play the following week.[23] He finished the season starting all seven games, all of which were losses, and went 79-of-172 for 960 yards, five touchdowns, and six interceptions.[25]

Statistics

College statistics
Year Team Games Passing Rushing
GP Record Cmp Att Pct Yds Avg TD Int Rtg Att Yds Avg TD
2002 Maine DNP—Redshirt
2003 Husson 7 0–7 79 172 45.9 960 5.6 5 6 95.4 44 -111 -2.5 0
Career[25] 7 0–7 79 172 45.9 960 5.6 5 6 95.4 44 -11 -2.5 0

Death

On February 17, 2004, St. Hilaire was taken to Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor, Maine, after suffering from a gunshot wound to his stomach in his apartment that he and his girlfriend, Tia Pomerleau,[1] lived in together in Bangor.[26][27] He was pronounced dead upon arrival to the hospital with his death being ruled a suicide following an investigation.[28][29] His death was a shock to his peers as he was described as someone who "never stopped smiling."[30]

St. Hilaire's memorial service was held in the gymnasium of Winthrop High School.[31] He was given an open casket funeral where more than 1,000 people attended.[31] Husson's chaplain reverend Robert T. Carlson, who was with St. Hilaire's family in the hospital, was in charge of the service.[31] Speakers at the service included Husson head coach Gabby Price, former Winthrop High School head coach Norm Thombs, and St. Hilaire's uncle, Perley Laliberte.[31] He was buried in Glenside Cemetery in Winthrop, Maine.[32]

St. Hilaire was one of five players that played for Winthrop High School to kill themselves from 2003 to 2005.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Swift, E. M. (June 1, 2009). "What Went Wrong in Winthrop?". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved May 18, 2025.
  2. ^ Oakes, Kalle (November 19, 1999). "St. Hilaire living up to hype". Sun Journal (Lewiston, Maine). Lewiston, Maine. p. 23. Retrieved May 17, 2025.
  3. ^ Williams, Robert (October 4, 1998). "Winthrop scores last-minute victory". Portland Press Herald. Portland, Maine. p. 27. Retrieved May 17, 2025.
  4. ^ a b Williams, Robert (November 21, 1999). "Heartbreaker; Field goal in final minute enough for Mattanawcook to end Winthrop title run". Kennebec Journal. Augusta, Maine. p. 29. Retrieved May 17, 2025.
  5. ^ "Central Maine Football All-Stars". Kennebec Journal. Augusta, Maine. November 28, 1999. p. 29. Retrieved May 17, 2025.
  6. ^ Whitehouse, Randy (November 19, 2000). "No doubt about it!". Sun Journal (Lewiston, Maine). Lewiston, Maine. p. 19. Retrieved May 17, 2025.
  7. ^ a b Ouellette, Jason (November 19, 2000). "St. Hilaire gets leg(s) up". Sun Journal (Lewiston, Maine). Lewiston, Maine. p. 19. Retrieved May 17, 2025.
  8. ^ Martin, Scott (November 11, 2001). "End of the road; Boothbay stops Winthrop's winning streak at 22". Kennebec Journal. Augusta, Maine. p. 29. Retrieved May 17, 2025.
  9. ^ a b Chard, Tom (December 23, 2001). "QB St. Hilaire's incredible run earns him Telegram MVP honor". Portland Press Herald. Portland, Maine. p. 27. Retrieved May 17, 2025.
  10. ^ a b c Ouellette, Jason (December 9, 2001). "St. Hilaire stands out". Sun Journal (Lewiston, Maine). Lewiston, Maine. p. 26. Retrieved May 17, 2025.
  11. ^ a b Chard, Tom (December 23, 2001). "MVP (Continued from Page 1D)". Portland Press Herald. Portland, Maine. p. 33. Retrieved May 17, 2025.
  12. ^ Lauzon, Jerrt (January 22, 2002). "At last, the best is from any class". Portland Press Herald. Portland, Maine. p. 15. Retrieved May 17, 2025.
  13. ^ O'Sullivan, Tim (January 21, 2002). "A Class C coup; St. Hilaire claims Fitzy for little guys". Journal Tribune. Biddeford, Maine. p. 9. Retrieved May 18, 2025.
  14. ^ Hawkins, Gary (December 6, 1998). "A team by any other name ..." Morning Sentinel. Waterville, Maine. p. 19. Retrieved May 17, 2025.
  15. ^ Whitehouse, Randy (February 9, 2002). "Winthrop's St. Hilaire becomes a Black Bear". Sun Journal (Lewiston, Maine). Lewiston, Maine. p. 21. Retrieved May 17, 2025.
  16. ^ a b Martin, Scott (February 8, 2002). "St. Hilaire staying close to home". Kennebec Journal. Augusta, Maine. p. 17. Retrieved May 17, 2025.
  17. ^ "Winthrop standout leaves Maine". Kennebec Journal. Augusta, Maine. November 2, 2002. p. 15. Retrieved May 18, 2025.
  18. ^ a b c d Martin, Scott (November 14, 2002). "Demands at Maine too much for St. Hilaire". Kennebec Journal. Augusta, Maine. p. 15. Retrieved May 18, 2025.
  19. ^ a b c Martin, Scott (November 14, 2002). "St. Hilaire (Continued from C1)". Kennebec Journal. Augusta, Maine. p. 16. Retrieved May 18, 2025.
  20. ^ Werner, Pete (September 5, 2003). "Husson resurgence excited former H.S. stars". Bangor Daily News. Bangor, Maine. p. 62. Retrieved May 18, 2025.
  21. ^ Warner, Pete (September 9, 2003). "Husson seeks balance in return to gridiron". Bangor Daily News. Bangor, Maine. p. 22. Retrieved May 18, 2025.
  22. ^ "Husson stumbles in school's 1st football game". Kennebec Journal. Augusta, Maine. September 14, 2003. p. 34. Retrieved May 18, 2025.
  23. ^ a b Neff, Andrew; Warner, Pete (September 25, 2003). "Husson's St. Hilaire eager for third game". Bangor Daily News. Bangor, Maine. p. 12. Retrieved May 18, 2025.
  24. ^ "Husson comes up short in historic game". Kennebec Journal. Augusta, Maine. September 21, 2003. p. 24. Retrieved May 18, 2025.
  25. ^ a b "2003 Football Cumulative Statistics". Husson University. Retrieved May 18, 2025.
  26. ^ LaFlamme, Mark (February 18, 2004). "Winthrop football star dies". Sun Journal (Lewiston, Maine). Lewiston, Maine. p. 1. Retrieved May 18, 2025.
  27. ^ "Police: St. Hilaire died of self-inflicted wound". Journal Tribune. Biddeford, Maine. February 20, 2004. p. 11. Retrieved May 18, 2025.
  28. ^ Warner, Pete (February 18, 2004). "Husson athlete St. Hilaire dies". Bangor Daily News. Bangor, Maine. p. 9. Retrieved May 18, 2025.
  29. ^ Thomas, Kevin; Solloway, Steve (February 19, 2004). "St. Hilaire's death ruled self-inflicted". Portland Press Herald. Portland, Maine. p. 27. Retrieved May 18, 2025.
  30. ^ Lauzon, Jerry (February 20, 2004). "A life of success ends sadly". Kennebec Journal. Augusta, Maine. p. 7. Retrieved May 18, 2025.
  31. ^ a b c d Adams, Betty (February 22, 2004). "Friends, family gather for St. Hilaire rite". Morning Sentinel. Waterville, Maine. p. 12. Retrieved May 18, 2025.
  32. ^ "Lee Matthew St. Hilaire". Bangor Daily News. September 25, 2008. Retrieved May 18, 2025.
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