FRC - CIS football players of the week (#6): Abankwah, Dyer, Tropea honoured

OTTAWA (CIS) – Saint Mary’s running back Melvin Abankwah, Queen’s defensive lineman Cory Dyer and Guelph kicker Julian Tropea are the Canadian Interuniversity Sport football players of the week for the period ending Oct. 7, 2012.

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

Abankwah, a second-year arts student from Etobicoke, Ont., was honoured on offence after he racked up a career-high 208 yards on the ground on only 12 rushes for a remarkable 17.3-yard-per-carry average as the Huskies improved to 2-3 on the season with a 43-7 home win over Mount Allison, Friday night. The 5-foot-6, 176-pound speedster, who scored on a 53-yard scamper in the third quarter, also had 22 yards on three receptions, 53 on two punt returns and 43 on five kickoffs returns to finish the contest with 326 all-purpose yards. His 208 rushing yards are the highest single-game total in the AUS conference this fall.

Laval quarterback Tristan Grenon and Queen’s running back Ryan Granberg were also up for the award.

Dyer, a second-year civil engineering student from Gananoque, Ont., took home the weekly honour on defence after he amassed a personal-best 4.5 quarterback sacks in a 24-7 road win against Windsor, Saturday night. The 6-foot-2, 216-pound sophomore, who finished the contest with a team-high 5.5 tackles, recorded all his sacks in the first half as the nationally fourth-ranked Gaels (5-1) held the high-powered Lancers’ offence to 57 total yards before the break. Dyer’s 4.5 sacks rank second in Queen’s single-game history and give him 9.5 for the season, good for second in the country.

Acadia linebacker Drew Morris and Laval lineman Arnaud Gascon-Nadon were also nominated.

Tropea, a fourth-year sociology student from Niagara Falls, Ont., was the choice on special teams after he nailed all five of his field goal attempts Saturday in a close-fought 42-39 home victory over No. 9 Western, including the 27-yard game-winner with 23 seconds left in regulation. In addition to his winning kick, the 6-foot-1, 240-pound senior was good from 22 and 41 yards out in the opening half and split the uprights twice more in the last seven minutes of the contest, including a 32-yarder that tied the affair at 36 all and a 42-yarder that gave the No. 7 Gryphons (5-1) a 39-36 lead with 4:20 remaining. He added three converts on the afternoon to finish the game with 18 points.

Kickers Thomas Blight of Acadia and William Dion of Sherbrooke were also up for the distinction.

Offensive nominees:
AUS: Melvin Abankwah, running back, Saint Mary’s (recipient)
RSEQ: Tristan Grenon, quarterback, Laval
OUA: Ryan Granberg, running back, Queen’s
CWUAA: No nominee (bye week)

Defensive nominees:
AUS: Drew Morris, linebacker, Acadia
RSEQ: Arnaud Gascon-Nadon, lineman, Laval
OUA: Cory Dyer, lineman, Queen’s (recipient)
CWUAA: No nominee (bye week)

Special team nominees:
AUS: Thomas Blight, kicker, Acadia
RSEQ: William Dion, kicker, Sherbrooke
OUA: Julian Tropea, kicker, Guelph (recipient)
CWUAA: No nominee (bye week)

REGULAR SEASON SCHEDULE: WEEK 6 (all times local)

October 12
19:00 No. 8 Manitoba (3-2) at Saskatchewan (2-3)
19:00 No. 2 Calgary (5-0) at Alberta (0-5), Shaw (TV) & CanadaWest.tv (web)

October 13
13:00 Windsor (3-3) at No. 1 McMaster (6-0), theScore (TV & web)
13:00 No. 3 Laval (6-0) at No. 5 Montreal (5-1), Radio-Canada (TV & web)
13:00 No. 4 Queen’s (5-1) at No. 7 Guelph (5-1), SSNCanada.ca (web)
13:00 Laurier (3-3) at No. 9 Western (3-3), SSNCanada.ca (web)
13:00 Bishop’s (2-4) at Sherbrooke (3-3)
13:00 Concordia (2-4) at McGill (2-4), SSNCanada.ca (web)
13:00 York (1-5) at Toronto (2-4), SSNCanada.ca (web) & Rogers (TV – tape delayed to Sunday)
13:00 Waterloo (1-5) at Ottawa (1-5), SSNCanada.ca (web)
14:00 StFX (1-4) at No. 10 Acadia (4-1), www.acadiaathletics.ca (web)
14:00 Saint Mary’s (2-3) at Mount Allison (1-4), Eastlink (TV & web) & sportscanada.tv (web)
14:00 No. 6 Regina (4-1) at UBC (1-4), CanadaWest.tv (web)

-CIS-