Jamie Howieson
Laurier Athletics

TORONTO, ON – The Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks men’s football team will have five players suit up for the 2018 U SPORTS Valero East-West Bowl as the rosters for the annual showcase for the top Canadian football prospects were announced on Tuesday.

The Vanier Cup finalist Université Laval will host the 2018 U SPORTS Valero East-West Bowl for the second consecutive year, which features U SPORTS football players heading into their CFL draft year. The 16th annual top prospects game will be played at TELUS-U.L. Stadium on Saturday, May 12 at 12:30 p.m. ET. Livestreaming details will be confirmed at a later date.

OFFICIAL WEBSITE
2018 East-West Bowl Schedule
East-West Bowl Historical Results

Receiver Kurleigh Gittens Jr. of Ottawa, offensive lineman Drew Mairleitner of Denfield, Ont., defensive lineman Trevaughan James of Whitby, Ont., and defensive lineman Robbie Smith of Brampton, Ont., will all suit up for the West while running back Levondre Gordon of Mississauga, Ont., will play for the East.

The five Laurier players represents the highest number of student-athletes the Golden Hawks have had at the event since 2005.

Headlining the list of players attending for the Hawks is Gittens Jr., the reigning OUA MVP and 2017-18 Male President’s Award winner. The 6-0, 188 lbs., receiver is coming off a season in which he set the U SPORTS record for most receptions in a season while also setting the Laurier record for receiving yards in a season with 953. On top of that, the sociology major finished the year as the nation’s leader in all-purpose yards with 1665 while scoring seven total touchdowns.

Mairleitner heads to Quebec City as the first offensive lineman to represent Laurier at the showcase since 2013. The 6-5, 330 lbs., guard has been a mainstay on the Hawks’ line since coming to Laurier in 2015, dressing in all but one game over the last three seasons, while playing a big role in holding opponents to just five sacks for in 2017.

James and Smith, starters on the Hawks’ defensive line, are both coming off all-star campaigns for the purple and gold. James, a 6-2, 303 lbs., tackle, was named an OUA First Team All-Star after recording 26.5 tackles and 2.5 sacks in 2017. His ability to stop the run was a key factor in Laurier finishing fourth in the conference in run defence last year.

Meanwhile Smith, a 6-2, 240 lbs., end, had a record-breaking campaign for Laurier as he set a new team record for sacks in a season with 10.5. He also added 27.5 tackles, four pass breakups, three forced fumbles and a fumble recover to earn OUA Second Team All-Star honours.

The final member of the group is Gordon who will play for the East as an injury replacement as he goes head-to-head with his teammates on the West. The 5-10, 190 lbs., back led the Hawks in rushing in 2017, racking up 825 yards on 144 carries to go along with eight touchdowns and has totaled over 1450 yards as well as 14 touchdowns in the last two seasons.

Along with the five players, Laurier will also have two members of their coaching staff at the event as Dwayne Cameronand Irv Daymond will patrol the sidelines for the West team. Cameron will serve as the Defensive Coordinator while Daymond will oversee the Offensive Line.

It marks the fifth consecutive year that both Cameron and Daymond have served as members of the coaching staff for the West.

The West team is mostly made up of U SPORTS football players from Canada West and Ontario University Athletics (OUA) schools, except Carleton, Ottawa and Queen’s, which play for the East squad. The rest of the East team features players from AUS and Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ) schools.

Last year, the West defeated the East 37-13 for their second straight win, extending their lead in the all-time series to 9-6. The game featured 10 of the 20 prospects on the final CFL Scouting Bureau List released last month for the 2018 CFL Draft.

2018 U SPORTS VALERO EAST-WEST BOWL ROSTERS
Note: Some players will play for both teams to fill out all the positions 

EAST TEAM

First name    Last Name    School    Pos.
Nathan    Heide    Acadia    OG
Thomas    Grant    Acadia    DT
Zack    Graveson    Bishop’s    REC
Guillaume    Caron    Carleton    DB
Frederik    Robitaille    Carleton    DE
Matt    Halbgewachs    Concordia    OG
Maurice    Simba     Concordia    OT
Levondre    Gordon    Laurier    RB
Mathieu    Betts    Laval    DE
Dominic    Lévesque    Laval    K/P
Samuel    Thomassin    Laval    OG
Alexandre    Savard    Laval    RC
Vincent    Desjardins    Laval    DT
Kevin    McGee    Laval    DB
Pierre-Karl    Lanctot    Laval    OL
Zack    Williams    Manitoba    OT
Kamba     Katchelewa    McGill    LB
Gabriel    Parent    Montréal    RB
François    Hamel    Montréal    FS
Malikue    Richards    Mount Allison    REC
Damian    Halstead    Mount Allison    LB
Jamie    Harry    Ottawa    CB
Cody     Cranston    Ottawa    DB
Kalem    Beaver    Ottawa    REC
Ejaz    Causer    Queen’s    DB
Chris    Osei-kusi    Queen’s    REC
Samuel    Piché-luneau    Sherbrooke    DL
Samuel    Polan    Sherbrooke    CB
Gabriel    Polan    Sherbrooke    RB
David    Savard    Sherbrooke    FB
Vincent    Roy    Sherbrooke    DL
Antoine    Lyte-Myers    Saint Mary’s    CB
Josh    Henry    Saint Mary’s    REC
Kaion    Julien-Grant    StFX    REC
Gordon     Whyte    StFX    LB
Jimmie     Cunningham    StFX    DL
Nick    Hallett    Toronto    HB
Nick    Stadnyk    Toronto    REC
Lamar    Foyle    Toronto    LB
Eddie     Nam    Toronto    OL
Chris    Merchant    Western    QB
Brett    Hunchak    York    QB

Head Coach: Cherif Nicolas, Bishop’s
Offensive Coordinator: Gabriel Cousineau, Montreal
Defensive Coordinator: Paul Eddy Saint-Vilien, Carleton
Special Teams Coordinator: Dan McNally, Acadia

WEST TEAM

First name    Last name    School    Pos.
Jonathan    Harke    Alberta    C
Kemal    Kochisarli    Alberta    OG
Garrett    Meek    Alberta    DL
Joshua    Taitinger    Alberta    LB
Jeshrun    Antwi    Calgary    RB
Hunter    Karl    Calgary    REC
Nick    Statz    Calgary    DB
Theodore    Landers    Guelph    QB
Job     Reinhart    Guelph    LB
Eric     Starczala    Guelph    OL
Kurleigh    Gittens Jr.    Laurier    REC
Trevaughan    James    Laurier    DT
Drew    Mairleitner    Laurier    OG
Robbie    Smith    Laurier    DE
Shai    Ross    Manitoba    REC
Derek    Dufault    Manitoba    DE
Jamel    Lyles    Manitoba    RB
Jesse    Walker    Manitoba    REC
Eric    Blake    McMaster    DB
Jordan    Lyons    McMaster    RB
Marquis    Richards    Queen’s    FB
Cord    Delinte    Regina    DB
Polis    Koko    Regina    DB
Kyle    Moortgat    Regina    REC
Ryan    Schienbein    Regina    REC
Payton    Hall    Saskatchewan    FS
Evan    Machibroda    Saskatchewan    DT
Brian    Hope    Saint Mary’s    K/P
Connor    Griffiths    UBC    DL
Stavros    Katsantonis    UBC    DB
Malcom    Lee    UBC    DB
Michael    O’Connor    UBC    QB
Trivel    Pinto    UBC    REC
Lautaro    Frecha    Waterloo    DB
Jesse    Gibbon    Waterloo    OL
Grégoire    Bouchard    Western    OG
Phillipe    Dion    Western    LB
James    Hawley    Western    DE
Cedric    Joseph    Western    RB
Fraser    Sopik    Western    LB
Drew    Desjarlais    Windsor    OL
Evan    Martin    Windsor    DB
Colton    Hunchak    York    REC
Nikola    Kalinic    York    REC

Head Coach: Greg Marshall, Western
Offensive Coordinator: Ryan Sheahan, Calgary
Defensive Coordinator: Dwayne Cameron, Laurier
Special Teams: Brendan Conway, Waterloo
Offensive Line: Irv Daymond, Laurier
Quarterbacks: Steve Snyder, Western and Kyle Quinlan, McMaster
Receivers: Jabari Arthur, Calgary
Running Backs: Tom Flaxman, McMaster

– with files from U SPORTS