OUA announces 2016 Football All-Rookies

BURLINGTON, Ont. – Ontario University Athletics (OUA) is excited to announce those named 2016 OUA Football All-Rookies.

After a trip to the Yates Cup semifinals for a second straight season, three Ravens have been selected to the OUA all-rookie team.

Appearing in all eight games in his first season with the hometown Ravens, halfback Josh Earle (Ottawa, Ont.) finished the year with eight solo tackles and 16 assisted tackles.

Like Earle, linebacker Jack Cassar (Missisauga, Ont.) also appeared in eight games during the regular season, averaging 1.1 tackles per game to go along with a pass breakup.

Ravens running back Nathan Carter (Ottawa, Ont.) had 38 carries for 289 yards in his freshman season and has also been named an OUA all-rookie.  The Ottawa, Ont. native also found the end zone four times during the regular season. 

From the Ravens to the crosstown rival Gee-Gees, football is alive and well in the nation's capital as three uOttawa players have also been named all-rookies

A pair of Gee-Gees offensive lineman have been rewarded for a strong 2016 seasons as Patrick Spelman (Burlington, Ont.) and Piriyanthan Sinnathurai (Saint-Laurent, Que.) have been selected to represent uOttawa.

Defensive lineman Tremayne Clark-Steven (North York, Ont.) is also an all-rookie after he appeared in all eight regular season games for the Gee-Gees, had 11 tackles, including a tackle for a loss and a pass breakup.

A triocolour trio will infuse the all-rookie squad with a dose of blue, red and gold as offensive lineman Josh Mosley (Port Colborne, Ont.), defensive lineman Cam Lawson (Caledon, Ont.) and linebacker Dominic Ciraco (Burlington, Ont.) have been honoured following fantastic freshmen campaigns.

Mosley was a fixture on the offensive line this season for the Gaels, while Lawson appeared in eight games and recorded a pair of tackles.  Ciraco, who also sees time on special teams for Queen's, made his presence felt in all of the Gaels games this season and finished the year with 7.5 tackles.

In his first year with his hometown team, University of Toronto Varsity Blues defensive back Jamal Johnson (Toronto, Ont.) had a pair of interceptions which he returned for 102 yards and a touchdown.

Joing Johnson is U of T defensive lineman Mekhi Henry (Brampton, Ont.) has also earned an all-rookie nod after the former Mississauga Warriors (OVFL) standout had 12.5 tackles, including 2.5 tackles for a loss.

Fullback Conner Lindeman (Scarborough, Ont.) has also been named an OUA all-rookie selection for the Blues. 

Despite a difficult season, the future continues to looks bright for the retooling Waterloo Warriors as three standouts have been selected as OUA all-rookies.

Defensive back Kurtis Gray (Waterloo, Ont.) was a force to be reckoned with all season long, finishing in the top five in several categories, including tackles (60.5) and tackles per game (7.6), while his 4.5 sacks ranked him in the top 10.

Tyler Ternowski (Hamilton, Ont.) was the team's leading receiver in 2016 as the Hamilton, Ont. native had 22 receptions and 390 yards.  He also finished first on the team with four touchdowns in eight games.

Joining Gray and Ternowski as all-rookie selections is offensive lineman Jake Nesbitt (Ottawa, Ont), who is studying rec & leisure at the University of Waterloo.

Western is hosting the 109th Yates Cup at TD Stadium on Saturday for the second time in as many years so it's only fitting that a pair of Mustangs have been named all-rookies.

London native and Mustangs offensive lineman Matthew Bettencourt (London, Ont.) was a major reason for the team's success this season, while linebacker Chris Ellis (Vancouver, BC) recorded 12 tackles to go along with one interception.

For the second straight season, a pair of Gryphons have been named all-rookies as receiver Kian Schaffer-Baker (Mississauga, Ont.) and offensive lineman Coulter Woodmansey (Toronto, Ont.) will represent Guelph.  In eight games for the Gryphons, Schaffer-Baker led the team with 388 receiving yards, while Woodmansey was terrific on the offensive line all season.

York turned some heads this season as the Lions were playoff contenders heading into the final weekend of the regular season. 

Defensive end Rossini Sandjong-Djabome (Longueuil, Que.) was a nightmare for opposing quarterbacks this season as he led the team with five sacks and finished tied for seventh on the Lions with 30 tackles.  

Another Lions player that made an instant impact in his first season was defensive tackle Skye King (Calgary, Alta.) who appeared in every game this season and averaged 2.0 tackles per game.

The Laurier Golden Hawks are back in the Yates Cup for the first time in 10 years thanks in part to their rookie kicker Nathan McLean (Kitchener, Ont.).  McLean, who appeared in seven regular season games, made four of eight field goal attempts while racking up 880 yards on 27 punts.  

Speaking of rookie kickers, no one in the conference had a rookie season quite like McMaster Marauders kicker Adam Preocanin (Burlington, Ont.).  Preocanin, a first-year humanities major, finished first in the conference in both fields goals made (25) and attempts (33), while finishing second with 99 points, just four points back of first place.   

Rounding out the all-rookie selections is Windsor Lancers linebacker Daniel Metcalfe (Kingsville, Ont.).  In his first season, the Kingsville, Ont. native led the team with 44 assisted tackles, while his 57 total tackles ranked him second.

The Norm Marshall Award, presented to the OUA Rookie of the Year, will be presented on Thursday, Nov. 10 at the 109th Yates Cup Press Conference, presented by GameStrat.

2016 OUA ALL-ROOKIES

HB Josh Earle (Ottawa, Ont.) - Carleton
LB Jack Cassar (Missisauga, Ont.) - Carleton
RB Nathan Carter (Ottawa, Ont.) - Carleton
OL Patrick Spelman (Burlington, Ont.) - Ottawa
OL Piriyanthan Sinnathurai (Saint-Laurent, Que.) - Ottawa
DL Tremayne Clark-Steven - Ottawa
OL Josh Mosley (Port Colborne, Ont.) - Queen's
DL Cam Lawson (Caledon, Ont.) - Queen's
LB Dominic Ciraco (Burlington, Ont.) - Queen's
DB Jamal Johnson (Toronto, Ont.) - Toronto
DL Mekhi Henry (Brampton, Ont.) - Toronto
FB Conner Lindeman (Scarborough, Ont.) - Toronto
DB Kurtis Gray (Waterloo, Ont.) - Waterloo
REC Tyler Ternowski (Hamilton, Ont.) - Waterloo
OL Jake Nesbitt (Ottawa, Ont) - Waterloo
OL Matthew Bettencourt (London, Ont.) - Western
LB Chris Ellis (Vancouver, BC) - Western
REC Kian Schaffer-Baker (Mississauga, Ont.) - Guelph
OL Coulter Woodmansey (Toronto, Ont.) - Guelph
DE Rossini Sandjong-Djabome (Longueuil, Que.) - York
DT Skye King (Calgary, Alta.) - York
P/K Nathan McLean (Kitchener, Ont.) - Laurier
P/K Adam Preocanin (Burlington, Ont.) - McMaster
LB Daniel Metcalfe (Kingsville, Ont.) - Windsor