CIS conference players of the week (10): RSEQ, AUS, OUA, Canada West

OUA PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

HAMILTON – The following student-athletes have been named OUA Football Players of the Week for the period ending November 3, 2013.

OFFENCE: Ryan Granberg, Queen’s Gaels, Running back 

Ryan Granberg (Sherwood Park, Alta.) was a big part of the Gaels offence in Saturday’s 34-17 win over the Guelph Gryphons. The fifth-year back rushed for 113 yards and two touchdowns. He added two receptions for 27 yards. Granberg got the Gaels up early in the game on his first score, a one yard run. In the fourth he put the Gaels up 27-17 with his second score.

DEFENCE: Sam Sabourin, Queen’s Gaels, Linebacker

Sam Sabourin (Stittsville, Ont.) led the Gaels defence in their Yates Cup semifinal victory over Guelph. The fourth-year linebacker finished with a team high 7.5 tackles and added an eight yard sack as well.

SPECIAL TEAMS: Lirim Hajrullahu, Western Mustangs, Kicker

It was another historic day for Mustangs kicker Lirim Hajrullahu on Saturday as the fifth-year senior tied an OUA and CIS playoff record with six field goals in Western’s 32-3 win over McMaster. The St. Catharines, Ont., native had 20 total points on the day, adding two extra points in the win.

RSEQ PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

Montréal  – Montréal Carabins’ running back Sean Thomas-Erlington, defensive back Alexander Hovington of the Laval Rouge et Or and kicker Boris Bede of the Laval Rouge et Or are the RSEQ university football players of the week for the period ending November 3rd, 2013.

OFFENSIVE PLAYER:

Sean Thomas Erlington

Position : Running back
Team : Carabins
School: Université de Montréal
City: Montréal (Quebec)
Age: 21
Height : 5-09
Weight : 210
Eligibility Year : 1st
Last team : CEGEP Vieux-Montréal

Sean Thomas-Erlington (Physical and Health Education), Montréal Carabins’s running back, is the offensive player of the week in the RSEQ. The first year player contributed to a rushing offense that dominated its opponents in a 51-8 win over the Bishop’s Gaiters in one of the provincial semi-finals this weekend. Thomas-Erlington rushed for 81 yards on nine carries, finishing his day with an impressive average of 9 yards per carry. He scored two consecutive touchdowns (1 and 11 yards) in the second quarter to bring his team’s lead to 24-0. He also caught a pass for 10 yards.

DEFENSIVE PLAYER

Alex Hovington

Position : Cornerback
Team : Rouge et Or
School: Université Laval
Major : Études libres
City : St-Hubert (Quebec)
Age : 21
Height :5-11
Weight : 174
Eligibility Year : 2
Last team : CEGEP Vieux-Montréal

Alexander Hovington (Etudes libres), cornerback with the Laval Rouge et Or, is the defensive player of the week in the RSEQ. After the Rouge et Or starting cornerback got injured, the rookie player stepped in and had a major impact on his team’s win against the Sherbrooke Vert & Or in the second provincial semi-final. Hovington intercepted three passes, returning them for a total of 100 yards. He also collected 4,5 tackles, 1 fumble recovery and a tipped pass.

SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER

Boris Bede

Position : K
Team : Rouge et Or
School: Université Laval
City : Toulon, France
Age : 23
Height : 6-4
Weight : 215
Eligibility Year : 4
Last team : Tiffin University

Boris Bede (Physical and Health Education), kicker of the Rouge et Or from Université Laval, wins the special teams player of the week award in the RSEQ. The Toulon (France) native excelled in all three phases of the kicking game. He was 3 for 3 on field goals (19, 32 and 11 yards), maintained a 67 yards average on 4 kick offs and a 37,3 yards average on 9 punts. 4 of those punts were downed inside the opponents’ 20 yards line and two of his kick offs downed in the end zone. He was responsible for 14 of its team’s 32 points.

 

CWUAA PLAYERS OF THE WEEK:

 

EDMONTON – Nic Desmki (Manitoba), along with Thomas Spoletini and Johnny Mark (Calgary) have been selected Canada West football Players of the Week.

Demski helped lead Manitoba to a thrilling 37-36 victory over Saskatchewan, while Spoletini and Mark each played a big role as Calgary rallied from an early 17-point deficit to down UBC.

OFFENCE: #9 Nic Demski, Manitoba
Home: Winnipeg, MB
Height: 6-0
Year: 3rd
Academic: Arts

Manitoba Bisons slotback/kick returner Nic Demski was a major force in a thrilling, come-from-behind 37-36 victory for the #9 Manitoba Bisons football team over the #10 Saskatchewan Huskies at home during one of the Canada West Semi-Final games on Fri., Nov. 1 at Investors Group Field. He was instrumental in the Bisons rallying from two 12 point deficits in the fourth quarter as he caught three touchdowns in the final quarter, including the game-winning 32 yard touchdown with only 1:23 left in the contest.

The third year multi-purpose player led the team with seven receptions for 115 yards and added 38 punt return yards as Manitoba won for the first time against the Huskies in a post-season football game since the 1973 season and now advanced to the Canada West Final (Hardy Cup) for the first time since their 2007 Vanier Cup Championship season.

Demski had four of his seven grabs in the fourth quarter and started the comeback when he hauled in a 39 yard TD pass from QB Jordan Yantz early in the fourth to cut the Huskies lead to 29-24. Again with only five minutes left in the fourth, Demski struck again as Yantz found him for a 13 yard TD pass and the visitors lead was cut to 36-31. Finally, the Winnipeg native shielded his defender away from the ball and caught the game-winning 32 yard TD pass for Manitoba’s first lead in the fourth.

Demski led all participants in the exciting playoff game with 154 all-purpose yards.

Manitoba (5-3, 1-0) now travels on the road against the #3 Calgary Dinos (8-0, 1-0) in the Canada West Final (77th Hardy Cup) playoff game on Saturday, November 9 at 2:00 p.m. MST.

DEFENCE: #27 Thomas Spoletini, Calgary
Home: Calgary, AB
Height: 6-2
Year: 4th
Academic: Arts

Thomas Spoletini had a solid outing all around for the University of Calgary Dinos in Saturday’s 42-28 playoff win over UBC, but there’s one play that stands above the rest.

After Mercer Timmis gave the Dinos the lead for the second time of the night early in the fourth quarter, UBC took over on their own 28 yard line. On the very first play, Patrick Bull hauled in a pass and rumbled downfield, seemingly destined for the end zone. Spoletini, a fourth-year linebacker drafted by the Saskatchewan Roughriders, wasn’t having any of that and came across the field to catch up with the speedy receiver, hauling him down at the 15-yard line.

The touchdown-saving – and maybe season-saving – tackle set up a short UBC field goal as the Thunderbirds left the drive with three points rather than seven, and Calgary maintained a lead at 28-27. Timmis scored again on the Dinos’ next drive to put the game out of reach.

Spoletini finished the game with five tackles and one tackle for loss as the Dinos qualified for the Hardy Cup for a sixth consecutive year. They’ll host the Manitoba Bisons for the Canada West banner Saturday, Nov. 9 at McMahon Stadium, with kickoff at 2 p.m. MT live on Shaw TV and CanadaWest.tv.

SPECIAL TEAMS: #33 Johnny Mark, Calgary
Home: Peterborough, ON
Height: 6-0
Year: 3rd
Academic: Science

Under poor field conditions, kickers become all the more important – and third-year University of Calgary Dinos kicker Johnny Mark came up huge for his team in a 42-28 win over UBC Saturday afternoon.

On slippery turf at a snow-covered McMahon Stadium, Mark went 4-for-4 in field goals, including a 41-yarder, to help the Dinos close the gap in the second quarter after going down 17-0 in the early going. His other boots came from 34, 10, and 30 yards as Calgary chipped away, then pulled away in the late stages.

From a punting perspective, Mark booted the ball downfield nine times for a 41.8-yard average in the snowy conditions.

He and the Dinos will look to capture their sixth straight Canada West title Saturday when they host the Manitoba Bisons in the 77^th Hardy Cup at McMahon Stadium. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. MT, live on Shaw TV and CanadaWest.tv.

AUS PLAYERS OF THE WEEK:

Offensive Player of the Week
Name: Jordan Botel
University: Mount Allison University
Position: Running Back
Hometown: Prince George, B.C.
Year of eligibility: Second
Academic program: BA
Height and weight: 5’10”, 200lbs

Running back Jordan Botel of the Mount Allison Mounties is the Atlantic University Sport Football Offensive Player of the Week for the week ending Nov. 3, 2013.

Botel, a 5-foot-10 arts student in his second year of eligibility from Prince George, B.C., compiled 90 net yards rushing on 24 carries in Saturday’s 19-10 win in the AUS semi-final game over the two-time defending AUS champion Acadia Axemen.

His performance also included a catch for six yards in the victory which secured the Mounties’ spot in this Saturday’s AUS championship game, the Subway Loney Bowl, versus the Saint Mary’s Huskies.

This is the second consecutive week Botel has been named the AUS Offensive Player of the Week. He led the conference in rushing this year in regular season play with 758 total yards on 170 carries.

Defensive Player of the Week
Name: Kwame Adjei
University: Mount Allison University
Position: Defensive Back
Hometown: Brampton, Ont.
Year of eligibility: Third
Academic program: BCM
Height and weight: 6’1”, 195lbs

Defensive back Kwame Adjei of the Mount Allison Mounties is the Atlantic University Sport Football Defensive Player of the Week.

A third-year commerce student from Brampton, Ont., Adjei had an interception for 40 yards and a touchdown in Saturday’s 19-10 victory over Acadia in the AUS semi-final game.

He also had four tackles in the win which propelled Mount Allison to their first AUS football final since 1998.

Special Teams Player of the Week
Name: Kyle McLean
University: Mount Allison University
Position: Kicker/punter
Hometown: Nepean, Ont.
Year of eligibility: Third
Academic program: BA Geography
Height and weight: 6’2”, 205lbs

Kicker and punter Kyle McLean of the Mount Allison Mounties is the Atlantic University Sport Football Special Teams Player of the Week for the second consecutive week.

McLean, a third-year geography student from Nepean, Ont., was good on all three of his field goal attempts in the Mounties’ 19-10 win over Acadia in Saturday’s AUS semi-final game

McLean had 11 punts for 440 yards, two of which were downed inside the 20-yard line. He also had four kickoffs for 204 yards in the matchup, was good on his lone extra-point kick and added a rouge in the victory.