November 10, 2005
FANTUZ NAMED MVP AS OUA HANDS OUT MAJOR FOOTBALL AWARDS
HAMILTON – Western Mustangs wide receiver Andy Fantuz was named the Most Valuable Player as Ontario University Athletics handed outs its major football awards for the 2005 season at the Canadian Football Hall of Fame. Fantuz, a fourth-year Chatham, ON native, broke his third major Canadian Interuniversity Sport receiving record this season and will represent the OUA as the Hec Crighton nominee at the CIS Awards Gala on December 1, 2005.
Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks head coach Gary Jeffries has done nothing but win football games since taking over the program three years ago, and after leading his team to its second straight undefeated regular season, Jeffries was again named OUA Coach of the Year. This marked the third consecutive year that Jeffries has won the award, a first in OUA history.
Danny Brannagan of the Queen’s Golden Gaels was awarded the Norm Marshall Trophy as the OUA Rookie of the Year. The talented quarterback saw some time in Queen’s first game of the year and started the remaining seven of the season, almost leading the surprising Golden Gaels to a playoff spot.
McMaster Marauders linebacker Jason Pottinger was back in familiar territory, winning his second consecutive Standup Defensive Player of the Year award. Pottinger led the Marauders defense with 31 solo tackles and 14 assisted tackles.
McMaster was the only team with two major winners as offensive guard Kyle Koch took home the OUA Lineman of the Year award. Koch enjoyed his second consecutive all-star season and established himself as one of the premier linemen in the nation.
Naim El-Far of the Ottawa Gee-Gees is this year’s Russ Jackson Award nominee from the OUA as the player who best exemplifies the attributes of academic achievement, football skill and citizenship. El-Far recently completed his first year of PhD studies in Computer Science.
MOST VALUABLE PLAYER
Andy Fantuz – Western
Chatham, ON
4th year, Social Science
Fantuz has proven to be the most lethal threat at his position in Canadian Interuniversity Sport football and if numbers are a true indicator, the fourth-year star will go down as the greatest wide receiver in university history. Fantuz has used his great size and skill to rewrite the record books, having established the career CIS marks in receiving yards, touchdowns and most recently, receptions. On October 22, 2005, in a 50-29 win over Queen’s, Fantuz made five catches to give him 189 on his career, eclipsing the previous CIS record of 186 set by Laurier’s Stefan Ptaszek.
“He is the best at the ball I've ever seen,” Western head coach Larry Haylor said earlier this season. “The absolute best possession receiver ever. He gets doubled constantly, impeded, fouled, and yet he puts up huge numbers each game.”
Fantuz led the CIS with 12 touchdown receptions this season. He was named both the named both CIS Offensive Football Player of the Week and CIS Defensive Football Player of the Week this season, the latter honour coming after a three-interception performance against Ottawa when he was needed in the secondary. He also became the first CIS athlete to ever have been honoured with his own Bobblehead and is expected to be the first pick in the 2006 Canadian Football League draft.
COACH OF THE YEAR
Gary Jeffries - Laurier
Jeffries has put his stamp on the Laurier Golden Hawks. In his third season as Laurier’s Manager of Football Operations, Jeffries duplicated the accomplishments of his perfect 8-0 2004 squad. The Golden Hawks ran the table during the regular season to finish undefeated for the second consecutive year and after a 43-21 semi-final win over the McMaster Marauders, they now have a shot at defending the Yates Cup.
Jeffries’s third-ranked Laurier squad is one of the most balanced in the nation, with 330 points scored through the regular season (second in the OUA) and a league-low 114 points allowed. The Hawks have an abundance of talent and experience but Jeffries has been able to instill a confidence in the team that has enabled them to reach a new level. Since losing the 2003 Yates Cup to McMaster, Laurier has won 19 consecutive games in the OUA. Their win in the 2004 championship was the first for Laurier since 1991.
Jeffries ties to the university go back decades. He attended Laurier in the early 1970s, where he played football and developed into an OUAA all-star defensive back. Jeffries joined the football coaching staff in 1973 and throughout the 1980s, he also periodically coached the men and women’s basketball teams. Saturday’s game will mark the 17th Yates Cup that Jeffries has coached in. This is his third consecutive Coach of the Year award.
NORM MARSHALL TROPHY
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
Danny Brannagan – Queen’s
Burlington, ON
1st year, School of Business
Brannagan didn’t take very long to get accustomed to OUA football. In just his second game of action this season, the Burlington native racked up 341 yards and two touchdown passes in a 40-7 win over the York Lions, cementing himself as Golden Gaels’ starter. Brannagan would go on to complete 115 of 209 attempts for 1,860 yards and 12 touchdown passes. The 1,860 yards marked the second-highest passing total in the OUA and fourth overall in the CIS.
Brannagan demonstrated tremendous poise for a rookie, a quality he was known for prior to joining Queen’s. He has won at every level, including a gold medal at the Global U19 Championship in Jacksonville, Florida last winter when he led Team Canada to an upset win over Team USA.
PRESIDENT’S TROPHY
STANDUP DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Jason Pottinger – McMaster
Whitby, ON
4th year, Economics
Pottinger has evolved into one of the most dominating defensive players in the nation and he was rewarded for his ferocious play with a second consecutive OUA Standup Defensive Player of the Year award. Pottinger gave the Marauders incredible consistency at the linebacker position, tallying a team-best 31 solo tackles and 14 assisted tackles for a unit depleted by injuries for much of the year.
Last year’s Presidents' Trophy winner is an all-round defender, showcasing a combination of excellent coverage skills and an ability to play the run and pass defense. The fourth-year Whitby, ON native is a true warrior, who loves to be in the big games and play his best against tough opponents.
J.P. METRAS AWARD
LINEMAN OF THE YEAR
Kyle Koch – McMaster
Kewatin, ON
3rd year, Commerce
Koch has been one of the integral components of a dominating McMaster line, helping drive a powerful offence that produced almost 36 points per game this season. The third-year lineman made his second straight all-star appearance after becoming a mainstay on a Marauders team impacted by injuries. Koch’s ability to open holes was crucial to McMaster’s success on the ground, with the Marauders producing another 1,000-yard rusher. The Kewatin native has exceptional athletic ability for a man of his size and is consistently able to track defenders downfield. In pass protection, he has an innate ability to recognize defenses and will regularly block more than one defender on a play.
Koch becomes the first Marauder to win the Lineman of the Year since Ron Southwick in 1974.
RUSS JACKSON AWARD NOMINEE
Naim El-Far
Amman, Jordan
4th year, Computer Science
El-Far’s contributions to the Ottawa Gee-Gees football program extend far beyond the field. The guard has played in every Ottawa game since moving to the O-line in the spring of 2003 and is a crucial piece of an offense that was dynamic throughout 2005.
The PhD candidate is in his third year with the gee-Gees. He is the volunteer Webmaster for the team’s website, having begun the site immediately after joining the program, and also mentors teammates, assisiting them with assignments, time management and test preparation. El-Far is a regular volunteer at Ottawa’s Shepherd’s of Good Hope Shelter and a member of Athletes in Action, a Christian fellowship for athletes around the world.
El-Far is equally committed to his studies. The 2004/05 Academic All-Canadian had a cumulative 10.0 grade point average – on a 10-point scale – in his PhD courses. He is working in the cutting edge area of haptics (computer touch) with one of the most prominent labs in the field. El-Far did not take up football until the age of 21 but tried out for the University of Arkansas and made the scout team as a defensive lineman. He traveled with the team to the 2002 Cotton Bowl.
(Photo: Western Mustangs receiver Andy Fantuz is presented with the MVP award by OUA President David Dubois)
Enquires can be addressed to:
David DiCenzo
Communications and Media Relations Coordinator
Ontario University Athletics
Phone: 905-540-5156
Fax: 905-540-5149
Email: david.dicenzo@oua.ca
Web: www.oua.ca
Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks head coach Gary Jeffries has done nothing but win football games since taking over the program three years ago, and after leading his team to its second straight undefeated regular season, Jeffries was again named OUA Coach of the Year. This marked the third consecutive year that Jeffries has won the award, a first in OUA history.
Danny Brannagan of the Queen’s Golden Gaels was awarded the Norm Marshall Trophy as the OUA Rookie of the Year. The talented quarterback saw some time in Queen’s first game of the year and started the remaining seven of the season, almost leading the surprising Golden Gaels to a playoff spot.
McMaster Marauders linebacker Jason Pottinger was back in familiar territory, winning his second consecutive Standup Defensive Player of the Year award. Pottinger led the Marauders defense with 31 solo tackles and 14 assisted tackles.
McMaster was the only team with two major winners as offensive guard Kyle Koch took home the OUA Lineman of the Year award. Koch enjoyed his second consecutive all-star season and established himself as one of the premier linemen in the nation.
Naim El-Far of the Ottawa Gee-Gees is this year’s Russ Jackson Award nominee from the OUA as the player who best exemplifies the attributes of academic achievement, football skill and citizenship. El-Far recently completed his first year of PhD studies in Computer Science.
MOST VALUABLE PLAYER
Andy Fantuz – Western
Chatham, ON
4th year, Social Science
Fantuz has proven to be the most lethal threat at his position in Canadian Interuniversity Sport football and if numbers are a true indicator, the fourth-year star will go down as the greatest wide receiver in university history. Fantuz has used his great size and skill to rewrite the record books, having established the career CIS marks in receiving yards, touchdowns and most recently, receptions. On October 22, 2005, in a 50-29 win over Queen’s, Fantuz made five catches to give him 189 on his career, eclipsing the previous CIS record of 186 set by Laurier’s Stefan Ptaszek.
“He is the best at the ball I've ever seen,” Western head coach Larry Haylor said earlier this season. “The absolute best possession receiver ever. He gets doubled constantly, impeded, fouled, and yet he puts up huge numbers each game.”
Fantuz led the CIS with 12 touchdown receptions this season. He was named both the named both CIS Offensive Football Player of the Week and CIS Defensive Football Player of the Week this season, the latter honour coming after a three-interception performance against Ottawa when he was needed in the secondary. He also became the first CIS athlete to ever have been honoured with his own Bobblehead and is expected to be the first pick in the 2006 Canadian Football League draft.
COACH OF THE YEAR
Gary Jeffries - Laurier
Jeffries has put his stamp on the Laurier Golden Hawks. In his third season as Laurier’s Manager of Football Operations, Jeffries duplicated the accomplishments of his perfect 8-0 2004 squad. The Golden Hawks ran the table during the regular season to finish undefeated for the second consecutive year and after a 43-21 semi-final win over the McMaster Marauders, they now have a shot at defending the Yates Cup.
Jeffries’s third-ranked Laurier squad is one of the most balanced in the nation, with 330 points scored through the regular season (second in the OUA) and a league-low 114 points allowed. The Hawks have an abundance of talent and experience but Jeffries has been able to instill a confidence in the team that has enabled them to reach a new level. Since losing the 2003 Yates Cup to McMaster, Laurier has won 19 consecutive games in the OUA. Their win in the 2004 championship was the first for Laurier since 1991.
Jeffries ties to the university go back decades. He attended Laurier in the early 1970s, where he played football and developed into an OUAA all-star defensive back. Jeffries joined the football coaching staff in 1973 and throughout the 1980s, he also periodically coached the men and women’s basketball teams. Saturday’s game will mark the 17th Yates Cup that Jeffries has coached in. This is his third consecutive Coach of the Year award.
NORM MARSHALL TROPHY
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
Danny Brannagan – Queen’s
Burlington, ON
1st year, School of Business
Brannagan didn’t take very long to get accustomed to OUA football. In just his second game of action this season, the Burlington native racked up 341 yards and two touchdown passes in a 40-7 win over the York Lions, cementing himself as Golden Gaels’ starter. Brannagan would go on to complete 115 of 209 attempts for 1,860 yards and 12 touchdown passes. The 1,860 yards marked the second-highest passing total in the OUA and fourth overall in the CIS.
Brannagan demonstrated tremendous poise for a rookie, a quality he was known for prior to joining Queen’s. He has won at every level, including a gold medal at the Global U19 Championship in Jacksonville, Florida last winter when he led Team Canada to an upset win over Team USA.
PRESIDENT’S TROPHY
STANDUP DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Jason Pottinger – McMaster
Whitby, ON
4th year, Economics
Pottinger has evolved into one of the most dominating defensive players in the nation and he was rewarded for his ferocious play with a second consecutive OUA Standup Defensive Player of the Year award. Pottinger gave the Marauders incredible consistency at the linebacker position, tallying a team-best 31 solo tackles and 14 assisted tackles for a unit depleted by injuries for much of the year.
Last year’s Presidents' Trophy winner is an all-round defender, showcasing a combination of excellent coverage skills and an ability to play the run and pass defense. The fourth-year Whitby, ON native is a true warrior, who loves to be in the big games and play his best against tough opponents.
J.P. METRAS AWARD
LINEMAN OF THE YEAR
Kyle Koch – McMaster
Kewatin, ON
3rd year, Commerce
Koch has been one of the integral components of a dominating McMaster line, helping drive a powerful offence that produced almost 36 points per game this season. The third-year lineman made his second straight all-star appearance after becoming a mainstay on a Marauders team impacted by injuries. Koch’s ability to open holes was crucial to McMaster’s success on the ground, with the Marauders producing another 1,000-yard rusher. The Kewatin native has exceptional athletic ability for a man of his size and is consistently able to track defenders downfield. In pass protection, he has an innate ability to recognize defenses and will regularly block more than one defender on a play.
Koch becomes the first Marauder to win the Lineman of the Year since Ron Southwick in 1974.
RUSS JACKSON AWARD NOMINEE
Naim El-Far
Amman, Jordan
4th year, Computer Science
El-Far’s contributions to the Ottawa Gee-Gees football program extend far beyond the field. The guard has played in every Ottawa game since moving to the O-line in the spring of 2003 and is a crucial piece of an offense that was dynamic throughout 2005.
The PhD candidate is in his third year with the gee-Gees. He is the volunteer Webmaster for the team’s website, having begun the site immediately after joining the program, and also mentors teammates, assisiting them with assignments, time management and test preparation. El-Far is a regular volunteer at Ottawa’s Shepherd’s of Good Hope Shelter and a member of Athletes in Action, a Christian fellowship for athletes around the world.
El-Far is equally committed to his studies. The 2004/05 Academic All-Canadian had a cumulative 10.0 grade point average – on a 10-point scale – in his PhD courses. He is working in the cutting edge area of haptics (computer touch) with one of the most prominent labs in the field. El-Far did not take up football until the age of 21 but tried out for the University of Arkansas and made the scout team as a defensive lineman. He traveled with the team to the 2002 Cotton Bowl.
(Photo: Western Mustangs receiver Andy Fantuz is presented with the MVP award by OUA President David Dubois)
Enquires can be addressed to:
David DiCenzo
Communications and Media Relations Coordinator
Ontario University Athletics
Phone: 905-540-5156
Fax: 905-540-5149
Email: david.dicenzo@oua.ca
Web: www.oua.ca
