FRC - CIS football players of the week (#11): Farquharson, McKoy, Mark honoured

OTTAWA (CIS) – Guelph running back Rob Farquharson, Manitoba defensive back Jayden McKoy and Calgary kicker Johnny Mark are the CIS football players of the week for the period ending on Nov. 8, 2014.

Farquharson, a fifth-year human kinetics student from Niagara Falls, was honoured on offence after he ran all over the Western Mustangs in a 51-26 OUA semifinal win on home turf, last Saturday. The 5-foot-9, 210-pound senior rushed for 232 yards and three touchdowns on 25 carries against a defensive unit that ranked second in the country in the regular season allowing only 83 yards on the ground per contest. The nationally fifth-ranked Gryphons (8-1) travel to Hamilton on Saturday to take on No. 3 McMaster in the 107th Yates Cup final at 1 p.m. (Cable 14 & OUA.TV)        .

Mount Allison wide receiver Rodreke Joseph, Montreal receiver Régis Cibasu and Calgary quarterback Andrew Buckley were also up for the award.

McKoy, a first-year engineering student from Winnipeg, took home the weekly honour on defence after he helped the Bisons overcome a 19-point deficit to beat Saskatchewan 47-39 in a Canada West semifinal, last Friday night in Saskatoon. The 5-foot-11, 170-pound freshman had a pair of interceptions in the win, including his second of the game six minutes into the third quarter which he returned on 54 yards for a touchdown to kick start a run of 22 unanswered points by the visitors. Manitoba (5-4) visits No. 4 Calgary (7-2) Saturday at 2 p.m. MST in the Hardy Cup championship match (Shaw TV & CanadaWest.TV).     

Defensive linemen Shaun Robinson of Mount Allison, Vincent Desloges of Laval and Cam Walker of Guelph were also nominated.

Mark, a fourth-year science student from Peterborough, Ont., was the choice on special teams thanks to a near-perfect performance in a resounding 56-0 Canada West semifinal win over Regina at McMahon Stadium, Saturday. The 6-foot, 185-pound CFL prospect connected on each of his four field goal attempts on the afternoon (23, 21, 40, 21) while maintaining an impressive average of 47 yards on six punts, pinning the Rams inside their own 20 on three occasions. The Dinos hope to extend their record streak of six straight Hardy Cup triumphs Saturday against Manitoba (2 p.m. MST, Shaw TV & CanadaWest.TV).      

Mount Allison returner Michael Bohan, Laval returner Antony Dufour and McMaster cover specialist Mitch O’Connor were the other nominees. 

Offensive nominees:
AUS: Rodreke Joseph, wide receiver, Mount Allison
RSEQ: Régis Cibasu, receiver, Montreal
OUA: Rob Farquharson, running back, Guelph (recipient)
CWUAA: Andrew Buckley, quarterback, Calgary

Defensive nominees:
AUS: Shaun Robinson, lineman, Mount Allison
RSEQ: Vincent Desloges, defensive end, Laval
OUA: Cam Walker, defensive end, Guelph
CWUAA: Jayden McKoy, defensive back, Manitoba (recipient)

Special team nominees:
AUS: Michael Bohan, returner, Mount Allison
RSEQ: Antony Dufour, returner, Laval
OUA: Mitch O’Connor, cover, McMaster
CWUAA: Johnny Mark, kicker, Calgary (recipient)

CIS FOOTBALL WEEK 12 SCHEDULE (all times local)

November 12 (conference finals)
13:00   No. 2 Montreal (8-1) at No. 1 Laval (8-1) (Radio-Canada TV & ici.radio-canada.ca)
13:00   No. 5 Guelph (8-1) at No. 3 McMaster (8-1) (Cable 14 & www.OUA.TV)  
14:00   Manitoba (5-4) at No. 4 Calgary (7-2) (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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