Graves, DiCroce, Greene round out Hec Crighton nominations (video)

OTTAWA (CIS) – Acadia quarterback Kyle Graves, McMaster wide receiver Michael DiCroce and UBC pivot Billy Greene were announced Thursday as conference most valuable players and became finalists for CIS football player-of-the-year honours.

The AUS, OUA and Canada West leagues unveiled their season award winners with the trio joining Sherbrooke wideout Simon Charbonneau-Campeau as nominees for the Hec Crighton trophy.

Charbonneau-Campeau became a two-time Quebec MVP on Monday when the RSEQ handed out its hardware for the 2011 campaign. The fourth-year engineering student from St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que., tied for the CIS lead with eight receiving touchdowns in nine conference games, topped the RSEQ and was third in the country with 854 yards through the air, and finished third in Quebec and fifth in the nation with 53 catches. The 6-foot-4, 195-pound senior guided the Vert & Or (7-2) to their best season since their return to CIS football in 2003.

Graves, a fourth-year arts student from Barrie, Ont., led the Atlantic conference with 1,856 passing yards and 17 touchdown passes while being intercepted only five times in eight contests. The 6-foot-3, 220-pound senior, who added 179 yards and a major on 32 carries (5.6 avg.), was also named to the AUS all-star team as a punter after he averaged a league-high 36.7 yards on 64 kicks. He helped the Axemen to a first-place finish with a 7-1 record.

DiCroce, a third-year social sciences major from Hamilton, topped all CIS receivers with 904 yards and a 113-yard average over eight matches, was fourth in Ontario (7th CIS) with six TD catches and ranked fifth in OUA (8th CIS) with 48 receptions. The 5-foot-11, 192-pound junior, who also tallied 179 yards on 18 rushes, was one of the main reasons the Marauders led the country in total offensive yards (530.5) and passing yards (329.9) per game. McMaster tied for the best record in OUA with a 7-1 mark and took second place in the standings.

Greene, a fourth-year arts student from Surrey, B.C., led the nation with 2,558 passing yards and tied for the CIS lead with 20 TD tosses, both single-season school records. The 6-foot-1, 220-pound pivot had the best touchdown-to-interception ratio in the country (20-4) and was also a major threat running the football as he gained a team-high 482 yards on 61 carries (7.9 avg.), tops among all CIS quarterbacks. The Thunderbirds (6-2) finished second in the Canada West standings and earned home-field advantage in the first round of the playoffs for the first time since 1999.

Other AUS recipients who became CIS award finalists Thursday include Acadia linebacker Tom Labenski (defensive MVP), Acadia defensive tackle Jake Thomas (outstanding down lineman), Mount Allison defensive tackle Jacob LeBlanc (rookie of the year), Acadia defensive lineman Andrew Frazer (Russ Jackson award nominee) and Acadia head coach Jeff Cummins (coach of the year).

From OUA, the other CIS nominees are McMaster linebacker Ryan Chmielewski (defensive MVP), Queen’s defensive end Osie Ukwuoma (outstanding down lineman), Western running back Tyler Varga (rookie of the year), Wilfrid Laurier inside receiver Dillon Heap (Russ Jackson award nominee) and first-year Windsor bench boss Joe D’Amore (coach of the year).

The CIS finalists from Canada West include Calgary linebacker Sam Hurl (defensive MVP), Regina defensive end Akiem Hicks (outstanding down lineman), Saskatchewan offensive lineman Jordan Arkko (rookie of the year), Regina offensive lineman Brett Jones (Russ Jackson award nominee) and UBC sideline boss Shawn Olson (coach of the year).

The RSEQ winners announced Monday were Concordia linebacker Max Caron (defensive MVP), Laval defensive end Arnaud Gascon-Nadon (outstanding down lineman), Sherbrooke quarterback Jérémi Doyon-Roch (rookie of the year), McGill kicker Austin Anderson (Russ Jackson award nominee) and Sherbrooke head coach André Bolduc (coach of the year).

The CIS individual awards will be presented on Nov. 24 (Hec Crighton, Presidents’, J.P. Metras and Peter Gorman trophies) and Nov. 25 (Frank Tindall trophy & Russ Jackson award) in Vancouver.

HEC CRIGHTON TROPHY (player of the year):

AUS: Kyle Graves, quarterback, Acadia
RSEQ: Simon Charbonneau-Campeau, wide receiver, Sherbrooke
OUA: Michael DiCroce, wide receiver, McMaster
CWUAA: Billy Greene, quarterback, UBC

PRESIDENTS’ TROPHY (defensive player of the year)

AUS: Tom Labenski, linebacker, Acadia
RSEQ: Max Caron, linebacker, Concordia
OUA: Ryan Chmielewski, linebacker, McMaster
CWUAA: Sam Hurl, linebacker, Calgary

J.P. METRAS TROPHY (outstanding down lineman)

AUS: Jake Thomas, defensive tackle, Acadia
RSEQ: Arnaud Gascon-Nadon, defensive end, Laval
OUA: Osie Ukwuoma, defensive end, Queen’s
CWUAA: Akiem Hicks, defensive end, Regina

PETER GORMAN TROPHY (rookie of the year)

AUS: Jacob LeBlanc, defensive tackle, Mount Allison
RSEQ: Jérémi Doyon-Roch, quarterback, Sherbrooke
OUA: Tyler Varga, running back, Western Ontario
CWUAA: Jordan Arkko, offensive lineman, Saskatchewan

RUSS JACKSON AWARD (football, academics & citizenship)

AUS: Andrew Frazer, defensive lineman, recreation management, Acadia
RSEQ: Austin Anderson, kicker, management, McGill
OUA: Dillon Heap, inside receiver, business, Wilfrid Laurier
CWUAA: Brett Jones, offensive lineman, science, Regina

FRANK TINDALL TROPHY (coach of the year)

AUS: Jeff Cummins, Acadia
RSEQ: André Bolduc, Sherbrooke
OUA: Joe D’Amore, Windsor
CWUAA: Shawn Olson, UBC