Keenan, Peter, MacDonald named OUA football players of the week

Burlington, Ont. – James Keenan, James Peter, and Ben MacDonald have been named Canadian Football Perspective's OUA Players of the Week for Week 4.

Offensive Player of the Week – James Keenan, Queen's



Efficiency and productivity were at the forefront of James Keenan's play against the Carleton Ravens, as the Queen's pivot produced a potent performance for the victorious Gaels.

It didn't take long for Keenan and the Gaels to find the end zone, as the fifth-year quarterback connected with Nicodeme Kwemo for the 42-yard major on just the second offensive play of the game. After turning to the run game for their next score, Keenan went back to the aerial attack, finding Nathan Falconi from 24 yards out to wrap up the first quarter scoring.

Less than two minutes into the second quarter, meanwhile, the history major from Ottawa, Ont. would unleash his longest completion of the day (53 yards) to Aidan O'Neal to cap off the three-play, two-minute drive with his third passing touchdown of the game. Keenan's fourth and final touchdown came in the dying seconds of the half in the form of a five-yard connection for Kwemo's second score.

In addition to those four touchdowns, Keenan would rack up 364 yards through the air on a sizzling 86.3 completion percentage (19-for-22) as part of the Gaels' 49-17 win.

Defensive Player of the Week – James Peter, Ottawa



Fourth-year linebacker James Peter continued his stellar 2022 season on Saturday in Ottawa's dominant 46-10 win over Guelph.

Peter, a fourth-year linebacker majoring in human kinetics, racked up an eye-popping six solo tackles and eight assisted efforts for his second game of the year with a double-digit tackle total. Not only was the Ottawa, Ont. native an active and ongoing nuisance for the Gryphons offence throughout the game, he also made his presence felt in the Guelph backfield by adding a tackle-for-loss. The dynamic defensive performance helped anchor the Gee-Gees impressive overall outing, limiting their 10th-ranked foes to under 300 yards and just 10 points in the game.

With another stat-stuffing effort in tow, Peter leads the OUA, and the nation, in solo tackles (28), total tackles (36.0), and tackles per game (9.0).

Special Teams Player of the Week – Ben MacDonald, McMaster



Ben MacDonald scored early and often for McMaster in their lopsided win over Waterloo on Saturday, kicking his way to a season high in field goals made and his second special teams honour of the season.

The first-year kicker put the game's initial points on the board via a 36-yard field goal just past the four-minute mark. He would follow that up with a 30-yard make with just over a minute remaining in the opening frame, before making his third, a 24-yard connection, in the final minute of the half. The health and society major from Kamloops, B.C. would wrap up his quartet of field goals with a chip shot from 12-yards out in the third quarter to put the game all but out of reach for the maroon machine.

MacDonald, who wrapped up the game with 17 points, also chipped in with a rouge, and in pulling double duty as the team's punter, recorded five punts for 184 yards, including a long of 49.