FRC – CIS football players of the week (#13): Vanier Cup champ Marauders sweep honours

OTTAWA (CIS) – Quarterback Kyle Quinlan, linebacker Aram Eisho and kicker Tyler Crapigna, all of the first-time Vanier Cup champion McMaster Marauders, are the Canadian Interuniversity Sport football players of the week for the period ending Nov. 25, 2011.

The final selection of the 2011 season was made by a committee comprised of members of Football Reporters of Canada (FRC).

Quinlan, a fourth-year economics student from South Woodslee, Ont., was honoured on offence thanks to a performance for the ages that earned him the Ted Morris memorial trophy as Vanier Cup MVP at the end of a spectacular 41-38 overtime win over top-ranked Laval. The 6-foot-3, 215-pound pivot had one of the best games in the 47-year history of the CIS football final completing 36 of 55 passes for 482 yards and two touchdowns, and adding 106 yards on the ground on 14 carries. His 36 completions and 482 passing yards both rank second in Vanier Cup history, while the Marauders’ 41 first downs tied the single-game record and their 675 yards of offence were good for second-place all-time.

Eisho, a first-year social sciences student from Hamilton, took home the weekly honour on defence after he claimed the Bruce Coulter award as the best defensive player in the Vanier Cup. The 6-foot-1, 205-pound freshman racked up a game-high 11.5 tackles and forced a fumble as McMaster held the Rouge et Or to 355 yards of total offence.

Crapigna, a second-year environmental and earth science student from Nepean, Ont., was the choice on special teams thanks to his four field goals on six attempts, including the championship-winning kick in extra time. The 5-foot-7, 156-pound all-Canadian, who was playing in his first post-season game after missing three weeks due to illness, split the uprights from 26, 37 and 24 yards out in the first half but missed a potential game-winning 30-yard attempt on the final play of regulation. He redeemed himself on the Marauders’ second possession in OT as he hit from 30 yards away to lift McMaster to its first-ever CIS football title.

Offensive nominees:
AUS: No nominee
RSEQ: No nominee
OUA: Kyle Quinlan, quarterback, McMaster (recipient)
CWUAA: No nominee

Defensive nominees:
AUS: No nominee
RSEQ: No nominee
OUA: Aram Eisho, linebacker, McMaster (recipient)
CWUAA: No nominee

Special team nominees:
AUS: No nominee
RSEQ: No nominee
OUA: Tyler Crapigna, kicker, McMaster (recipient)
CWUAA: No nominee

About Football Reporters of Canada – University Division
The Football Reporters of Canada – University Division represents journalists and broadcasters in every region of the country covering CIS Football. Since 1958 the Football Reporters of Canada (FRC) have been an organization of media members who have covered the Canadian Football League, serving to select the league’s outstanding players, coach-of-the-year and all-star teams through voting conducted by its members. In 2009, the FRC amalgamated with the University Football Reporters of Canada (UFRC) to give the organization greater scope in its affiliation with amateur and college football.

The FRC also works with the CFL and CIS to establish guidelines and working conditions for the men and women who report on the game. Selected members of the FRC also help to choose builders, players and media members for induction into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame.

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