Concordia’s Miller, StFX’s Dickson round out Hec Crighton nominations
OTTAWA (CIS) – Concordia University quarterback Trenton Miller and St. Francis Xavier University running back Ashton Dickson round out the nominations for the prestigious Hec Crighton Trophy, which will be presented later this month to the most outstanding player in CIS football.
The RSEQ and AUS conferences unveiled their season award winners on Friday. The Canada West and OUA recipients were announced Thursday, with quarterbacks Andrew Buckley from the University of Calgary – the 2014 laureate – and Will Finch from Western University earning their league's nomination for the Hec Crighton.
Miller, a 6-foot-2, 212-pound transfer from North Carolina's Mars Hill University (NCAA Division II), put up remarkable numbers in his Concordia debut despite only taking over as the team's starting pivot in Week 3. The Buffalo, N.Y, product still managed to set single-season school records for touchdown passes (20) and completions (204), while leading the RSEQ in passing yards (2,384). The MBA student, who completed a solid 66 percent of his passes in conference play, also scored three rushing majors as the Stingers qualified for the playoffs with a 4-4 record.
The other RSEQ award winners for the 2015 campaign include guard Charles Vaillancourt (outstanding down lineman), defensive end Mathieu Betts (rookie of the year) and bench boss Glen Constantin (coach of the year), all of the Laval Rouge et Or, as well as Montreal defensive end Jonathan Boissonneault-Glaou (defensive MVP) and Sherbrooke quarterback Jérémi Roch (Russ Jackson Award nominee).
In his fifth and final university campaign, Dickson was one of the key factors in StFX taking second place in the AUS standings with its best regular season mark (5-3) since 2009. The 5-foot-10, 195-pound arts student dominated the conference in every major rushing category, including yards (866), yards per game (108.3), yards per carry (5.4), touchdowns (5) and carries (160). The Ottawa native, who also led the league in all-purpose yards (1,320), had his best performance when it counted the most on Halloween day, rushing for a career-best 226 yards on 41 carries – an AUS record - in a road win over reigning champion Mount Allison that secured home-field advantage for the X-Men in the first round of the playoffs.
Dickson was accompanied in the AUS winners circle by three members of the Acadia Axemen, including linebacker Drew Morris (defensive MVP), defensive end Jesse St. James (outstanding down lineman) and defensive back Will Wojcik (Russ Jackson Award nominee), as well as Mount Allison defensive tackle Donovan Glave (rookie of the year) and StFX mentor Gary Waterman (coach of the year).
The CIS individual awards will be presented on Nov. 26 in Quebec City, leading up to the ArcelorMittal Vanier Cup presented by Promutuel Assurance on Saturday, Nov. 28 at 1 p.m. at TELUS-Université Laval Stadium (Sportsnet, Sportsnet 360 & TVA Sports).
NOTES: The CIS football conference finals are set for this Saturday, including the Hardy Cup at noon MT (UBC at Calgary on Global TV & CanadaWest.TV), the Yates Cup at 1 p.m. ET (Guelph at Western on CHCH TV & OUA.TV), the Loney Bowl at 2 p.m. AT (StFX at Mount Allison on Bell Aliant FibreOP TV1 & AUStv.ca) and the Dunsmore Cup at 2 p.m. ET (Montreal at Laval on TVA Sports)... The CIS semifinals follow on Saturday, Nov. 21, including the ArcelorMittal Dofasco Mitchell Bowl at 12:30 p.m. ET (RSEQ at OUA) and the Uteck Bowl at 4 p.m. ET (Canada West at AUS) on Sportsnet 360 and TVA Sports.
2015 CIS FOOTBALL AWARD NOMINEES:
HEC CRIGHTON TROPHY (most outstanding player):
AUS: Ashton Dickson, running back, StFX (Ottawa, Ont. / Arts)
RSEQ: Trenton Miller, quarterback, Concordia (Buffalo, N.Y. / MBA)
OUA: Will Finch, quarterback, Western (Burlington, Ont. / Social Science)
CWUAA: Andrew Buckley, quarterback, Calgary (Calgary, Alta. / Kinesiology)
PRESIDENTS' TROPHY (defensive player of the year)
AUS: Drew Morris, linebacker, Acadia (Ottawa, Ont. / Business Administration)
RSEQ: Jonathan Boissonneault-Glaou, defensive end, Montreal (Lyster, Que. / Mechanical Engineering)
OUA: John Rush, linebacker, Guelph (Niagara Falls, Ont. / Commerce)
CWUAA: Robert Woodson, defensive back, Calgary (Calgary, Alta. / Arts)
J.P. METRAS TROPHY (outstanding down lineman)
AUS: Jesse St. James, defensive end, Acadia (Pincourt, Que. / Business Administration)
RSEQ: Charles Vaillancourt, guard, Laval (Coaticook, Que. / Business Administration)
OUA: Kwaku Boateng, defensive end, Wilfrid Laurier (Milton, Ont. / Business)
CWUAA: David Onyemata, defensive tackle, Manitoba (Lagos, Nigeria / Arts)
PETER GORMAN TROPHY (rookie of the year)
AUS: Donovan Glave, defensive tackle, Mount Allison (Brampton, Ont. / Arts)
RSEQ: Mathieu Betts, defensive end, Laval (Montreal, Que. / Physical & Health Education)
OUA: Jesse Amankwaa, running back, York (Etobicoke, Ont. / Health & Society)
CWUAA: Jamel Lyles, running back, Manitoba (Surrey, B.C. / University 1)
RUSS JACKSON AWARD (football, academics & citizenship)
AUS: Will Wojcik, defensive back, Acadia (Ottawa, Ont. / Kinesiology)
RSEQ: Jérémi Roch, quarterback, Sherbrooke (LaSalle, Que. / Administration)
OUA: Curtis Carmichael, wide receiver, Queen's (Scarborough, Ont. / Physical & Health Education)
CWUAA: DJ Lalama, linebacker, Manitoba (Winnipeg, Man. / Extended Education)
FRANK TINDALL TROPHY (coach of the year)
AUS: Gary Waterman, StFX
RSEQ: Glen Constantin, Laval
OUA: Greg Marshall, Western
CWUAA: Wayne Harris, Calgary