FRC – CIS football players of the week (#3): Regina’s Picton repeats on offence, McGill duo also honoured

TORONTO (CIS) – Regina quarterback Noah Picton, McGill linebacker Antoine Mongeau and kicker Findlay Brown, also of McGill, are the CIS football players of the week for the period ending Sept. 10, 2016.

Picton, a third-year business administration student from Regina, was honoured on offence for the second straight week after he helped lead the Rams (1-1) to their first victory since their 2014 conference finale, a spectacular 41-38 home win over nationally-ranked Manitoba, last Thursday. The 5-foot-9, 180-pound pivot completed 40 of 60 passes for a whopping 499 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions, and also rushed six times for 21 yards, including a crucial one-yard score which cut Manitoba’s lead to 38-33 with one minute 35 seconds remaining in regulation. With 25 seconds left on the clock, Picton, who set single-game school records for both completions and attempts, completed the Rams comeback with a 15-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Schienbein followed by a successful two-point convert, also on a toss to Schienbein, capping a nine-play, 104-yard game-winning drive. 

St. Francis Xavier receiver Dejuan Martin, Montreal quarterback Samuel Caron and York quarterback Brett Hunchak were also up for the award.

Mongeau, a first-year physical education student from Laval, Que., took home the award on defence thanks to his stellar play in McGill’s first win at Sherbrooke since 2004, a 19-18 come-from-behind decision in front of a raucous crowd of 6,043, last Saturday. Normally a defensive back, the 5-foot-10, 195-pound freshman was moved to linebacker last week because of injuries to other personnel and registered 6.5 tackles, one quarterback sack, a forced fumble and one fumble recovery. He spearheaded a defence that limited the Vert & Or to just 13 first downs and 240 yards of offence, allowing the Redmen (1-1) to come back from an early 16-0 deficit.

Acadia defensive back Brandon Jennings, Queen’s linebacker James Donald and Saskatchewan defensive back Spencer Krieger were also nominated.

Brown, a first-year management major from Winnipeg, was the choice on special teams after going a perfect 4-for-4 in field goals and accounting for 13 of the Redmen’s 19 points in their win over Sherbrooke. The 5-foot-10, 172-pound rookie split the uprights from distances of 10, 33, 40 and 20 yards, respectively, his 40-yarder tying the affair at 16 all late in the third quarter and his 20-yard boot giving McGill a 19-16 lead 33 seconds into the final stanza. The 18-year-old, who also handled punting and kickoff duties, also converted the Redmen’s only touchdown of the afternoon midway through the third frame.

York kicker Nick Naylor and Calgary returner Denzel Radford were the other nominees. 

Offensive nominees:

AUS: Dejuan Martin, receiver, StFX

RSEQ: Samuel Caron, quarterback, Montreal

OUA: Brett Hunchak, quarterback, York

CWUAA: Noah Picton, quarterback, Regina (recipient)

Defensive nominees:

AUS: Brandon Jennings, defensive back, Acadia

RSEQ: Antoine Mongeau, linebacker, McGill (recipient)

OUA: James Donald, linebacker, Queen’s

CWUAA: Spencer Krieger, defensive back, Saskatchewan

Special team nominees:

AUS: Brandon Jennings, punter/kicker, Acadia

RSEQ: Findlay Brown, kicker, McGill (recipient)

OUA: Nick Naylor, kicker, York

CWUAA: Denzel Radford, returner, Calgary

WEEKS 4 SCHEDULE (all times local)

NOTE: Click HERE for the complete 2016 regular season schedule & results.

September 16

19:00   Mount Allison (0-1) at Saint Mary’s (0-1) (Bell Aliant Fibe TV1 & AUStv.ca)

19:00   Bishop’s (0-2) at McGill (1-1) (StretchTV)

19:00   Concordia (1-1) at No. 1 Montreal (2-0)

19:00   Alberta (0-2) at Manitoba (0-2) (CanadaWest.TV)

19:00   No. 2 Calgary (2-0) at No. 10 Saskatchewan (2-0) (Shaw TV/Access & CanadaWest.TV)

September 17

13:00   No. 9 McMaster (2-1) at Waterloo (0-3) (Rogers TV Waterloo & OUA.TV)

13:00   No. 7 Laurier (2-0) at No. 4 Carleton (2-1) (OUA.TV)

13:00   Guelph (2-1) at No. 8 Ottawa (2-0) (Rogers TV Ottawa & OUA.TV)

13:00   York (2-1) at Toronto (0-3) (Rogers TV Toronto & OUA.TV)

13:00   No. 5 Western (2-1) at Queen’s (0-2) (City & OUA.TV)

14:00   Acadia (1-0) at StFX (1-0) (Bell Aliant Fibe TV1 & AUStv.ca)

17:00   Regina (1-1) at No. 6 UBC (1-1) (CanadaWest.TV)

September 18

12:00   Sherbrooke (1-1) at No. 3 Laval (1-1) (TVA Sports)