Lefebvre, Hergott, Kubongo named OUA football players of the week

Burlington, Ont. – Tristan Lefebvre, Tyson Hergott, and Daniel Kubongo have been named Canadian Football Perspective’s OUA Players of the Week for Week 9.

Offensive Player of the Week – Tristan Lefebvre, Carleton

With important playoff positioning on the line, Carleton’s Tristan Lefebvre stepped up with some late-game heroics once again to lead his Ravens to the thrilling Week 9 win.

In what proved to be a second straight come-from-behind effort from the black birds, the team’s third-year pivot was instrumental in the offensive attack, much like he has been all season. Needing a win to clinch the No. 6 seed, Lefebvre orchestrated massive drives on back-to-back possessions for the win. His final drive, a three-play, 101-yard march down the field, saw him complete passes of 42 yards and a game-long 50 yards to tally the go-ahead touchdown with 12 seconds left.

The communications and media studies major finished the day going 17-for-31 through the air for 221 yards, and a pair of touchdowns. He would also set a new Ravens single-season completion record to cap off his impressive regular season.

Defensive Player of the Week – Tyson Hergott, Waterloo

Needing a win to help with their postseason hopes, Waterloo turned to their anchor on the defensive side of the ball – Tyson Hergott – to help turn the tides in their favour and ultimately help secure the Warriors playoff berth.

Waterloo’s defence was once again led by the third-year science major from Waterloo, Ont. His presence proved pivotal much like it has throughout the Warriors’ 2023 campaign, especially when the team was orchestrating their comeback in the second half. In fact, it was on the ensuing drive for the Blues after Waterloo took the lead that Hergott produced his biggest play of the day, sacking Toronto quarterback Scott Barnett. He would also stop the opposition’s run game for no gain on a play late in that drive and all but bring the Blues efforts to a halt.

Hergott finished the day with 4.5 tackles (four solo) to go along with two tackles for loss, while also registering his 11th sack of the season (2nd in OUA ranks).

Special Teams Player of the Week – Daniel Kubongo, Western

It was the most hyped game of the Week 9 slate, with the winner between the Western Mustangs and Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks taking top spot in the conference. And as part of the thrilling regular season finale, Western’s Daniel Kubongo made his mark on special teams.

Kubongo, a rookie from Calgary, Alta., added to his already impressive debut season in what was the team’s biggest game of the year, wreaking havoc in the return game all afternoon. Hauling in four kick and punt returns, respectively, the economics major was a threat each time he had the ball in his hands. He took his four kickoffs back for 73 yards, for an average of over 18 per return, while more than doubling that in the return game, averaging 36.8 yards for 147 total.

His most impactful of those returns, however, came with his team building their first half lead. Already up by 17, Kubongo ran back a punt 68 yards to the end zone for his second punt return major of the year, putting up valuable points in what proved to be a 33-30 Western win.