Eight members of the regular-season champion Western Mustangs have been named to the Ontario University Athletics football all-star team, which was announced Wednesday.
Quarterback Will Finch, who led the Mustangs as they became the highest-scoring team in the history of Canadian university football—491 points in eight games—was named to the team for the second time in three years. He was also the all-star quarterback in 2013, the year he was named the league’s most valuable player.
This year Finch completed 69.5 per cent of his passes, for 2,616 yards and 17 touchdowns.
That he was able to do so can in large part be attributed to three Western offensive linemen who were named all-stars for the second time in their career—centre Matt Van Praet, guard Sean Jamieson and tackle Eddie Meredith.
Others repeating as first-team OUA all-stars are Wilfrid Laurier running back Dillon Campbell, Western cornerback Josh Woodman, Guelph tackle Matthew Toppan, and receives Danny Vandervoort of McMaster and Nate Behar of Carleton.
Altogether, the first all-star team comprises eight players from Western, five from Guelph, four each from Laurier, McMaster and Carleton and one each from Ottawa, Toronto and Windsor.
No members of the Queen’s Golden Gaels, York Lions or Waterloo Warriors were recognized as a first-team all-star, though receiver Doug Corby and punter Dillon Wamsley of Queen’s were chosen for the second team.
Also on the second all-star team are former Kingston Grenadiers quarterback Derek Wendel of Shannonville, who broke the conference records for pass completions (216) and yards passing (3,136) for the Ottawa Gee-Gees this year—he shared the second-team spot with McMaster’s Asher Hastings—and Mitch O’Connor, a graduate of the Frontenac Falcons in his second year at McMaster, who was selected the rush-cover, a position created to recognize the efforts of special teams defenders.
The OUA’s major award winners will be announced at a news conference Thursday in Burlington. The 108th Yates Cup game, pitting Western, 8-0, against Guelph, 7-1, will be played Saturday in London. The winner will host a national semifinal the following week against the champion of the Quebec conference.
The 2015 OUA football all-stars:
FIRST TEAM
Offence
Centre—Matt Van Praet, Western.
Guards—Zach Intzandt, McMaster; Sean Jamieson, Western.
Tackles—Matthew Toppan, Guelph; Eddie Meredith, Western.
Receivers—Danny Vandervoort, McMaster; Ian Stewart, Ottawa; Jacob Scarfone, Guelph; Nate Behar, Carleton.
Fullback—Tom Marshall, Western.
Running back—Dillon Campbell, Laurier.
Quarterback—Will Finch, Western.
Defence
Tackles—Rupert Butcher, Western; Asante Mizan, Laurier.
Ends—Kwaku Boateng, Laurier; Mike Kashak, McMaster.
Linebackers—John Rush, Guelph; Jake Heathcote, McMaster; Matt Gayer, Windsor.
Safety—Jesse McNair, Western.
Halfbacks—Nick Parisotto, Guelph, Nathaniel Hamlin, Carleton.
Cornernbacks—Godfrey Onyeka, Laurier; Josh Woodman, Western.
Special Teams
Punter—T.J. Morton, Toronto.
Kicker—Gabriel Ferraro, Guelph.
Return man—Tunde Adeleke, Carleton.
Rush-cover—Keith Graham, Carleton.
SECOND TEAM
Offence
Centre—Matthew Nesbitt, Guelph.
Guards—Andrew Pickett, Guelph; K.C. Bakker, Carleton.
Tackles—Kadeem Adams, Western; Sean Smith, McMaster.
Receivers—Dan Petermann, McMaster; Doug Corby, Queen’s; George Johnson, Western; Kurleigh Gittens, Jr., Laurier.
Fullback—Stefano Napolitano, Carleton.
Running back—Alex Taylor, Western.
Quarterbacks—Asher Hastings, McMaster; Derek Wendel, Ottawa (tie).
Defence
Tackles—Donnie Egerter, Guelph; Kevin Aleinki, McMaster.
Ends—John Biewald, Western; Mark Mackie, McMaster.
Linebackers—Curtis Newton, Guelph; Nakas Onyeka, Laurier; Guillaume Caron, Carleton.
Safety—Tristan Doughlin, Guelph.
Halfbacks—Malcolm Brown, Western; Malcolm Thompson, Laurier.
Cornerbacks—Robbie Yochim, McMaster; D’Sean Thelwell, Carleton.
Special Teams
Punter—Dillon Wamsley, Queen’s.
Kicker—Michael Domagala, Carleton.
Return man—Ryan Nieuwesteeg, Guelph.
Rush-cover—Mitch O’Connor, McMaster.
