AUS:
Offensive Player of the Week
Name: Donald Tabor
University: St. Francis Xavier University
Position: Wide receiver
Hometown: Dartmouth, N.S.
Year of eligibility: Third
Academic program: BBA
Height and weight: 6’1”, 230lbs
Wide receiver Donald Tabor of the St. Francis Xavier X-Men is the Atlantic University Sport football offensive player of the week for the week ending Nov. 2, 2014.
A fourth-year arts student in his third year of eligibility from Dartmouth, N.S., Tabor scored a crucial touchdown with 45 seconds remaining inSaturday’s playoff game, to bring the X-Men within two points of their Axemen opponents.
After making the 10-yard catch, Tabor stayed in bounds and dove into the corner of the end zone for the score. The X-Men went on to win the AUS semifinal game 18-17, advancing to the Subway AUS Loney Bowl championship this Saturday at Mount Allison.
The 6-foot-1, 230lb Dartmouth, N.S. native led all receivers in the playoff game with 10 catches for 126 total yards, averaging 12.6 yards per reception. He finished the AUS season sixth overall in receiving with 45.8 yards per game on 29 total receptions for 366 yards.
Defensive Player of the Week
Name: Ron Omara
University: St. Francis Xavier University
Position: Linebacker
Hometown: Aylmer, Que.
Year of eligibility: Fourth
Academic program: BA
Height and weight: 6’2”, 240lbs
Linebacker Ron Omara of the St. Francis Xavier X-Men is the Atlantic University Sport football defensive player of the week.
A fourth-year arts student from Aylmer, Que., Omara led all StFX defenders in tackles in their dramatic 18-17 victory over Acadia in Saturday’s AUS semifinal playoff game.
He posted 12.0 tackles in the game (three solo and 12 assisted), along with a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. Omara finished the season seventh overall in AUS tackling with 36.5 total tackles.
Special Teams Player of the Week
Name: Jeremy Ford
University: St. Francis Xavier University
Position: Kicker/punter
Hometown: Halifax, N.S.
Year of eligibility: Fourth
Academic program: BSc
Height and weight: 6’1”, 195lbs
Kicker/punter Jeremy Ford of the St. Francis Xavier X-Men is the Atlantic University Sport football special teams player of the week.
A fourth-year science student from Halifax, N.S., Ford kicked the game-winning field goal (36 yards) with seven seconds left to play to give the X-Men a dramatic come-from-behind 18-17 victory over Acadia Saturday in the AUS semifinal playoff game.
Named Subway player of the game for his efforts, Ford also kicked two field goals from 22 and 36 yards and made good on his only extra-point kick, posting 10 total points in the win. He also had nine punts for 244 total yards, averaging 27.1 yards per punt.
RSEQ:
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
JEREMI ROCH
Position: Quarterback
Team: Green & Gold
School: University of Sherbrooke
Hometown: Montreal, Qc
Age: 22
Height: 6’02
Weight: 210
Year of eligibility: 4
Former team: Vanier College Cheetahs
Highlights
Jeremi Roch (Master of Electronic Commerce – Administration) was very successful Saturday against the Gaiters, completing 72.5% of his passes for 397 yards and two touchdowns in the win for the Vert et Or to complete the regular season third in the standings. With this performance, Roch has surpassed the 700 career completions.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
BYRON ARCHAMBAULT:
Position: Linebacker
Team: Carabins
School: University of Montreal
Hometown: Montreal, Qc
Age: 23
Height: 6’00
Weight: 240
Year of eligibility: 4
Former team: Vanier College Cheetahs
Highlights
Byron Archambault (Safety and Police Studies) had a total of six tackles, including four solo and 1.5 behind the line of scrimmage in the 13-9 victory Carabins on the Rouge et Or. Late in the game on a third-and-10 yards to go for the Rouge et Or at line 20 Carabins, Archambault was particularly successful one sack. He also forced a fumble. Against a team that had raised an average of 594.8 yards per game this season, the Carabins have limited opponents to 289 yards in this game. Archambault also became the player who collected the largest number of tackles in the history of the Carabins (185.5).
SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
KEEGAN TRELOAR
Position: Kicker
Team: Stingers
School: Concordia University
Hometown: Brandon, Mb
Age: 21
Height: 6’02
Weight: 200
Year of eligibility: 4
Former team: Vincent Massey High School
Highlights
Keegan Treloar (Marketing) scored a field goal from 45 yards with 27 seconds to play in the game to get a 30-28 victory over the Concordia Stingers on the McGill Redmen on the occasion of the 28th annual edition of the Shrine Bowl Saturday afternoon at Concordia University Stadium.
The kicker, who is in his fourth season, kicked three field goals (13, 15 and 45 yards) in addition to 10 points in this game. His efforts have played a major role in the successful ascent of the Stingers to thus conclude the regular season with a record of five wins and three losses. This is a huge improvement for a team that posted a 0-8 record in 2013.
OUA:
HAMILTON – The following athletes have been named Ontario University Athletics (OUA) Players of the Week for the period ending November 3, 2014.
OFFENCE: Ian Stewart (Burlington, Ont.) – 4th yr. – Ottawa
In Ottawa’s 46-29 quarterfinal win against Windsor, Stewart led the Gee-Gees with 107 yards receiving in the convincing road victory.
The fourth-year receiver scored Ottawa’s third touchdown of the game, padding an early 24-9 lead. His eleven receptions contributed to the Gee-Gees total offensive output of 427 yards, and accounted for nearly half of the 246 yards through the air. Stewart led Ottawa during the regular season with 68.8 yards per game. Saturday’s performance was his third 100-plus yard game of the season.
With the win, the Gee-Gees move on to the OUA semi-finals and will travel to McMaster on Saturday, November 8.
DEFENCE: Kwaku Boateng (Milton, Ont.) – 2nd yr. – Laurier
The second-year lineman tied a Laurier playoff record for sacks in a game, successfully getting to the quarterback three times in his team’s 25-10 quarter-final loss to Western.
Despite losing, Boateng was a key part of a defensive effort that limited OUA’s highest scoring team to just 25 points – 27 points below their season average.
Going against the heavily-favoured no.7-ranked Mustangs, Boateng recorded 7.5 tackles – four of which were for a loss of yards.
SPECIAL TEAMS: Zack Medeiros (St. Thomas, Ont.) – 1st yr. – Western
Western’s kicker accounted for 13 of his team’s points in the Mustangs 25-10 quarter-final win against Laurier.
Medeiros made four of five field goals, including one from 49 yards, and converted the extra-point on Western’s only touchdown.
He also averaged 30.7 yards on seven punts, pinning the Golden Hawks inside their own 20-yard line three times on the afternoon.
The Mustangs will now take on the Gryphons this Saturday in Guelph with a birth in the Yates Cup on the line.
Canada West:
NEW WESTMINSTER, BC – The 2014 Canada West football regular season reached its conclusion over the weekend with exciting clutch performances as each game had major playoff implications. The Manitoba Bisons upset the #2 Calgary Dinos, 50-31, to clinch the third seed, while the Regina Rams came back to beat the Alberta Golden Bears, 35-31 to get into the last playoff slot. The playoff picture was finalized after the Saskatchewan Huskies thwarted the UBC Thunderbirds’ postseason hopes by securing a 38-18 road victory in Vancouver live on Shaw TV.
The Regina Rams’ Noah Picton and the Manitoba Bisons duo of Jayden McKoy and Alex Christie have been selected as the Canada West Football Players of the Week. This is Christie’s second time being honoured after having been selected for Week 2 honours in September.
OFFENCE: #4 Noah Picton, Quarterback (Regina Rams)
Rookie quarterback Noah Picton led the University of Regina Rams into the postseason with a 35-31 win over Alberta on Saturday afternoon in a wild game at Mosaic Stadium.
Picton completed 27 of his 40 pass attempts and finished the game with 467 passing yards, one touchdown pass, and his first career rushing touchdown on a brilliant 20-yard scramble early in the fourth.
He also engineered what would turn out to be the game-winning drive. Facing a three-point deficit with just over five minutes remaining, Picton and the Rams marched 85 yards downfield in just six plays, taking 2:42 off the clock. The big play was a 42-yard strike to Jared Janotta on second down that brought the Rams all the way to Alberta’s 29-yard line, and Atlee Simon was in the end zone three plays later to give the U of R its only lead of the game.
Three of Picton’s receivers hit triple digits in receiving yards, including Janotta with 148, Addison Richards with 113, and Mitchell Picton with 101. Picton’s touchdown pass was an 11-yard strike to Richards late in the third quarter.
Picton’s 467 passing yards are the fourth-highest single-game total in U of R history. He finishes the season with 2,029 passing yards, becoming the first rookie quarterback in Canada West history to collect over 2,000 in a single season.
The Rams go on the road against Calgary on Saturday, November 8 in the Canada West Semifinal. The game kicks off at 3 p.m. MST and will be aired live on Shaw TV.
DEFENCE: #7 Jayden McKoy, Halfback (Manitoba Bisons)
During the Manitoba Bisons football team’s stunning home win over the #2 Calgary Dinos by a 50-31 score on Saturday, November 1 that secured third place in the conference standings, rookie defensive back Jayden McKoy created numerous impact plays throughout the game.
McKoy made two athletic interceptions (one returned for 39 yards) that snuffed out any potential momentum by the Dinos in the second half. In addition, he grabbed a blocked kick fumble and returned it 60 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter plus added 4.5 total tackles (three solo).
The Winnipeg native has continued to impress in his rookie campaign and made a leaping grab off Calgary starting quarterback Andrew Buckley when he was trying to find a receiver on the sideline at the end of the third quarter. At the start of the fourth, Calgary tested McKoy again and the 5’11”, 185 lbs. halfback intercepted a deep ball with another leaping catch on the far sideline and turned around and returned it 39 yards.
Both interceptions led directly to Manitoba touchdowns on the next possession and eliminated any chance for a comeback for Calgary.
McKoy also found the end zone when he recovered a blocked kick and ran it back for a 60-yard touchdown in the first. He finished with 4.5 total tackles in the home victory.
McKoy completed his first year in Canada West in sixth in conference total tackles with 40 (36 solo) and second in Canada West with five interceptions while starting and playing in all eight conference games this season.
Manitoba (4-4) travels to play #8 Saskatchewan Huskies (6-2) in one of the Canada West Semifinal matchups on Friday, November 7 at 7 p.m. CT. The game will be televised live on Shaw TV.
SPECIAL TEAMS: #33 Alex Christie, Running Back/Kick Specialist (Manitoba Bisons)
Manitoba Bisons running back/kick specialist Alex Christie contributed two huge plays on special teams. His first blocked kick was a momentum changer early in the contest as the Bisons stunned the #2 Calgary Dinos by a 50-31 score on Saturday, November 1, securing third place in the conference standings.
In the first quarter, the second year player made a leaping punt block on Dinos’ Johnny Mark as they punted from Manitoba’s 46 yard line. The resulting fumbled ball off the blocked kick was then recovered by Jayden McKoy for a 60 yard TD return. At the time, the game was only 7-5 in favour of the home side and gave all the momentum to the Bisons as they extended the lead to 21-6 by the end of the first.
At the beginning of the fourth, Christie made another leaping blocked kick on Mark when the Dinos were deep in their end and Jordan Linnen recovered the ball for a seven yard TD return.
Both blocked kicks directly resulted in Bison touchdowns on the same play.
Plus, the 5’9″, 195 lbs. versatile player also had one kickoff return for 37 yards and added 44 rushing yards along with a ten yard TD run in the home win.
Christie finished with four block kicks during the 2014 season. He was first in this category (three more blocks than second place) and set a new Bison team record for most blocks in a single season.
Image Credit: Regina Rams/Manitoba Bisons
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