SMITH NABS CIS OFFENSIVE HONOURS

OTTAWA (CIS) - Queen's wide receiver Brad Smith, Calgary cornerback Drew Carpenter and Acadia return specialist Najja Coley are the CIS football players of the week for the period ending Sept. 10, 2006.

Smith, a fourth-year arts and science major from Hudson, Que. tied an Ontario conference single-game record with four touchdown receptions as the Golden Gaels improved to 2-0 on the season with a 31-10 win over the Guelph Gryphons on Saturday. The 6-foot-1, 188-pound wide out, who finished the day with a personal-best 11 catches for 187 yards, hauled 41-, 30-, 27- and 24-yard passing majors from reigning OUA rookie of the year, quarterback Danny Brannagan.

Two players share the CIS single-game record of five touchdown receptions. Sylvain Girard of Concordia was the first to accomplish the feat on Oct. 3, 1998 against Laval. Brendan Mahoney of Simon Fraser tied the mark on Nov. 1, 2003 in a playoff game versus Regina.

Quarterbacks Chris Judd of Acadia and John Mackie of Manitoba, as well as Bishop's running back Jamall Lee were also up for the offensive honor.

Carpenter, a fourth-year kinesiology major from Calgary claimed the award on defence for tying a team single-game record with three interceptions in a close 17-15 Dinos loss to the No. 10 Alberta Golden Bears. The 5-foot-11, 165-pound corner, who came one short of tying the Canada West and CIS single-game marks, tied a conference record for most picks in a half, as all his interceptions came in the first 30 minutes of play.

Linebackers Geoff Courneya of StFX, Mathieu Parent of Laval and John Celestino Jr. of Windsor were also nominated on the defensive side of the ball.

Coley, a freshman from Mississauga, Ont. captured the special teams honor after he returned his first career punt on 85 yards for a touchdown just six minutes into the Axemen season opener, a 34-9 win over Mount Allison. The 5-foot-9, 166-pound cornerback finished with 135 all-purpose yards in his CIS debut, including 109 yards on seven punt returns.

Kickers Warren Kean of Concordia and Chris Mamo of Laurier, as well as punt returner Kendall Jeske of Alberta were also considered.

Offensive nominees:
AUS: Chris Judd, quarterback, Acadia
QUFL: Jamall Lee, running back, Bishop's
OUA: Brad Smith, wide receiver, Queen's (recipient)
Canada West: John Mackie, quarterback, Manitoba

Defensive nominees:
AUS: Geoff Courneya, linebacker, StFX
QUFL: Mathieu Parent, linebacker, Laval
OUA: John Celestino Jr., linebacker, Windsor
Canada West: Drew Carpenter, cornerback, Calgary (recipient)

Special team nominees:
AUS: Najja Coley, punt returner, Acadia (recipient)
QUFL: Warren Kean, kicker, Concordia
OUA: Chris Mamo, kicker, Laurier
Canada West: Kendall Jeske, punt returner, Alberta

CIS FOOTBALL WEEK 3 SCHEDULE (all times LOCAL)

Friday, Sept. 15
7 p.m. Acadia at Saint Mary's

Saturday, Sept. 16
1 p.m. Waterloo at Toronto
1 p.m. Laval at McGill
1 p.m. Concordia at Montreal
1 p.m. UBC at Alberta
1 p.m. Calgary at Manitoba
2 p.m. Windsor at Queen's, The Score
2 p.m. Laurier at York
2 p.m. StFX at Mount Allison, EastLink
7 p.m. Guelph at Western
7 p.m. McMaster at Ottawa, Rogers (8 p.m.)
7 p.m. Bishop's at Sherbrooke, RDS
7 p.m. Saskatchewan at Simon Fraser

-CIS-

(Source: Michel Bélanger, CIS Communications Manager)