The Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks football team is proud to announce the addition of 19 more players who have committed to the team for the 2012 season.

These 19 players join Andrew McWhinnie of Waterloo, Ont., and Zach Hoare of Cambridge, Ont., who committed earlier, as the first wave of recruits for next season.

All 21 athletes signed their letters of intent in front of friends and family at an event hosted by the team at University Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

One position that has been recruited heavily by the coaching staff is the offensive line as six of the additional 19 players announced Saturday play on the line. Jackson Yanchus of Guelph, Ont., Edward Cadougan Jr. of Scarborough, Ont., Tyler Reeves of Burlington, Ont., Marcus Nese of Peterborough, Ont., Jeff Vanier of Markham, Ont., and Dylan Wenzel of Brampton, Ont., will all be looking to earn a spot in the starting lineup come September.

Yanchus, a graduate of J.F. Ross, was a two-way starter for three consecutive seasons winning a District 10 Championship in both 2009 and 2011.

Cadougan Jr., who joins the Hawks from Senator O’Connor, was named his team’s offensive MVP in 2010 and was named to the Top 100 Greater Toronto Area (GTA) football stars this past season.

Reeves comes to Laurier Nelson High School in Burlington where he helped his team capture the 2011 Golden Horseshoe Bowl and was a six-time league champion with the Burlington Stampeders program.

Nese, a graduate of St. Peters, was the Saints Lineman of the Year in 2011 and was a team captain in his final three seasons.

Vanier, who played for Markham District High School, also comes to Laurier with a history of success as he suited up for Team Ontario West and was a two-time York Region Athletic Association (YRAA) all-star.

Wenzel, the final offensive lineman to join the Golden Hawks for 2012, was a GTA All-Star for Sir Edmund Campion last year while helping his team capture a Region of Peel Secondary School Athletic Association (ROPSSAA) championship in 2010.

The Golden Hawks also signed an additional five linebackers, joining McWhinnie and Hoare, to letters of intent on Saturday. The group includes Sam Montazeri of Markham, Ont., Tommy Majka of Mississauga, Ont., Dale Egan of Belleville, Ont., Eric Juhl of Burlington, Ont., and Patrick Bishop of Guelph, Ont.

Montazeri will join the purple and gold via King City Secondary where he was a two-time YRAA All-Star, winning the league championship in his final two seasons. He also captured game MVP honours in last ye ar’s championship victory.

Majka, a graduate of Mount Carmel, helped guide his team to the final of the ROPSSAA Championship last year. He was also a three-time Defensive MVP for the Crusaders.

Egan, who played high school football at Centennial Secondary, was his team’s Defensive MVP in 2011 while also being recognized for his leadership skills as he received the Ontario Federation of Schools Athletic Association (OFSAA) Leadership Award last year.

Juhl, the second member of the Nelson Lords to join Laurier this year, was also a member of last season’s Golden Horseshoe Bowl championship squad and a 2011 league all-star.

Bishop, another graduate of J.F. Ross in Guelph, was a two-time District 10 Champion and earned all-star honours in his final year.

Continuing to try and bolster their defence, the Hawks also signed three defensive lineman to letters of inte nt on Saturday. Among the group were Joel Chapman and Michael Malanda, both of Burlington, Ont., and Mark Fidani of Hamilton.

Chapman is another graduate from Nelson High School and the six-foot-six, 285 pound tackle was named as one of the Top 10 Defensive Tackles in Ontario by Weir’s Magazine.

Malanda, who attended Corpus Christi Catholic Secondary, was a two-time Halton District finalist with the Longhorns and played in the 2011 Canada Cup for Team Ontario.

As for Fidani, who played for Bishop Tonnos in Ancaster, Ont., he was his school’s Lineman MVP for three consecutive seasons before helping them reach the Steel City Bowl in his senior year.

Rounding out the defensive recruits were a pair of defensive backs; Tanner Philp of Burlington, Ont., and Mike Solanki of St. Catharines, Ont.

Philp, a graduate of Nelson, is a two-time member of Team On tario and is listed as one of the Top 10 corners in Ontario by Weir’s Magazine. While playing for Nelson, he was recognized with the team’s MVP and most improved player in 2009 and also earned the Ironman award for never missing a practice in five years with the team.

Solanki joins the Golden Hawks from Holy Cross in St. Catharines where he was the team’s defensive MVP in 2010. He also suited up for the Ontario Varsity Football League’s (OFVL) Niagara Spears where he was an all-star in 2011.

Asides from the six offensive lineman that the Hawks had commit on Saturday, there were three other offensive players who also committed including running back Darian Waite of Richmond Hill, Ont., and receivers Thomas Stawiarski of Ancaster, Ont., and Craig Asiamah-Yeboah of Brampton, Ont.

Waite, who attended King City Secondary, was the running backs MVP at the Schuman’s National Underclassmen Combine in Rochester , N.Y., and also participated in the Eastern U.S.A. Ultimate 100 camp in New Jersey. He holds the YRAA record for most touchdowns in a season at the junior level with 22.

Stawiarski, the second player to commit from Bishop Tonnos in Ancaster, was his team’s MVP in 2009 and went on to lead the league in punt and kick return yards in 2010 and 2011. Last summer, he attended a CFL training camp with the Edmonton Eskimos.

Asiamah-Yeboah, a graduate of St. Marguerite d’Youville, helped lead his team to the ROPSSAA Championship in 2010 and was a GTA Top 100 prospect in 2011.

“These are 21 great kids that we think will be able to come into the program quickly and make a difference,” commented Head Coach Gary Jeffries following Saturday’s event. “They are special athletes and special students. It is a great group to kick this thing off with. Im very excited about all of them.”

A ll 21 players will take part in their first CIS training camp when the Hawks open camp in August, 2012.

McWhinnie commits to Golden Hawk football
WCSSAA MVP one of two local players to join Laurier for 2012

The Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks football team announced today that Sir John A. Macdonald High School graduate Andrew McWhinnie of Waterloo, Ont., has committed to playing football for the Golden Hawks beginning next season.

McWhinnie, a six-foot-four, 225 pound middle linebacker, was named the Waterloo County Secondary School Athletic Association (WCSSAA) Most Valuable Player after helping the Highlanders to capture their first WCSSAA championship since 2007. In that game, McWhinnie returned an interception for a touchdown as his team won 23-16 over Jacob Hespler.

Asides from earning the Doug Shuh MVP honour in his senior year, McWhinnie was also a three-time WCSSAA First Team All-Star while playing at Sir John A. Macdonald and was listed as one of 13 linebackers on Ridley Scoutin g’s Top 100 Canadian High School football players.

“I choose to commit to Laurier because of the welcoming atmosphere, great coaching and rich history of success,” said McWhinnie of his decision to join the Hawks. “Also, I grew up in Waterloo so Laurier just felt like the best fit since I grew up a Golden Hawk fan.”

Laurier also announced on Wednesday that Jacob Hespler’s Zach Hoare of Cambridge, Ont., will also be joining the Hawks for the 2012 season.

Hoare, a six-foot-three, 200 pound linebacker, was a WCSSAA Second Team All-Star in his senior year for the Hawks. He also earned all-star honours while playing for the Cambridge Lions of the Ontario Varsity Football League (OVFL) where in 2010, he helped guide the team in the championship game.

“Andrew and Zach are two outstanding players from two of the finest football pro grams in the tri-cities,” said Laurier Head Coach Gary Jeffries. “They have been well prepared for the next level by terrific coaching staffs from their respective schools. We are fortunate to welcome them to our Golden Hawk family and we expect both of them to make significant on-field contributions in 2012.”

McWhinnie and Hoare are just two of the first wave of recruits who have committed to playing for Laurier next season. The remainder will be announced on Saturday following a team event at University Stadium.