December 15, 2005
FANTUZ TO REPRESENT CIS AT EAST-WEST SHRINE GAME
OTTAWA (CIS) – Hec Crighton-winning receiver Andy Fantuz, from the University of Western Ontario Mustangs, and defensive end Dan Federkeil, from the University of Calgary Dinos, are the two Canadian Interuniversity Sport football players selected to suit up in the 81st edition of the East-West Shrine Game on January 21, 2006 at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. Fantuz and Federkeil are the 42nd and 43rd CIS representatives since 1985 to be invited to the annual all-star showcase, which features over 80 of the top United States college players.
Every year since 1925, the Shrine Game has been played to benefit children who receive free medical care at 22 Shriners Hospitals for Children throughout the U.S. To date, the game has raised more than $14 million for Shriners Hospitals.
Fantuz, a 21-year-old native of Chatham, Ont. was named the most outstanding player in CIS football this season after leading the nation in touchdown receptions (12) and catches (44), and finishing second in receiving yards (825). The social sciences student, who led the Mustangs to their first OUA Yates Cup appearance since 1998, holds the CIS career receiving records with 41 majors, 189 catches, and 4,123 yards. He has been named to the first all-Canadian team in 2002, 2004 and 2005, and to the second squad in 2003, and was the CIS rookie of the year in 2002.
Fantuz becomes only the third CIS receiver invited to the East-West Shrine Game following wideout Don Blair (1996), a former CFL all-star who claimed the Hec Crighton Trophy with Calgary in 1995, and inside receiver Jason Clermont (2002), a former University of Regina all-star and current B.C. Lion. Fantuz is only the second Mustang invited to the college classic following offensive lineman Pierre Vercheval (1988), the J.P. Metras Trophy recipient as CIS’ top down lineman in 1987, who went on to claim the same honor in the CFL.
“On the strength of his numbers alone Andy is the best Canadian university receiver there’s been, the best there is, and perhaps, the best there ever will be,” Western head coach Larry Haylor said earlier this month, after Fantuz captured the Hec Crighton Trophy. “He is an amazing, big, athletic receiver with the quickest hands and the sincere belief that a thrown football anywhere near him is his and his alone.”
Fantuz and Federkeil succeed McMaster running back Jesse Lumsden and UBC defensive tackle Nick Johansson as the CIS representatives for the East-West Shrine Game. Lumsden, the CIS player of the year in 2004 and now a member of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, led the East team in rushing in the 2005 Shrine Game with 41 yards on only five carries, earning one vote for the game’s outstanding offensive player.
(Source: Michel Bélanger, CIS Communications Manager)
Every year since 1925, the Shrine Game has been played to benefit children who receive free medical care at 22 Shriners Hospitals for Children throughout the U.S. To date, the game has raised more than $14 million for Shriners Hospitals.
Fantuz, a 21-year-old native of Chatham, Ont. was named the most outstanding player in CIS football this season after leading the nation in touchdown receptions (12) and catches (44), and finishing second in receiving yards (825). The social sciences student, who led the Mustangs to their first OUA Yates Cup appearance since 1998, holds the CIS career receiving records with 41 majors, 189 catches, and 4,123 yards. He has been named to the first all-Canadian team in 2002, 2004 and 2005, and to the second squad in 2003, and was the CIS rookie of the year in 2002.
Fantuz becomes only the third CIS receiver invited to the East-West Shrine Game following wideout Don Blair (1996), a former CFL all-star who claimed the Hec Crighton Trophy with Calgary in 1995, and inside receiver Jason Clermont (2002), a former University of Regina all-star and current B.C. Lion. Fantuz is only the second Mustang invited to the college classic following offensive lineman Pierre Vercheval (1988), the J.P. Metras Trophy recipient as CIS’ top down lineman in 1987, who went on to claim the same honor in the CFL.
“On the strength of his numbers alone Andy is the best Canadian university receiver there’s been, the best there is, and perhaps, the best there ever will be,” Western head coach Larry Haylor said earlier this month, after Fantuz captured the Hec Crighton Trophy. “He is an amazing, big, athletic receiver with the quickest hands and the sincere belief that a thrown football anywhere near him is his and his alone.”
Fantuz and Federkeil succeed McMaster running back Jesse Lumsden and UBC defensive tackle Nick Johansson as the CIS representatives for the East-West Shrine Game. Lumsden, the CIS player of the year in 2004 and now a member of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, led the East team in rushing in the 2005 Shrine Game with 41 yards on only five carries, earning one vote for the game’s outstanding offensive player.
(Source: Michel Bélanger, CIS Communications Manager)
