FAULDS MAKES OUA, CIS HISTORY
Faulds, a fifth-year senior from Eden Mills, Ont., actually set two CIS marks in the Mustangs' conference finale and the last regular season game of his career, a 47-0 win over Toronto, as he also established a single-season passing yards record.
Faulds completed 39 of 52 passes for a personal-best 550 yards and two touchdowns against the Varsity Blues, giving him 3,033 yards through the air on the season and 10,811 since his Mustangs debut in 2005.
Two-time Hec Crighton trophy winner Tommy Denison of Queen's held the previous CIS single-season record of 3,001 yards since 2002, while McGill graduate Matt Connell set the old career mark of 10,455 a year ago in his final campaign with the Redmen.
Faulds 550-yard performance ranks fifth on the CIS single-game list and was five yards short of the Mustangs' school record. Former Western great Warren Goldie passed for 555 yards in a playoff game against Toronto on Oct. 29, 1994.
Faulds, whose 39 completions against the Blues are tied for second on the CIS single-game list, also ends up near the top of the CIS career and single-season leader boards for most attempts and completions. He finishes second all-time with 1,241 career attempts, tied for seventh with 310 attempts in a single season, second with 761 career completions, and third with 201 completions in a season.
Coming into the day, Queen's Dan Brannagan of Burlington, Ont., also a fifth-year senior, was the front runner to break the career yards record as he entered the Gaels' conference finale against Laurier – a 25-13 loss - with 10,425 yards, only 30 behind Connell and 164 ahead of Faulds.
Brannagan did hold the new mark for a brief moment Saturday when a 23-yard completion to Scott Valberg late in the second quarter brought his career total to 10,477, but he finished the game with 289 yards on 25-of-45 passing for a total of 10,714.
Brannagan also failed to add to his career touchdown passes total against Laurier and he ends up with 77 since 2005, good for third on the national list behind CIS record holder Chris Flynn of Saint Mary's (87) and OUA record holder Josh Sacobie of Ottawa (79). He also ends up third on the CIS career list with 1,211 attempts and fourth with 667 completions, and his 2580 passing-yard season this fall – despite missing a game due to an injury – ranks ninth all-time.
Also of note in the Queen’s-Laurier match-up, Hawks kick returner Dillon Heap of Waterloo, Ont., added to the CIS mark for most punt return yards in a season he set a week ago. He added 15 yards on two returns to finish the campaign at 842.
Queen's finishes the season with a 7-1 record good for first place in the OUA standings and a bye in the first round of the playoffs. Western finishes third at 6-2 and will host Guelph (3-5) next Saturday in an OUA quarterfinal (The Score, 1 p.m.).
Meanwhile at Montreal, Sinotte, a fourth-year veteran from Trois-Rivières, Que., caught 10 passes for 92 yards and a touchdown in a 30-25 loss to Concordia. He now has 195 receptions on his career, one more than the previous CIS record set a year ago by former McGill teammate Erik Galas, who needed five campaigns to haul in 194 balls.
Sinotte will get a chance to become the first player in history to reach the 200-catch plateau next Saturday when the Redmen (3-4) end the QUFL schedule against top-ranked Laval.
CIS CAREER LEADERS (regular season only)
Passing yards
1. 10811 Michael Faulds, Western 2005-09
2. 10714 Dan Brannagan, Queen's 2005-09
3. 10455 Matt Connell, McGill 2003-08 **
** 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. 77 Dan Brannagan, Queen's 2005-09
Passing attempts
1. 1364 Matt Connell, McGill 2003-08 **
2. 1241 Michael Faulds, Western 2005-09
3. 1211 Dan Brannagan, Queen's 2005-09
Passing completions
1. 816 Matt Connell, McGill 2003-08 **
2. 761 Michael Faulds, Western 2005-09
3. 685 Teale Orban, Regina 2004-08
4. 667 Dan Brannagan, Queen's 2005-09
Receptions
1. 195 Charles-Antoine Sinotte, McGill 2006-09
2. 194 Erik Galas, McGill 2004-08
3. 189 Andy Fantuz, Western 2002-05
CIS SINGLE-SEASON LEADERS (regular season only)
Passing yards
1. 3033 Michael Faulds, Western 2009
2. 3001 Tommy Denison, Queen's 2002
3. 2907 Tommy Denison, Queen's 2003
Passing completions
1. 209 Matt Connell, McGill 2008
2. 203 Tommy Denison, Queen's 2003
3. 201 Michael Faulds, Western 2009
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