FRC - CIS football players of the week (#14): TELUS Vanier Cup champs Lochard, Desloges, Bede honoured

Photo credit Yan Doublet

OTTAWA (CIS) – Running back Pascal Lochard, defensive end Vincent Desloges and kicker Boris Bede, all of the TELUS Vanier Cup champion Laval Rouge et Or, are the CIS football players of the week for the period ending Nov. 23, 2013.

Lochard, a fourth-year business administration student from Montreal, claimed the Ted Morris Memorial Trophy as game MVP following Laval’s 25-14 triumph over Calgary in the 49th Vanier Cup final played in front of a standing-room only crowd of 18,543 at TELUS-Université Laval Stadium in Quebec City, last Saturday. The 6-foot, 215-pound senior tallied 184 yards on 25 carries (7.4 avg.), including a crucial eight-yard touchdown with 5:48 remaining in regulation as his troops were hanging on to a slim 15-14 lead. Lochard, who missed Laval’s 2012 conquest over McMaster with an injury, helped the Rouge et Or set a Vanier Cup record for most rushing yards by a team, with 449.

Calgary quarterback Andrew Buckley was also up for the award.

Desloges, a fourth-year business administration student from St-Augustin-de-Desmaures, Que., took home the weekly honour on defence thanks to his defensive-MVP performance against the Dinos, for which he received Bruce Coulter Award. The 6-foot-1, 235-pound veteran amassed 3.5 tackles, including a pair of quarterback sacks, as the eight-time Vanier Cup champions held the powerful Dinos to 335 yards of total offence and limited Canada West MVP Mercer Timmis to 33 rushing yards on 12 carries. After leading the RSEQ conference with 8.5 sacks during the eight-game regular schedule, Desloges added eight in only four playoff contests.

Calgary linebacker Doctor Cassama was also nominated.

Bede, a fourth-year physical education and health student from Toulon, France, earned the nod on special teams after he tied the Vanier Cup record with five field goals, including a 12-yarder which sealed the victory with 57 seconds left on the clock. After missing his first attempt into the wind early in the contest, the 6-foot-4, 215-pound all-Canadian split the uprights from 19, 10, 16 and 36 yards out before closing the affair with his 12-yard kick. He also pinned the Dinos inside their 20-yard line three times on six punts.

Offensive nominees:
AUS: No game scheduled
RSEQ: Pascal Lochard, running back, Laval (recipient)
OUA: No game scheduled
CWUAA: Andrew Buckley, quarterback, Calgary

Defensive nominees:
AUS: No game scheduled
RSEQ: Vincent Desloges, defensive end, Laval (recipient)
OUA: No game scheduled
CWUAA: Doctor Cassama, linebacker, Calgary

Special team nominees:
AUS: No game scheduled
RSEQ: Boris Bede, kicker, Laval (recipient)
OUA: No game scheduled
CWUAA: No nominee

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