CIS football: All-Canadian teams announced

VANCOUVER (CIS) – The Canadian Interuniversity Sport football all-stars for the 2011 season were announced on Thursday, 24 hours before the 47[SUP]th[/SUP] Vanier Cup final that will see the Laval Rouge et Or take on the McMaster Marauders at B.C. Place Stadium in Vancouver.

The first Vanier Cup championship game to be played in the province of British Columbia gets under way at 6 p.m. Pacific on TSN and RDS, with the pre-game show starting at 5:30 p.m. PST on TSN.

The Canada West champion Calgary Dinos dominated the overall tally with eight all-Canadians, including three on the first team and five on the second unit. Vanier Cup-bound Laval and McMaster both saw five of their players honoured.

Leading the first CIS squad on offence is UBC quarterback Billy Greene, the Canada West player of the year. The fourth-year pivot from Surrey, B.C., is joined by running backs Steven Lumbala of Calgary and Anthony Coombs of Manitoba, wide receivers Simon Charbonneau-Campeau of Sherbrooke and Michael DiCroce of McMaster, inside receivers Jordan Brescacin of Windsor and Michael Squires of Acadia, tackles Kirby Fabien of Calgary and Brendan Dunn of Western, guards Matthew Norman of Western and Brett Jones of Regina, as well as centre Pierre Lavertu of Laval.

Greene led the country with 2,558 passing yards in eight regular season games, tied for the CIS lead with 20 touchdown passes and had the best TD-to-interception ratio in the nation (20-4).

Lumbala averaged 8.1 yards per carry and racked up 898 rushing yards. Coombs had eight rushing majors in seven outings in his university debut. Charbonneau-Campeau, named the RSEQ MVP for the second straight campaign, had 53 catches for 854 yards and eight scores. DiCroce, the OUA player of the year, topped all CIS receivers with 904 yards through the air. Brescacin had 50 receptions, while Squires caught 31 balls, including seven in the end zone.

Charbonneau-Campeau and Norman are the only returnees from last year’s first offensive squad.

On defence, the first all-Canadian team is comprised of tackles Stefan Charles of Regina and Seamus Postuma of Windsor, ends Akiem Hicks of Regina and Arnaud Gascon-Nadon of Laval, linebackers Max Caron of Concordia, Sam Hurl of Calgary and Kevin Régimbald Gagné of Sherbrooke, halfbacks Cameron Wade of Acadia and Beau Landry of Western, cornerbacks Dominic Noël of Laval and Kayin Marchand-Wright of Saint Mary’s, as well as safety Teague Sherman of Manitoba.

Caron, the defensive player of the year in Quebec, led the country with 78.5 tackles and three interceptions returned for touchdowns. Gascon-Nadon was named the outstanding down lineman in the RSEQ for the second straight season. Hurl and Hicks were named the Canada West defensive MVP and top down lineman, respectively.

Gascon-Nadon is the lone returning player from last year’s top defensive unit.

On special teams, Regina punter Chris Bodnar, McMaster placekicker Tyler Crapigna and Concordia returner Kris Robertson make up the first CIS squad.

Below is a complete list of CIS football all-Canadians, including the first and second teams.

2011 CIS FOOTBALL ALL-CANADIANS

FIRST TEAM
Offence

Pos. Athlete University Year Hometown Program
QB Billy Greene UBC 4 Surrey, B.C. Arts

RB Steven Lumbala Calgary 3 Calgary, Alta. Business
RB Anthony Coombs Manitoba 1 Winnipeg, Man. University 1

WRSimon Charbonneau-CampeauSherbrooke 4 St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que.Biotech. Engineering
WR Michael DiCroce McMaster 3 Hamilton, Ont. Social Sciences
IR Jordan Brescacin Windsor 4 Tecumseh, Ont. Concurrent Math
IR Michael Squires Acadia 4 Halifax, N.S. Business Admin.

C Pierre Lavertu Laval 2 Quebec City, Que. Business Admin.
T Kirby Fabien Calgary 3 Calgary, Alta. Arts
T Brendan Dunn Western 4 Burlington, Ont. Kinesiology
G Matthew Norman Western 4 Montreal, Que. Social Sciences
G Brett Jones Regina 3 Weyburn, Sask. Campion Science

Defence

DT Stefan Charles Regina 4 Oshawa, Ont. Campion Arts
DT Seamus Postuma Windsor 4 Thunder Bay, Ont. Social Work
DE Akiem Hicks Regina 4 Elk Grove, Calif. Business Admin.
DE Arnaud Gascon-Nadon Laval 3 Montreal, Que. General Studies

LB Max Caron Concordia 2 Kingston, Ont. Political Science
LB Sam Hurl Calgary 3 Calgary, Alta. Business
CLB Kevin Régimbald GagnéSherbrooke 4 Rouyn-Noranda, Que. Multidisciplinary Cert.

S Teague Sherman Manitoba 4 Edmonton, Alta. Kinesiology & Rec.
HB Cameron Wade Acadia 3 Moncton, N.B. Science
HB Beau Landry Western 2 Kitchener, Ont. Social Sciences
CB Dominic Noël Laval 3 Sorel-Tracy, Que. Business Admin.
CBKayin Marchand-Wright Saint Mary’s 1 Montreal, Que. Commerce

Special Teams

P Chris Bodnar Regina 4 Saskatoon, Sask. Kinesiology & Health
K Tyler Crapigna McMaster 2 Nepean, Ont. Env. & Earth Science
RET Kris Robertson Concordia 3 Pickering, Ont. Sociology

SECOND TEAM

Offence

QB Kyle Quinlan McMaster 4 South Woodslee, Ont. Economics

RB Ryan Granberg Queen’s 3 Sherwood Park, Alta. Physical Education
RB Sébastien Lévesque Laval 4 Brossard, Que. General Studies

WR Dustin Zender Waterloo 5 Kitchener, Ont Theology Masters
WR Jordan Grieve UBC 4 Salmon Arm, B.C. Commerce
IR Dillon Heap Laurier 5 Waterloo, Ont. Business
IR Alexander Fox Bishop’s 2 Montreal, Que. Social Science

C Quinn McCaughan Calgary 4 St. Francis Xavier, Man. Arts
T Matthew Sewell McMaster 3 Milton, Ont. Commerce
T Ben Heenan Saskatchewan 4 Grande Coulee, Sask. Agri. & Bioresources
G Jason Medeiros McMaster 4 Hamilton, Ont. Sociology
G Reed Alexander Calgary 4 Medicine Hat, Alta. Arts

Defence

DT Linden Gaydosh Calgary 3 Peace River, Alta. Arts
DT Jake Thomas Acadia 4 Douglas, N.B. Business Admin.
DE Jonathan Pierre-Étienne Montreal 4 Montreal, Que. Law
DE Rob Jubenville Saint Mary’s 4 Oshawa, Ont. Arts

LB Jordan Verdone Calgary 3 Echo Bay, Ont. Arts
LB Jonathan Beaulieu-Richard Montreal 4 Trois-Rivières, Que. Pharmacology
CLB Sam Sabourin Queen’s 2 Stittsville, Ont. Physical Education

S Jonathan Laliberté Laval 2 Varennes, Que. Business Admin.
HB Matt McGarva Windsor 3 Surrey, B.C. Business
HB Patrick Chénard Sherbrooke 3 Montreal, Que. Human Resource Man.
CB Sam Carino UBC 5 Burnaby, B.C. Arts
CB Andrew Lue Queen’s 2 Markham, Ont. Environmental Studies

Special Teams

P Darryl Wheeler Western 5 Hamilton, Ont. Education
K Johnny Mark Calgary 1 Peterborough, Ont. Arts
RET Nic Demski Manitoba 1 Winnipeg, Man. University 1

About Canadian Interuniversity Sport
Canadian Interuniversity Sport is the national governing body of university sport in Canada. Fifty-two universities, 10,000 student-athletes and 550 coaches vie for 21 national championships in 12 different sports. CIS also provides high performance international opportunities for Canadian student-athletes at Winter and Summer Universiades, as well as numerous world university championships. For further information, visit www.cis-sic.ca.

-CIS-