Hugo Richard leads candidates for Hec Crighton

CIS-SIC.ca Staff

OTTAWA (CIS) — Hugo Richard, a first-year quarterback from Laval University, rounds out the list of Hec Crighton Trophy nominees for 2014 after he was named player of the year in the RSEQ football conference, Friday afternoon.

The talented pivot from St. Bruno, Que., who is also the RSEQ finalist for CIS rookie-of-the-year honours, became only the second freshman to be nominated for the Hec Crighton since the trophy was first presented in 1967. He joins Kevin Aver, a defensive back and wide receiver from StFX, who was in the running back in 1975 but returned home without the coveted prize.

The Sun Life Financial all-Canadian awards banquet is set for Thursday, Nov. 27 at Montreal Sheraton Centre, two days before the 50^th TELUS Vanier Cup final scheduled for 1 p.m. at Percival Molson Memorial Stadium.

In order to make CIS football history, Richard will have to edge Acadia inside receiver Brian Jones, Wilfrid Laurier running back Dillon Campbell and Calgary quarterback Andrew Buckley, all of whom were announced as their conference MVP over the past week. 

Richard was nothing short of sensational in the first eight games of his university career and ended up rewriting the team, RSEQ and CIS record books.

Other RSEQ winners announced Friday included Montreal linebacker Byron Archambault (defensive MVP), Laval defensive end Vincent Desloges (outstanding down lineman), Montreal offensive tackle Alexandre Laganière (Russ Jackson Award nominee) and Concordia sideline boss Mickey Donovan (coach of the year).The 6-foot-2, 210-pound mechanical engineering student led the country in passing yards (2,576), touchdown passes (22) and TD-to-interception ratio (22-4). He also placed third in the nation in completion percentage (65.4), led all players in Quebec with six rushing majors and ranked first among RSEQ signal callers with 224 yards on the ground. While leading the Rouge et Or to first place in the league standings with a 7-1 mark, the Vanier College product set RSEQ records for most TD passes in a game (7) and in a season, shattered the previous CIS rookie standards for TD passes and passing yards in a campaign and, for good measure, set a new team mark for most yards in a single contest (506). 

In addition to Jones, who led the Atlantic conference in catches (57) and receiving yards (639) this fall, the AUS recipients for 2014 are Saint Mary’s linebacker Jonathan Langa (defensive MVP), Mount Allison defensive tackle Jacob LeBlanc (outstanding down lineman), Mount Allison running back Chris Reid (rookie of the year), Acadia defensive back Sean Stoqua (Russ Jackson Award nominee) and Mount Allison bench boss Kelly Jeffrey (coach of the year).

In the OUA, Campbell, who led the country in rushing yards (1,458) and touchdowns (13), was joined in the winner’s circle by Ottawa defensive tackle Ettore Lattanzio (outstanding down lineman) as well as four members of the McMaster Marauders, including linebacker Nick Shortill (defensive MVP), wide receiver Daniel Petermann (rookie of the year), nose tackle Adam Dickson (Russ Jackson Award nominee) and Stefan Ptaszek (coach of the year).

In Canada West, Buckley, who is also in the running to win a second straight Russ Jackson Award, had a superb campaign with 2,175 yards through the air, 18 TD passes and 10 rushing majors. Other award recipients from the CWUAA include Saskatchewan defensive back Mark Ingram (defensive MVP), UBC defensive tackle Donovan Dale (outstanding down lineman), UBC inside receiver and returner Marcus Davis (rookie of the year) and Saskatchewan mentor Brian Towriss (coach of the year).

NOTE: A week after Mount Allison (9-0) repeated as AUS champion, the three other conference finals are set for Saturday, including:

2014 CIS FOOTBALL AWARD NOMINEES:

HEC CRIGHTON TROPHY (most outstanding player):
AUS: Brian Jones, inside receiver, Acadia (Enfield, N.S./science)
RSEQ: Hugo Richard, quarterback, Laval (St. Bruno, Que./mechanical engineering)
OUA: Dillon Campbell, running back, Wilfrid Laurier (Whitby, Ont./kinesiology & phys. education)
CWUAA: Andrew Buckley, quarterback, Calgary (Calgary, Alta./kinesiology)

PRESIDENTS’ TROPHY (defensive player of the year)
AUS: Jonathan Langa, linebacker, Saint Mary’s (Etobicoke, Ont./criminology)
RSEQ: Byron Archambault, linebacker, Montreal (Montreal, Que./security and police studies)
OUA: Nick Shortill, linebacker, McMaster (Nobleton, Ont./environmental science)
CWUAA: Mark Ingram, defensive back, Saskatchewan (agricultural bioresources/Imperial, Sask.)

J.P. METRAS TROPHY (outstanding down lineman)
AUS: Jacob LeBlanc, defensive tackle, Mount Allison (Halifax, N.S./commerce)
RSEQ: Vincent Desloges, defensive end, Laval (St. Augustin de Desmaures, Que./management)
OUA: Ettore Lattanzio, defensive tackle, Ottawa (Nepean, Ont./classics & ethics)
CWUAA: Donovan Dale, defensive tackle, UBC (Saskatoon, Sask./kinesiology)

PETER GORMAN TROPHY (rookie of the year)
AUS: Chris Reid, running back, Mount Allison (Brampton, Ont./arts)
RSEQ: Hugo Richard, quarterback, Laval (St. Bruno, Que./mechanical engineering)
OUA: Daniel Petermann, wide receiver, McMaster (Stoney Creek, Ont./humanities)
CWUAA: Marcus Davis, inside receiver & returner, UBC (Victoria, B.C./arts)

RUSS JACKSON AWARD (football, academics & citizenship)
AUS: Sean Stoqua, defensive back, Acadia (Ottawa, Ont./kinesiology)
RSEQ: Alexandre Laganière, offensive tackle, Montreal (Quebec City, Que./administration)
OUA: Adam Dickson, nose tackle, McMaster (Niagara Falls, Ont./engineering physics & man.)
CWUAA: Andrew Buckley, quarterback, Calgary (Calgary, Alta./kinesiology)

FRANK TINDALL TROPHY (coach of the year)
AUS: Kelly Jeffrey, Mount Allison
RSEQ: Mickey Donovan, Concordia
OUA: Stefan Ptaszek, McMaster
CWUAA: Brian Towriss, Saskatchewan