Atlantic University Sport Football Players of the Week #4: Dawes, Romick and Graves

Offensive Player of the Week:
Michael Dawes
Running Back
Saint Mary’s University
5’9”, 225 lbs.
Winnipeg, Man.

Running back Michael Dawes of the Saint Mary’s Huskies is the Atlantic University Sport Offensive Player of the Week for the week ending September 30th, 2012.

Dawes, a 5-foot-9 second-year player from Winnipeg, Man., ran for 203 yards and a touchdown on 26 carries in a 32-9 road win over the StFX X-Men in Antigonish, N.S. His 27-yard TD run came in the final minute of the second quarter to even the score at 9-9 heading into the half.

His 203 yards on the ground are the highest single-game total in the conference this season.

Michael is now third in AUS rushing yards with 265 through four weeks of play and his average of 132.5 rushing yards per game is the top average in the conference.

Defensive Player of the Week:
Nigel Romick
Defensive Line
Saint Mary’s University
6’5”, 240 lbs.
Thunder Bay, Ont.

Saint Mary’s Huskies defensive lineman Nigel Romick is the Atlantic University Sport Defensive Player of the Week for the week ending September 30th, 2012.

Romick, a second-year Arts student from Thunder Bay, Ont., recorded 6.5 tackles this past weekend, including 3.5 sacks for 15 yards in losses and a forced fumble in a 32-9 victory over the StFX X-Men in Antigonish. His sack and subsequent forced fumble early in the fourth quarter led to a 32-yard field goal by Brett Lauther to make the score 23-9.

Nigel’s 3.5 sacks in a single game are the most recorded by any AUS player in over five years when Brent Shabley set the Saint Mary’s record of 4.0 in a playoff win over StFX on November 4, 2006.

Nigel currently leads the AUS conference with 6.0 sacks through four weeks of play and is tied for fourth in the nation despite playing one less game than his counterparts from the other conferences.

Special Teams Player of the Week:
Kyle Graves
Acadia University
6’3”, 210 lbs.
Barrie, Ont.

Kyle Graves of the CIS No. 10-ranked Acadia Axemen is the Atlantic University Sport Special Teams Player of the Week.

Graves, a fifth-year student-athlete from Barrie, Ont., had another impressive punting performance in a 30-6 win over the Mount Allison Mounties this past weekend in Wolfville, N.S.

Kyle punted seven times for 299 yards, an average of 42.7 yards per punt. His stats also included a longest punt of 57 yards and four kicks that were downed inside the 20-yard line.

Graves, who ran for 49 yards and also threw for 259 yards and two TD’s in the win, currently ranks first in AUS punting average (42.0 yards per punt), ranking him second in Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) punting stats after four weeks of play.