CIS football: 10 all-Canadians to face off in Desjardins Vanier Cup

Photo credit Yan Doublet

QUEBEC CITY (CIS) – Ten all-Canadians will take the field on Saturday when the No. 2-ranked Calgary Dinos and No. 4 Queen’s Gaels battle for CIS football supremacy.

The 45th Desjardins Vanier Cup is set for 12 noon at PEPS Stadium on the campus of Laval University and will be televised live on TSN and Radio-Canada. The championship game is being staged in the province of Quebec for the first time in history and outside of Ontario for only the second time since the inaugural national final in 1965. Saskatoon hosted the event in 2006.

For all the info on the 2009 Desjardins Vanier Cup, visit: www.vaniercup.com .

The all-Canadian teams were announced Thursday night at the Quebec City Convention Centre with the Vanier Cup-bound Dinos and Gaels claiming six and four selections, respectively.

Leading the way for Uteck Bowl champion Calgary was Hec Crighton-winning quarterback Erik Glavic of Pickering, Ont., who was also named to the first constellation in 2007 when he claimed his first Crighton trophy as a member of the Saint Mary’s Huskies. Glavic was brilliant in his first season at U of C, averaging 273 passing yards per game and leading the Canada West with 14 touchdown passes, while adding another 503 yards and six scores on the ground.

Glavic is joined on the first offensive team by teammates Matt Walter, a running back from Calgary, and Nathan Coehoorn, a wide receiver from Redcliff, Alta. Walter, last year’s Canada West nominee for CIS MVP honours, topped the conference and was second in the nation this fall with 1,103 rushing yards, while Coehoorn hauled in 41 balls for 765 yards and four majors.

Three Dinos made their way to the second CIS team, including inside receiver Anthony Parker of Okotoks, Alta., and freshman tackle Kirby Fabien of Calgary on offence, and linebacker Andrea Bonaventura of Hamilton on the defensive side. Fabien was the only rookie selected as a 2009 all-Canadian.

All four Queen’s all-Canadians earned a spot on the first team, including inside receiver Scott Valberg of Kingston, Ont., and tackle Matthew O’Donnell, also of Kingston, on offence, and defensive end Osie Ukwuoma of Mississauga, Ont., and cornerback Jimmy Allin of Belleville, Ont., on the other side of the ball.

Valberg led the nation with 913 receiving yards and finished second with 55 catches in his fifth and final campaign as a Gael. O’Donnell, standing a towering 6-foot-11, was the cornerstone of an offensive line that helped Mitchell Bowl champion Queen’s rank second in the country in passing with 348 yards a game and fifth in scoring with 34 points per contest.

Ukwuoma was a major reason the Gaels allowed an OUA-low 98 rushing yards a game, while Allin led the conference with five interceptions.

For the second straight year, the Quebec champion Laval Rouge et Or led the all-Canadian tally with seven total selections and also had the most first-team CIS all-stars with five, two on offence and three on defence.

Offensive tackle David Bouchard of Trois-Rivières, Que., and guard Pascal Baillargeon of St-Anselme, Que., as well as defensive tackle Jean-Philippe Gilbert of St-Victor-de-Beauce, Que., halfback Maxime Bérubé of Valleyfield, Que., and cornerback Olivier Turcotte-Létourneau of Quebec City were all named to the first squad. Bouchard was the QUFL nominee for the J.P. Metras trophy as CIS down lineman of the year.

Teammates Julian Feoli Gudino, a wide receiver born in Costa Rica, and Christopher Milo, a punter from Montreal, represented the 2008 Vanier Cup champions on the second all-CIS team.

Rounding out the list of first-team all-Canadians on offence were Sherbrooke running back Pascal Fils of Montreal, StFX wide receiver Akeem Foster of Ajax, Ont., Mount Allison inside receiver Gary Ross of Windsor, Ont., Windsor centre Matt Morencie of Windsor, and McMaster guard Justin Glover of Hamilton.

Fils led the nation in rushing this fall with 1,331 yards, while Morencie claimed the Metras trophy.

Ross was the AUS Hec Crighton trophy nominee after he set a single-season conference record with a CIS-leading 60 receptions, and established AUS career marks for catches (172) and receiving yards (2,582). The fourth-year senior was also named a second-team all-Canadian as a kick returner.

Rounding out the first all-CIS defensive team were Montreal tackle Gregory Alexandre of Montreal, Carabins teammate Mathieu Brossard, a defensive end also from Montreal, Concordia linebacker Cory Greenwood of Kingston, Western linebacker John Surla of Niagara Falls, Ont., StFX linebacker Henoc Muamba of Mississauga, Simon Fraser free safety Anthony Deslauriers of Surrey, B.C., as well as Guelph halfback James Savoie of Niagara Falls.

Greenwood captured the Presidents’ trophy as the best defensive player in the country, while Surla was the OUA nominee for the award.

The top special teams players in the nation in 2009 were Alberta punter Hugh O’Neill of Edmonton, Regina placekicker Perri Scarcelli of Calgary and Wilfrid Laurier kick returner Dillon Heap of Waterloo, Ont., who set a single-season CIS record with 842 punt return yards.

Valberg, Ukwuoma, Allin, Bérubé, Ross and Savoie all return from the 2008 first all-Canadian squad. Ukwuoma and Ross are three-time CIS all-stars.

Highlighting the second-team all-Canadian selections for 2009 was a trio of CIS major award nominees including Western quarterback Michael Faulds of Eden Mills, Ont., who was up for the Hec Crighton trophy; Alberta defensive end Craig Gerbrandt of Sherwood Park, Alta., who was in the running for the Metras; and StFX linebacker Tom Lynch of Escott, Ont., who was a finalist for the Presidents’.

Faulds set both the CIS single-season (3,033) and career (10,811) records for most passing yards in his fifth and final campaign with the Mustangs.

2009 CIS FOOTBALL ALL-CANADIANS

FIRST TEAM

Offence

Pos. - Athlete - University - Year - Hometown - Academic Program

QB Erik Glavic Calgary 4 Pickering, Ont. Social Sciences
RB Pascal Fils Sherbrooke 4 Montreal, Que. Open Studies
RB Matt Walter Calgary 3 Calgary, Alta. Science
WR Nathan Coehoorn Calgary 3 Redcliff, Alta. Social Sciences
WR Akeem Foster StFX 3 Ajax, Ont. BA
IR Gary Ross Mount Allison 4 Windsor, Ont. BSC
IR Scott Valberg Queen’s 5 Kingston, Ont. Education
C Matt Morencie Windsor 5 Windsor, Ont. Human Kinetics
T Matthew O’Donnell Queen’s 3 Kingston, Ont. Kinesiology & Health Studies
T David Bouchard Laval 5 Trois-Rivières, Que. Masters Finance
G Justin Glover McMaster 4 Hamilton, Ont. Comm. Studies
G Pascal Baillargeon Laval 3 St-Anselme, Que. Arts

Defence

DT Jean-Philippe Gilbert Laval 5 St-Victor-de-Beauce, Que. Masters Law
DT Gregory Alexandre Montreal 3 Montreal, Que. Undecided
DE Mathieu Brossard Montreal 5 Montreal, Que. Management
DE Osie Ukwuoma Queen’s 4 Mississauga, Ont. Business
LB Cory Greenwood Concordia 4 Kingston, Ont. Human Environment
LB John Surla Western 3 Niagara Falls, Ont. Social Sciences
LB Henoc Muamba StFX 3 Mississauga, Ont. BIS
FS Anthony Deslauriers Simon Fraser 3 Surrey, B.C. Arts
HB Maxime Bérubé Laval 4 Valleyfield, Que. Business Administration
HB James Savoie Guelph 3 Niagara Falls, Ont. Landscape Architecture
CB Olivier Turcotte-Létourneau Laval 3 Quebec City, Que. Business Administration
CB James Allin Queen’s 5 Belleville, Ont. Arts & Science

Special Teams

P Hugh O’Neill Alberta 3 Edmonton, Alta. Arts
K Perri Scarcelli Regina 5 Calgary, Alta. Continuing Education
KR Dillon Heap Laurier 3 Waterloo, Ont. Business

SECOND TEAM

Offence

QB Michael Faulds Western 5 Eden Mills, Ont. GS
RB Nathan Riva Western 2 London, Ont. King’s College
RB Nick FitzGibbon Guelph 4 Puslinch, Ont. Sociology
WR Julian Feoli Gudino Laval 3 San José, Costa Rica Industrial Relations
WR Cyril Adjeitey Ottawa 4 Ghana, Africa Biochemistry
IR Anthony Parker Calgary 3 Okotoks, Alta. Open Studies
IR Cory Watson Concordia 4 Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Que.Independent
C Derek Weber Saint Mary’s 5 Whitby, Ont. Arts
T Kristian Matte Concordia 4 St-Hubert, Que. Leisure Sciences
T Kirby Fabien Calgary 1 Calgary, Alta. Social Sciences
G Terriss Paliwoda Alberta 4 Edmonton, Alta. Native Studies
G Matthew Norman Western 2 Montreal, Que. Social Sciences

Defence

DT Sébastien Tétreault Ottawa 4 Granby, Que. Human Kinetics
DT Eddie Steele Manitoba 3 Winnipeg, Man. Arts
DE Craig Gerbrandt Alberta 4 Sherwood Park, Alta. Physical Education &Recreation
DE David Skillen StFX 5 Fredericton, N.B. Business Administration
LB Andrea Bonaventura Calgary 4 Hamilton, Ont. Social Sciences
LB Tommy Lynch StFX 3 Escott, Ont. BSc HN
LB Giancarlo Rapanaro Laurier 4 Niagara Falls, Ont. Kinesiology
FS Courtney Stephen Laurier 2 Brampton, Ont. Comm. Studies
DH Mike Miller Acadia 3 Riverview, N.B. Kinesiology
DH Mark Holden Saint Mary’s 3 Halifax, N.S. Arts
CB Grant Shaw Saskatchewan 4 Edmonton, Alta. Arts & Science
CB Dylan Hollohan StFX 2 Moncton, N.B. Engineering

Special Teams

P Christopher Milo Laval 3 Montreal, Que. Arts
K Justin Palardy Saint Mary’s 4 Truro, N.S. Arts
KR Gary Ross Mount Allison 4 Windsor, Ont. BSC

-CIS-