Football POWs: Stevenson, Rodger, Legendre take home Week 4 honours on the gridiron
Burlington, Ont. – Kaine Stevenson, Kyle Rodger, and Loic Legendre have been named Ontario University Athletics (OUA) Football Players of the Week for the period ending September 15, 2019.
Offensive Player of the Week – Kaine Stevenson, Guelph Gryphons
There is a new face in the Gryphon backfield in 2019 with first-year running back Kaine Stevenson winning the starting job right out of training camp and he gave fans a glimpse of his bright future with a monster performance in Guelph’s Week 4 trip to Waterloo.
Stevenson spearheaded the Gryphon offence in a 39-13 victory over the Warriors, finishing the game with 21 carries for 194 yards and three touchdowns. Stevenson picked up the first major of his OUA career in the 2nd quarter, punching it in from three-yards out to cap a 75-yard drive. The score also marked the first time all season that a Guelph running back found the end zone on the ground.
In the 3rd quarter, Kaine would once again cap off a lengthy scoring drive by the Gryphons, this time taking it in from a yard out to give Guelph a 17-10 lead. After the Warriors trimmed the deficit to 17-13, Stevenson would respond once more, this time ripping off a 36-yard touchdown run early in the 4th quarter to put the Gryphons up 24-13 with his third TD of the day.
Through four games this season, Stevenson ranks 5th among the OUA’s leading rushers (first among rookies) with 323 yards on the ground (an average of 80.8 yards rushing per game).
Defensive Player of the Week – Kyle Rodger, Ottawa Gee-Gees
Defence was a key part of the equation in the tilt between Laurier and Ottawa on Saturday, and helping the Gee-Gees gallop to their hard-fought victory in that one was Kyle Rodger, who managed to be all over the field in the win.
Rodger racked up 11.5 tackles on the day, including nine of the solo variety, but his biggest impact came in the turnover department, as he was giving the Golden Hawks trouble all game long. Rodger was able to force a pair of fumbles on the day. The first came halfway through the opening quarter when he dislodged the ball from Laurier’s Cal Taylor deep in Ottawa territory. The second came halfway through the following quarter, upending what was a 32-yard passing play from the Hawks to once again give the ball back to his Gee-Gees.
The Gatineau, Que. Product led the team in tackles a season ago with 49.5 after transferring home for his final two seasons. Like he did in his first season with the Garnet and Grey, Rodger once again finds himself pacing the club on defence, racking up 20.5 tackles early on this season.
Special Teams Player of the Week – Loic Legendre, Ottawa Gee-Gees
In a game that proved to be greatly impacted by special teams, Ottawa Gee-Gees’ punter Loic Legendre made his presence felt against Laurier on countless occasions.
Despite high winds make conditions less than ideal for the players, Legendre continually gave the Golden Hawks’ offence difficult field positioning, including three times pinning them inside their own 20-yard line. The second-year native of Nevers, France went on to average over 43 yards per punt, while racking up a total of 518 yards therein.
The highlight of his busy day, however, came with a well-placed punt earlier in the fourth quarter that helped spark his team’s dramatic comeback. Having just gone down by 19 points and punting back to the Hawks, Legendre placed a punt that one hopped over the Laurier returner and into the end zone before being pounced on by Rashad Spooner for the Gee-Gees first major of the day.
