FRC - CIS football players of the week (#13): Trio of Vanier Cup champions honoured

OTTAWA (CIS) – Running back Maxime Boutin, defensive end Arnaud Gascon-Nadon and kicker Boris Bede, all of the Vanier Cup champion Laval Rouge et Or, are the Canadian Interuniversity Sport football players of the week for the period ending Nov. 23, 2012.

The final selection of the 2012 season was made by a committee comprised of members of Football Reporters of Canada (FRC).

Boutin, a second-year criminology student from Quebec City, was honoured on offence thanks to his MVP performance in the Rouge et Or’s 37-14 triumph over top-ranked and previously undefeated McMaster last Friday night, in front of a Vanier-Cup-record crowd of 37,098 at Rogers Centre in Toronto. The 5-foot-9, 185-pound sophomore received the Ted Morris Memorial Trophy after he rushed 24 times for a personal-best 253 yards, the second-highest total in Vanier Cup history. Boutin, who scored on runs of 11 and 84 yards in the third quarter, finished the contest with 287 all-purpose yards, good for third place in the history of the CIS championship match.

Gascon-Nadon, a fourth-year political science student from Montreal, took home the weekly honour on defence after he helped Laval neutralize Hec Crighton Trophy-winning quarterback Kyle Quinlan and the high-powered Marauders offence. The 6-foot-3, 255-pound senior earned the Bruce Coulter Award as the game MVP on defence thanks to his 3.5 tackles, including a tackle for a loss and a half sack. Gascon-Nadon was the anchor of a unit that set a Vanier Cup record with seven sacks and held the OUA champions to 75 yards on the ground.

Bede, a second-year business administration student from Toulon, France, was the choice on special teams for the second consecutive week thanks to his four field goals and a remarkable performance on punts and kickoffs. The 6-foot-4, 210-pound sophomore, who split the uprights from 22, 37, 20 and 31 yards out, averaged 44.6 yards per punt and a whopping 72.0 per kickoff, outdueling his McMaster counterpart by nine yards per punt and 23.3 per kickoff.

Offensive nominees:
AUS: No nominee
RSEQ: Maxime Boutin, running back, Laval (recipient)
OUA: No nominee
CWUAA: No nominee

Defensive nominees:
AUS: No nominee
RSEQ: Arnaud Gascon-Nadon, defensive end, Laval (recipient)
OUA: No nominee
CWUAA: No nominee

Special team nominees:
AUS: No nominee
RSEQ: Boris Bede, kicker, Laval (recipient)
OUA: No nominee
CWUAA: No nominee

-CIS-