OUA stars sweep national honours

OTTAWA (CIS) – Toronto quarterback Simon Nassar, McMaster linebacker Nick Shortill and kicker Tyler Crapigna, also of McMaster, are the CIS football players of the week for the period ending on Oct. 5, 2014.

Nassar, a fourth-year English student from Toronto, was honoured on offence thanks to his record-breaking performance Saturday in a 53-32 road loss to Carleton, which marked the 1000^th game in the storied history of the Varsity Blues football program. The 5-foot-10, 195-pound pivot set a single-game CIS record with a mindboggling 49 completions, eight more than the previous national standard which was shared by former Blues star Dan Feraday (1981) and current Sherbrooke standout Jérémi Roch (2012). Nassar went 49-of-62 for 548 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions on the afternoon, moving him to sixth place in CIS annals for most passing yards in a single contest thanks to the best tally around the country this season, and seventh on the all-time list for most attempts in a game.

Mount Allison running back Chris Reid, Montreal quarterback Gabriel Cousineau and Alberta running back Ed Ilnicki were also up for the award.

Shortill, a fourth-year science student from Nobleton, Ont., took home the weekly honour on defence thanks to his game-high 10.5 tackles in a 32-29 upset of defending OUA champion Western last Saturday, on the Mustangs' home turf in London. The 6-foot-2, 223-pound senior was a disruptive force throughout the contest and finished with seven solo tackles, seven assisted tackles, two tackles for a loss, 1.5 sacks and a fumble recovery. With the win, the Marauders moved to No. 3 in the national rankings and sit alone atop the OUA standings with an unblemished 6-0 mark.

St. Francis Xavier defensive back Paolo Edwards and Laval defensive end Vincent Desloges were also nominated.

Crapigna, a fifth-year economics student from Nepean, Ont., was the choice on special teams after he entered the OUA record book thanks to a 3-for-3 performance on field goals in the big win over Western. The 5-foot-7, 170-pound all-Canadian kicker split the uprights from 32, 20 and 14 yards out to set a new OUA mark with 79 career field goals, only three shy of the CIS standard held by former Sherbrooke standout William Dion (2008-2012). Crapigna also extended a pair of McMaster drives thanks to passes on fake punt plays, including one in the fourth quarter.

St. Francis Xavier returner Randy Roseway, Montreal kicker Louis-Philippe Simoneau and UBC returner Marcus Davis were the other nominees. 

Offensive nominees:

AUS: Chris Reid, running back, Mount Allison

RSEQ: Gabriel Cousineau, quarterback, Montreal

OUA: Simon Nassar, quarterback, Toronto (recipient)

CWUAA: Ed Ilnicki, running back, Alberta

Defensive nominees:

AUS: Paolo Edwards, defensive back, StFX

RSEQ: Vincent Desloges, defensive end, Laval

OUA: Nick Shortill, linebacker, McMaster (recipient)

CWUAA: No nominee

Special team nominees:

AUS: Randy Roseway, returner, StFX

RSEQ: Louis-Philippe Simoneau, kicker, Montreal

OUA: Tyler Crapigna, kicker, McMaster (recipient)

CWUAA: Marcus Davis, returner, UBC

Source: CIS