UFRC - CIS football players of the week: Vanier Cup champs Brannagan, Smith, Village honoured

OTTAWA (CIS) – Quarterback Danny Brannagan, linebacker Chris Smith and kicker Dan Village, all of the Desjardins Vanier Cup champion Queen’s Gaels, are the Canadian Interuniversity Sport football players of the week for the period ending Nov. 28, 2009.

The final selections of the 2009 season were made by a committee comprised of members of University Football Reporters of Canada (UFRC).

Brannagan, a fifth-year accounting student from Burlington, Ont., received the nod on offence for the fifth time this season after he led the Gaels (11-1) to a dramatic 33-31 win over the Calgary Dinos (10-2) and a first Vanier Cup championship since 1992. Playing in his final university contest, the 6-foot, 198-pound pivot received the Ted Morris memorial trophy as the game’s MVP after he completed 17 of 33 passes for 286 yards, three touchdowns and one interception as Queen’s, trailing 25-7 at the break, treated the sold-out PEPS Stadium crowd of 18,628 to the greatest second-half comeback in Vanier Cup history.

Calgary receiver Anthony Parker was also up for the award on offence.

Smith, a fourth-year economics student from Toronto, took home the honour on defence after he received the Bruce Coulter award as the top defensive player in the CIS final. The 6-foot-2, 224-pound junior finished the game with 4.5 tackles, a 15-yard sack, one forced fumble and a fumble recovery and was a major force in the second half as the Gaels held the high-powered Calgary offence to six points.

Calgary linebacker Chase Moore was also nominated.

Village, a third-year geography student from Abbotsford, B.C., was the choice on special teams after he kicked a 12-yard field goal that brought the Gaels back to within a score late in the third quarter and averaged 38.7 yards on nine punts despite gusting winds at Université Laval in Quebec City.

Offensive nominees:
OUA: Danny Brannagan, quarterback, Queen’s (recipient)
Canada West: Anthony Parker, receiver, Calgary

Defensive nominees:
OUA: Chris Smith, linebacker, Queen’s (recipient)
Canada West: Chase Moore, linebacker, Calgary

Special team nominees:
OUA: Dan Village, kicker, Queen’s (recipient)
Canada West: No nominee

About University Football Reporters of Canada

The University Football Reporters of Canada represents journalists and broadcasters in every region of the country covering CIS Football. The UFRC’s primary objective is to work with CIS, its institutions and football programs to build resources and exposure for Canadian University Football from coast to coast through the contribution of the media.


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