FRC - CIS football players of the week (#10): Picton, Archambault, Christie honoured

OTTAWA (CIS) – Regina quarterback Noah Picton, Montreal linebacker Byron Archambault and Manitoba cover man Alex Christie are the CIS football players of the week for the period ending on Nov. 1, 2014.

Picton, a first-year arts student from Regina, was honoured on offence thanks to a remarkable performance in a playoff-clinching 35-31 home win over Alberta, last Saturday. The 5-foot-9, 165-pound freshman completed 27 of 40 passes for 467 yards and one touchdown, in addition to scoring his first career rushing major on a brilliant 20-yard scramble early in the fourth quarter. Picton’s 467 passing yards are the fourth-highest single-game total in U of R history and gave him 2,029 for the season, making him the first rookie pivot in Canada West annals to reach the 2,000 plateau. Regina (3-5) visits No. 4 Calgary (6-2) Saturday at 3 p.m. MST in a conference semifinal (Shaw TV & CanadaWest.TV).

St. Francis Xavier wide receiver Donald Tabor, Sherbrooke quarterback Jérémi Roch and Ottawa receiver Ian Stewart were also up for the award.

Archambault, a fourth-year security and police studies student from Montreal, took home the weekly honour on defence after he helped the Carabins defeat top-ranked Laval 13-9 on home turf last Saturday, a win that put an end to the Rouge et Or’s CIS-record streak of 25 consecutive victories. The 6-foot, 240-pound CFL prospect collected six tackles, including four solo and 1.5 for a loss, as the Carabins held the top-rated offence in the RSEQ conference to a field goal and 289 yards of net offence. Second-ranked Montreal (7-1) hosts No. 9 Sherbrooke (5-3) on Saturday in the first round of the playoffs (Radio-Canada TV & ici.radio-canada.ca). 

StFX linebacker Ron Omara, Laurier lineman Kwaku Boateng and Manitoba defensive back Jayden McKoy were also nominated.

Christie, a second-year arts student from Thorold, Ont., was the choice on special teams thanks to a pair of spectacular plays that helped the Bisons secure a post-season berth with a 50-31 upset of reigning six-time conference champion Calgary, Saturday in Winnipeg. The 5-foot-9, 195-pound running back had a pair of blocked punts that resulted directly in Manitoba touchdowns, the first one near midfield in the opening quarter and the second deep in Dino territory early in the fourth frame. Christie, who also returned a kickoff on 37 yards in the win, finished the regular season with a team record four blocked kicks. Manitoba (4-4) visits No. 8 Saskatchewan (6-2) Friday at 7 p.m. CT in the other Canada West semifinal (Shaw TV & CanadaWest.TV).     

Kicker Jeremy Ford of StFX, Keegan Treloar of Concordia and Zack Medeiros of Western were the other nominees. 

Offensive nominees:
AUS: Donald Tabor, wide receiver, StFX
RSEQ: Jérémi Roch, quarterback, Sherbrooke
OUA: Ian Stewart, receiver, Ottawa
CWUAA: Noah Picton, quarterback, Regina (recipient)

Defensive nominees:
AUS: Ron Omara, linebacker, StFX
RSEQ: Byron Archambault, linebacker, Montreal (recipient)
OUA: Kwaku Boateng, lineman, Laurier
CWUAA: Jayden McKoy, defensive back, Manitoba

Special team nominees:
AUS: Jeremy Ford, kicker, StFX
RSEQ: Keegan Treloar, kicker, Concordia
OUA: Zack Medeiros, kicker, Western
CWUAA: Alex Christie, cover, Manitoba (recipient)

CIS FOOTBALL WEEK 11 SCHEDULE (all times local)

November 7 (CW semifinal)
19:00   Manitoba (4-4) at No. 8 Saskatchewan (6-2) (Shaw TV & www.CanadaWest.TV)

November 8 (AUS final & conference semifinals)
13:00   Concordia (5-3) at No. 1 Laval (7-1) (ici.radio-canada.ca Quebec)
13:00   No. 9 Sherbrooke (5-3) at No. 2 Montreal (7-1) (Radio-Canada TV & ici.radio-canada.ca)
13:00   No. 10 Ottawa (6-3) at No. 3 McMaster (7-1) (Cable 14 & www.OUA.TV)
13:00   No. 7 Western (7-2) at No. 5 Guelph (7-1) (www.OUA.TV)
14:00   StFX (5-4) at No. 7 Mount Allison (8-0) (Eastlink TV & www.AUStv.ca)
15:00   Regina (3-5) at No. 4 Calgary (6-2) (Shaw TV & www.CanadaWest.TV)

About Football Reporters of Canada

Football Reporters of Canada (FRC) represents journalists and broadcasters in every region of the country covering CIS Football. Since 1958, Football Reporters of Canada has been an organization of media members who have covered the Canadian Football League, serving to select the league’s outstanding players, coach-of-the-year and all-star teams through voting conducted by its members. In 2009, the FRC amalgamated with the University Football Reporters of Canada (UFRC) to give the organization greater scope in its affiliation with amateur and college football. FRC also works with the CFL and CIS to establish guidelines and working conditions for the men and women who report on the game. Selected members of FRC also help to choose builders, players and media members for induction into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame.

About the 50th TELUS Vanier Cup

Canadian Interuniversity Sport will celebrate the 50th TELUS Vanier Cup throughout its 2014 football season. For the first time in history, the championship game will be staged in Montreal - at Percival Molson Memorial Stadium - on Saturday, November 29, at 1 p.m. ET, live on Sportsnet and Radio-Canada.

Official TELUS Vanier Cup website (including ticket information) www.vaniercup.com 

About Canadian Interuniversity Sport

Canadian Interuniversity Sport is the national governing body of university sport in Canada. Every year, over 11,500 student-athletes and 700 coaches from 56 universities and four regional associations vie for 21 national championships in 12 different sports. CIS also provides high performance international opportunities for Canadian student-athletes at Winter and Summer Universiades, as well as numerous world university championships. For further information, visit www.cis-sic.ca or follow us on:

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