CW Football Players of the Week: Walter, Mark, Pavlopoulos

EDMONTON – Calgary running back Matt Walter, UBC defensive back Chris Mark and T-Birds kicker / punter Billy Pavlopoulos all helped their team to victory in Week #7 and have been selected Canada West football Players of the Week.

OFFENCE: #9 Matt Walter, Calgary

After a quiet first half, Matt Walter took to the ground in the second Saturday afternoon as the University of Calgary Dinos improved their record to 7-0 with a 41-24 win over Manitoba.

Walter’s 67-yard dash on the Dinos’ opening drive of the third quarter set up an Eric Dzwilewski rushing touchdown to give Calgary back some momentum it had lost heading into halftime. Just 19 of his 141 total yards came in the first half of the game as he racked up 122 yards on just 10 carries in the final 30 minutes of the game.

The game moved him to fourth in the conference rushing race and brought his career rushing total to 3,986 – just 14 yards shy of becoming the ninth player in CIS history to pass 4,000 career rushing yards.

Walter will have one final chance to reach that milestone as the Dinos head to Vancouver this weekend for an Oct. 29 date with the UBC Thunderbirds on Shaw TV, with the chance to record a perfect 8-0 season for the first time in program history.

DEFENCE: #20 Chris Mark, UBC

Chris Mark recorded eight tackles and returned an interception back 55 yards for a touchdown to lead CIS #8-ranked UBC to a 39-22 win over Alberta on Saturday.

His interception return came late in the fourth quarter with his team up 32-22. It helped seal the victory against the Golden Bears.

Mark made the pick at midfield and ran the ball back into Alberta territory. He appeared to run out of room at the 30-yard line but managed to break several tackles to score. It was UBC’s seventh interception in two games.

The Thunderbirds will finish the regular season with a home game against undefeated Calgary on Saturday. The 5-2 ‘Birds are having their best season since 2004 and will try to clinch a home playoff game on the weekend.

SPECIAL TEAMS: #1 Billy Pavlopoulos, UBC

Billy Pavlopoulos kicked field goals of 20, 24 and 47 yards and had a stunning 77-yard punt that helped #8 UBC to a 39-22 win over Alberta on Saturday.

Pavlopoulos’ first field game came on the second possession of the game to put UBC up 10-0. His second stemmed an Alberta run of 15 straight points and made the score 20-15 in favour of UBC and his third, which put Thunderbirds up 32-22, gave his team some breathing room.

When the score was 29-22, UBC’s offence stalled inside its own 20-yard line. On third down, Pavlopoulos kicked a 77-yard punt, preventing Alberta from starting with prime field position to score.

About Canada West Universities Athletic Association
Canada West is consistently the most decorated of the four conferences in Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS), winning at least 10 CIS national titles every year, 1997 to 2010. Comprised of 16 schools, from the provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia, Canada West produces numerous major award winners and Academic All-Canadian student-athletes each year, with many going on to athletic success around the globe in pro leagues or events such as the Olympics, Paralympics or Universiade Games. “cwuaa” on Twitter.

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