QUEBEC CITY (CIS) – Fourth-year Calgary quarterback Erik Glavic made Canadian university football history Thursday night when he was named CIS player of the year for the second time in three seasons.
The native of Pickering, Ont., who is in his first season with the Dinos after transferring from Saint Mary’s, became the first player in CIS annals to claim the Hec Crighton trophy with two different teams. He was also chosen CIS MVP in 2007 in his final campaign with the Huskies.
Other individual award winners announced during the All-Canadian Banquet at the Quebec City Convention Centre were Concordia linebacker Cory Greenwood of Kingston, Ont., who captured the Presidents’ trophy as the nation’s top defensive player; Windsor centre Matt Morencie of Windsor, Ont., who received the J.P. Metras trophy as outstanding down lineman; Calgary defensive tackle Linden Gaydosh of Peace River, Alta., who claimed the Peter Gorman trophy as rookie of the year; and Manitoba linebacker Thomas Hall of Winnipeg, who received the Russ Jackson award for combining academics, athletics and citizenship.
The winners of the Frank Tindall trophy as CIS coach of the year and of the Gino Fracas award, honouring a volunteer assistant coach, will be announced Friday morning at the CIS Coach of the Year Breakfast at Palais des arts.
The 2009 Desjardins Vanier Cup will see the No. 4 Queen’s Gaels (10-1) battle the No. 2 Calgary Dinos (10-1) Saturday at noon (10:00 a.m. Mountain) at Université Laval’s PEPS Stadium. The CIS football final is televised live on TSN and Radio-Canada.

For all the info on the 2009 Desjardins Vanier Cup, visit: www.vaniercup.com.

HEC CRIGHTON TROPHY – Erik Glavic (Calgary)
Glavic became the third Dino to claim the Hec Crighton trophy, following receiver Don Blair in 1995 and Greg Vavra in 1983, both of whom led Calgary to a Vanier Cup victory a few days after being named CIS player of the year. Vavra is Glavic’s offensive coordinator with the 2009 Dinos.
Glavic was sensational in his first season at U of C in leading the Dinos to a 7-1 conference record - the program’s best since 1988, a second consecutive Canada West championship, a Uteck Bowl victory over his former team, Saint Mary’s, and a first Vanier Cup appearance since 1995. Under his leadership, the Dinos set single-season team records for overall offence (4,651 yards) and first downs (234) while tying a team mark with 39 total touchdowns on offence.
The 6-foot-6, 230-pound social sciences student set a new U of C standard completing 67.5 per cent of his passes, led the Canada West with 14 touchdown tosses and finished second with 2,186 yards through the air. He added six scores and 503 yards on the ground, tying him for the fourth best tally in the conference.
Should Calgary win on Saturday, Glavic would become only the fifth player in history to claim the Hec Crighton trophy and the Vanier Cup in the same year after Laval quarterback Benoît Groulx last season, UBC running back Mark Nohra in 1997, as well as Blair and Vavra.
“Erik is a tremendous athlete and he added so much to our offence this season,” said Calgary head coach Blake Nill. “He is a true leader on this team, and with him at the controls we were able to finish at or near the top in almost every offensive category. He brought a new excitement to our program.”
Fourth-year Mount Allison receiver and kick returner Gary Ross of Windsor, Ont.; fifth-year Laval quarterback Benoît Groulx of Laval; and fifth-year Western Ontario quarterback Michael Faulds of Eden Mills, Ont., were the other nominees for the Hec Crighton trophy.

PRESIDENTS’ TROPHY – Cory Greenwood (Concordia)
Greenwood became the fourth Concordia linebacker in six years to receive the Presidents’ trophy. Brothers Mickey (2004) and Patrick Donovan (2005, 2006) claimed the award three consecutive years from 2004 to 2006.
The 6-foot-2, 235-pound Stingers captain led the Quebec conference and was third in the nation with 62 regular-season tackles, including five for losses and a pair of quarterback sacks. On September 19 against Sherbrooke, the human environment major racked up 14 tackles, the fifth-best single-game performance in QUFL history. The three-time all-star is the top CIS prospect and ranks third overall on the CFL Scouting bureau’s list for the 2010 CFL Draft, and has already received interest from the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts, where former Calgary Dino Dan Federkeil has played since graduating from Canada West.
“Cory is the type of athlete that only comes around once in a while. He has tremendous speed and size for his position,” said Concordia head coach Gerry McGrath. “He is very athletic and very fast. His gap responsibility isn’t A to B Gap – it’s sideline to sideline. He is definitely a professional prospect.”
A trio of linebackers – St. Francis Xavier’s Tom Lynch of Escott, Ont., Western’s John Surla of Niagara Falls, Ont., and Saskatchewan’s Taylor Wallace of Unity, Sask. - were also in the running for the Presidents’ Trophy.

J.P. METRAS TROPHY – Matt Morencie (Windsor)
Morencie is the first Lancer in history to receive the Metras trophy as CIS top down lineman.
Over the course of his five-year university career, the human kinetics major started every game since he joined Windsor as a 17-year-old freshman in September of 2005, and has played all five positions on the offensive line, as well as stints at slot back in 2006 and a number of snaps on the defensive line over the past two years. After being named an OUA all-star last season, the 6-foot-3, 290-pound senior made the switch to centre this fall and didn’t miss a beat, earning a spot on the first all-Canadian team.
Morencie was one of the big reasons former Windsor teammate Daryl Stephenson graduated in 2008 as the CIS all-time leading rusher with 5,163 career yards. After he was selected 21st overall in the 2009 CFL Entry Draft by the BC Lions, Morencie chose to return to school to finish his degree and was recently signed by the Hamilton Tiger Cats for the 2010 season.
Saint Mary’s defensive end Devon Hicks of Dade City, Fla., Laval offensive tackle David Bouchard of Trois-Rivières, Que., and Alberta defensive end Craig Gerbrandt of Sherwood Park, Alta., were also vying for leading-down-lineman honours.

PETER GORMAN TROPHY – Linden Gaydosh (Calgary)
Gaydosh is the second Dino in four seasons to win CIS rookie-of-the-year honours after former quarterback Dalin Tollestrup in 2006. Gord Goodwin was the only other UofC player to claim the Gorman trophy, in 1977.
The 6-foot-4, 320-pounder started every game along the defensive line as a freshman. He finished with 10 tackles on the campaign, including a pair for losses. He moved to the defensive tackle spot in Week 2 and thrived there for the rest of the season, playing virtually every snap until sitting out the second half of the final conference game at Alberta.
Gaydosh helped lead the Dinos to the best run defence in the Canada West and the third-best in the nation, allowing more than 100 yards on the ground on just two occasions and finishing with 94.2 yards allowed per game. Calgary only gave up four rushing touchdowns in conference play.
Gaydosh attended Ross Sheppard High School in Edmonton for this senior year and represented Canada at the World Junior Football Championship over the summer in Canton, Ohio, where the national team reached the final against the United States.
“Linden was our top recruit in 2009,” said Nill. “He possesses great quickness for a young man who weighs 320 pounds, and he will be a key part of our defence for the next several years.”
St. Francis Xavier defensive lineman Nate Annan of St. Thomas, Ont., McGill quarterback Jonathan Collin of Greenfield Park, Que., and McMaster defensive back Cody Lynch of Stoney Creek, Ont., were the other finalists for the rookie-of-the-year award.

RUSS JACKSON AWARD – Thomas Hall (Manitoba)
Hall is the first Bison to receive the prestigious Russ Jackson award since its inception in 1986.
On the field, Hall shone in his first full season as a starter at the linebacker position, leading the team with 38.5 total tackles. The 6-foot-3, 223-pound junior scored on a 59-yard interception return, had 3.5 tackles for losses, recovered a fumble and forced two more while starting every conference game.
In the classroom, he earned CIS Academic All-Canadian status in 2008-09 with a 4.00 GPA in the Faculty of Kinesiology and Recreation Management.
Hall was instrumental in creating a new annual event called “The Challenge for Life” for CancerCare Manitoba that has increased awareness for all cancers while raising over $2 million to date after only two years. Over the last two seasons, he has been involved with “Bison Against Bullying” and this year is the co-chair of the program. Hall has also been the football representative on the University of Manitoba Athletes Council (UMAC) over the last two campaigns, has volunteered his time at the Siloam Mission, a food shelter for the city’s homeless and disadvantaged people, and with a pilot program called “Reading and Running”.
Hall was recognized as the 2008-09 Male Student-Athlete Leadership and Community Development Award winner for Bison Sports. Earlier this fall, he was the first recipient of the Nick Laping Memorial award, which symbolizes the spirit of former Bison Nick Laping and his commitment to the community while being a true leader on and off the field.
“Thomas is a special person for not only what he brings to the football team but his passion and dedication in the community,” said Manitoba head coach Brian Dobie. “He has an amazing work ethic and commitment level that reflects his desire to improve on and off the field. I am extremely proud of Thomas as a student-athlete and believe he was one of the strongest candidates I have seen for the Russ Jackson award in my time at Manitoba.”
Acadia offensive lineman and kinesiology student Greg Knight of Halifax, McGill inside receiver and physical education student Charles-Antoine Sinotte of Trois-Rivières, Que., and Queen’s linebacker and life sciences student T.J. Leeper of London, Ont., were also nominated for the Jackson award.