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
