Williams, Cassie, Hodge named OUA football players of the week

Burlington, Ont. – Adam Williams, Owen Cassie, and Dawson Hodge have been named Canadian Football Perspective's OUA Players of the Week for Week 6.

Offensive Player of the Week – Adam Williams, Toronto



There was no stopping Adam Williams this week, as the Toronto back ran his team to victory over Waterloo with a masterful outing from the backfield.

Following a safety to start the game, Williams went to work with a pair of rushing touchdowns to extend the Blues early lead. His first score came with just over three minutes left in the opening quarter when he punched one in from five yards out. His next major also happened to come on his longest play of the day, as he reeled off a 68-yard run for his second touchdown of the day. While the fourth-year kinesiology major from Oshawa, Ont. wouldn't find the end zone again, he would continue to rack up the yardage as part of his 19 carries on the game, with his 243 yards rushing (12.8 YPC) helping to keep the Varsity Blues offence churning.

The career-day for Williams pushes him up to sixth in the conference's rushing ranks, now sitting just below the century mark at 98.8 yards per game.

Defensive Player of the Week – Owen Cassie, Toronto



It wasn't just on offence that the Blues saw consistent contributions against the Warriors, as Owen Cassie's efforts also carried Toronto to a win and secured the team's second consecutive OUA defensive player nod.

Cassie was active all game long for the victorious Varsity Blues, coming away with a total of 9.5 tackles on the afternoon. While he continued to build on that total throughout the day with takedown after takedown, including eight of the solo variety, he saved his best for last, as he took on a starring role in the final quarter. The second-year defensive back from Winnipeg, Man. collected 3.5 of his tackles in the fourth to help stall the Warriors offence, but his biggest play of the day stopped them altogether. With Waterloo looking to make a big splash on their second play of the quarter, Cassie was able to get his hands on the pass and come away with the interception at his own 31-yard line to keep the momentum with Toronto.

Cassie's efforts proved pivotal in what turned out to be an eight-point win for the visiting Toronto squad.

Special Teams Player of the Week – Dawson Hodge, Wilfrid Laurier



Wilfrid Laurier kicker Dawson Hodge showed off why he is one of the best in the country at his position in the Hawks' 49-11 win over Windsor on Saturday night.

The native of Coquitlam, B.C. made four field goals (on five attempts), including three over 40 yards and a 49-yarder that set a new career-best mark. He also set a new career-high for extra points made in a single game with four, bringing his contributions on the scoreboard up to 16 for the night.

The second-year geography major continued his strong work in the punting game as well. Currently leading the OUA in yards per punt, Hodge averaged 40.5 yards on the six he had against the Lancers.