September 11, 2009
QUEEN'S QB BRANNAGAN LEADS RECORDS CHASE
OTTAWA - Once the 2009 CIS football season is in the books, a quartet of fifth-year seniors could find themselves at or near the top of many quarterback categories.
Former McGill quarterback Matt Connell broke one of the most prestigious CIS records a year ago when he became the first player in history to pass for 10,000 career yards, but his mark could be short lived thanks to a pack of all-star pivots, who are quickly moving up the national all-time leaders list.
Leading the way is Queen's Dan Brannagan (pictured), who opened the campaign last Monday with a 495-yard, three-touchdown performance as the No. 7-ranked Gaels edged Guelph 52-49. The native of Burlington, Ont., currently sits in eighth place on the CIS career list with 8,629 yards through the air, 1,826 short of Connell's record of 10,455.
Brannagan, a second-team all-Canadian a year ago when he ranked third in CIS passing with 2,407 yards, has averaged 283 yards per game over the last two seasons. He needs to maintain a 261-yard average over his final seven outings to overtake Connell.
Barring a sub-par performance on Saturday against McMaster (1-0), Brannagan should move up three more spots among all-time leaders ahead of Western's Chris Hessel (8,637), Acadia's Larry Jusdanis (8,766) and Darryl Leason (8,800), who played at Calgary and Regina.
Current Guelph play-caller Justin Dunk of Guelph, Ont., and Western's Michael Faulds of Eden Mills, Ont., should also complete their careers near the top of the passing leaders. Dunk and Faulds both reached the 8,000-yard plateau last week and are currently 14th and 15th on the CIS all-time list with 8,100 and 8,071 yards, respectively.
Laval's Benoit Groulx, the reigning Hec Crighton trophy winner from Montreal, is a distant 20th on the list with 7,305 passing yards but should also finish his playing days in the national Top 10.
Brannagan, who led the nation last fall with 24 touchdown passes - tying former Queen's great Tommy Denison for the fifth best single-season output in CIS history - is also the CIS active leader for career TD strikes with 65, which puts him in a tie for fifth place with Laurier's Bill Kubas.
The CIS record of 87 belongs to three-time Hec Crighton winner Chris Flynn of Saint Mary's. Others ahead of Brannagan include Ottawa's Josh Sacobie (79), Regina's Teale Orban (76) and Bill Robinson Sr. (73), who played at both Saint Mary's and Western.
Dunk is second among active leaders with 54, followed by Groulx (52) and Faulds (48).
On Saturday, Brannagan and Faulds could become the 10th and 11th players in CIS history to attempt 900 passes over their careers. Brannagan enters the weekend at 981, Faulds has 969, while Dunk is not far behind at 939. Connell holds the CIS mark with an astounding 1,364 attempts over five seasons.
Finally, while no member of the “Fab Four” is likely to approach Connell's career record of 816 completions, Faulds is currently ranked seventh in CIS history with 579, followed by Groulx (12th, 531), Brannagan (14th, 525) and Dunk (15th, 511).
Apart from quarterbacks, one player to keep an eye on in 2009 is fourth-year McGill wide receiver Charles-Antoine Sinotte of Trois-Rivières, Que.
Sinotte, who set a CIS single-season record with 72 catches back in 2007, enters the weekend in 13th place on the career list with 153 receptions, 41 behind former Redmen teammate Erik Galas (194), who established the new national standard last fall. Despite missing two games due to injuries a year ago, Sinotte finished third in the country hauling in 50 balls.
Following are the CIS career leaders in major passing categories, as well as receptions.
CIS CAREER LEADERS (regular season only)
Passing yards
1. 10455 Matt Connell, McGill 2003-08 **
2. 9974 Ben Chapdelaine, McMaster 1997-01
3. 9885 Josh Sacobie, Ottawa 2004-08
4. 9449 Teale Orban, Regina 2004-08
5. 8800 Darryl Leason, Calgary - Regina 1996-98 / 2000-01
6. 8766 Larry Jusdanis, Acadia 1991-95
7. 8637 Chris Hessel, Western 1998 / 2001-04
8. 8629 Dan Brannagan, Queen's 2005-present
14. 8100 Justin Dunk, Guelph 2005-present
15. 8071 Michael Faulds, Western 2005-present
20. 7305 Benoit Groulx, Laval 2005-present
** Connell only dressed for 1 game in 2003 (3-3, 42 yds, 0 TD, 0 INT) which did not count towards his eligibility, as per CIS regulations.
Touchdown passes
1. 87 Chris Flynn, Saint Mary's 1987-90
2. 79 Josh Sacobie, Ottawa 2004-08
3. 76 Teale Orban, Regina 2004-08
4. 73 Bill Robinson Sr., St. Mary's - Western 1970-73 / 1974
T5. 65 Bill Kubas, Laurier 1990-94
T5. 65 Dan Brannagan, Queen's 2005-present
20. 54 Justin Dunk, Guelph 2005-present
23. 52 Benoit Groulx, Laval 2005-present
25. 48 Michael Faulds, Western 2005-present
Passing attempts
1. 1364 Matt Connell, McGill 2003-08
2. 1200 Greg Vavra, Calgary 1979-83
3. 1198 Teale Orban, Regina 2004-08
4. 1111 Josh Sacobie, Ottawa 2004-08
5. 1107 Ben Chapdelaine, McMaster 1997-01
11. 981 Dan Brannagan, Queen's 2005-present
12. 969 Michael Faulds, Western 2005-present
15. 939 Justin Dunk, Guelph 2005-present
Passing completions
1. 816 Matt Connell, McGill 2003-08
2. 685 Teale Orban, Regina 2004-08
3. 637 Josh Sacobie, Ottawa 2004-08
4. 611 Greg Vavra, Calgary 1979-83
5. 609 Ben Chapdelaine, McMaster 1997-01
7. 579 Michael Faulds, Western 2005-present
12. 531 Benoit Groulx, Laval 2005-present
14. 525 Dan Brannagan, Queen's 2005-present
15. 511 Justin Dunk, Guelph 2005-present
Receptions
1. 194 Erik Galas, McGill 2004-08
2. 189 Andy Fantuz, Western 2002-05
3. 186 Stefan Ptaszek, Laurier 1990-94
4. 185 Chris Evraire, Ottawa 1994-98
5. 178 Arjei Franklin, Windsor 2001-05
T13. 153 Charles-Antoine Sinotte, McGill 2006-present
About Canadian Interuniversity Sport
Canadian Interuniversity Sport is the national governing body of university sport in Canada. Fifty-two universities, 10,000 student-athletes and 550 coaches vie for 21 national championships in 12 different sports. CIS also provides high performance international opportunities for Canadian student-athletes at Winter and Summer Universiades, as well as numerous world university championships. For further information, visit www.universitysport.ca.
Source: CIS Communications
Former McGill quarterback Matt Connell broke one of the most prestigious CIS records a year ago when he became the first player in history to pass for 10,000 career yards, but his mark could be short lived thanks to a pack of all-star pivots, who are quickly moving up the national all-time leaders list.
Leading the way is Queen's Dan Brannagan (pictured), who opened the campaign last Monday with a 495-yard, three-touchdown performance as the No. 7-ranked Gaels edged Guelph 52-49. The native of Burlington, Ont., currently sits in eighth place on the CIS career list with 8,629 yards through the air, 1,826 short of Connell's record of 10,455.
Brannagan, a second-team all-Canadian a year ago when he ranked third in CIS passing with 2,407 yards, has averaged 283 yards per game over the last two seasons. He needs to maintain a 261-yard average over his final seven outings to overtake Connell.
Barring a sub-par performance on Saturday against McMaster (1-0), Brannagan should move up three more spots among all-time leaders ahead of Western's Chris Hessel (8,637), Acadia's Larry Jusdanis (8,766) and Darryl Leason (8,800), who played at Calgary and Regina.
Current Guelph play-caller Justin Dunk of Guelph, Ont., and Western's Michael Faulds of Eden Mills, Ont., should also complete their careers near the top of the passing leaders. Dunk and Faulds both reached the 8,000-yard plateau last week and are currently 14th and 15th on the CIS all-time list with 8,100 and 8,071 yards, respectively.
Laval's Benoit Groulx, the reigning Hec Crighton trophy winner from Montreal, is a distant 20th on the list with 7,305 passing yards but should also finish his playing days in the national Top 10.
Brannagan, who led the nation last fall with 24 touchdown passes - tying former Queen's great Tommy Denison for the fifth best single-season output in CIS history - is also the CIS active leader for career TD strikes with 65, which puts him in a tie for fifth place with Laurier's Bill Kubas.
The CIS record of 87 belongs to three-time Hec Crighton winner Chris Flynn of Saint Mary's. Others ahead of Brannagan include Ottawa's Josh Sacobie (79), Regina's Teale Orban (76) and Bill Robinson Sr. (73), who played at both Saint Mary's and Western.
Dunk is second among active leaders with 54, followed by Groulx (52) and Faulds (48).
On Saturday, Brannagan and Faulds could become the 10th and 11th players in CIS history to attempt 900 passes over their careers. Brannagan enters the weekend at 981, Faulds has 969, while Dunk is not far behind at 939. Connell holds the CIS mark with an astounding 1,364 attempts over five seasons.
Finally, while no member of the “Fab Four” is likely to approach Connell's career record of 816 completions, Faulds is currently ranked seventh in CIS history with 579, followed by Groulx (12th, 531), Brannagan (14th, 525) and Dunk (15th, 511).
Apart from quarterbacks, one player to keep an eye on in 2009 is fourth-year McGill wide receiver Charles-Antoine Sinotte of Trois-Rivières, Que.
Sinotte, who set a CIS single-season record with 72 catches back in 2007, enters the weekend in 13th place on the career list with 153 receptions, 41 behind former Redmen teammate Erik Galas (194), who established the new national standard last fall. Despite missing two games due to injuries a year ago, Sinotte finished third in the country hauling in 50 balls.
Following are the CIS career leaders in major passing categories, as well as receptions.
CIS CAREER LEADERS (regular season only)
Passing yards
1. 10455 Matt Connell, McGill 2003-08 **
2. 9974 Ben Chapdelaine, McMaster 1997-01
3. 9885 Josh Sacobie, Ottawa 2004-08
4. 9449 Teale Orban, Regina 2004-08
5. 8800 Darryl Leason, Calgary - Regina 1996-98 / 2000-01
6. 8766 Larry Jusdanis, Acadia 1991-95
7. 8637 Chris Hessel, Western 1998 / 2001-04
8. 8629 Dan Brannagan, Queen's 2005-present
14. 8100 Justin Dunk, Guelph 2005-present
15. 8071 Michael Faulds, Western 2005-present
20. 7305 Benoit Groulx, Laval 2005-present
** Connell only dressed for 1 game in 2003 (3-3, 42 yds, 0 TD, 0 INT) which did not count towards his eligibility, as per CIS regulations.
Touchdown passes
1. 87 Chris Flynn, Saint Mary's 1987-90
2. 79 Josh Sacobie, Ottawa 2004-08
3. 76 Teale Orban, Regina 2004-08
4. 73 Bill Robinson Sr., St. Mary's - Western 1970-73 / 1974
T5. 65 Bill Kubas, Laurier 1990-94
T5. 65 Dan Brannagan, Queen's 2005-present
20. 54 Justin Dunk, Guelph 2005-present
23. 52 Benoit Groulx, Laval 2005-present
25. 48 Michael Faulds, Western 2005-present
Passing attempts
1. 1364 Matt Connell, McGill 2003-08
2. 1200 Greg Vavra, Calgary 1979-83
3. 1198 Teale Orban, Regina 2004-08
4. 1111 Josh Sacobie, Ottawa 2004-08
5. 1107 Ben Chapdelaine, McMaster 1997-01
11. 981 Dan Brannagan, Queen's 2005-present
12. 969 Michael Faulds, Western 2005-present
15. 939 Justin Dunk, Guelph 2005-present
Passing completions
1. 816 Matt Connell, McGill 2003-08
2. 685 Teale Orban, Regina 2004-08
3. 637 Josh Sacobie, Ottawa 2004-08
4. 611 Greg Vavra, Calgary 1979-83
5. 609 Ben Chapdelaine, McMaster 1997-01
7. 579 Michael Faulds, Western 2005-present
12. 531 Benoit Groulx, Laval 2005-present
14. 525 Dan Brannagan, Queen's 2005-present
15. 511 Justin Dunk, Guelph 2005-present
Receptions
1. 194 Erik Galas, McGill 2004-08
2. 189 Andy Fantuz, Western 2002-05
3. 186 Stefan Ptaszek, Laurier 1990-94
4. 185 Chris Evraire, Ottawa 1994-98
5. 178 Arjei Franklin, Windsor 2001-05
T13. 153 Charles-Antoine Sinotte, McGill 2006-present
About Canadian Interuniversity Sport
Canadian Interuniversity Sport is the national governing body of university sport in Canada. Fifty-two universities, 10,000 student-athletes and 550 coaches vie for 21 national championships in 12 different sports. CIS also provides high performance international opportunities for Canadian student-athletes at Winter and Summer Universiades, as well as numerous world university championships. For further information, visit www.universitysport.ca.
Source: CIS Communications
