Ticats take home lion’s share of CFL awards

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 21/11/2019 (2116 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

CALGARY — Advantage, Tiger-Cats?

The CFL’s top regular-season team flexed its muscles and cleaned up Thursday night at the annual awards show in Calgary, with Hamilton players winning four of the seven major trophies handed out for outstanding individual performance.

Not that it was likely needed, but they also served up a reminder of the tall task facing the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the upcoming Grey Cup. These guys are going to be a handful, to say the least.

Receiver Brandon Banks won the league’s Most Outstanding Player award, Chris Van Zeyl was named Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman, returner Frankie Williams nabbed Most Outstanding Special Teams Player and Orlondo Steinauer took home Coach of the Year honours for guiding the Tiger-Cats to a 15-3 record following an 8-8 season last year.

That’s quite a haul, although Hamilton will be looking to add one more shiny bauble to its collection on Sunday night at McMahon Stadium.

Only one Tiger-Cats player named as an East Division finalist failed to cash in. That would be Simoni Lawrence, who was beaten out by Willie Jefferson of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers for the Most Outstanding Defensive Player award. The final vote tally was 39-11 for Jefferson, who keeps the award in Winnipeg after teammate Adam Bighill’s win last season.

“I’m excited. Pretty much just goes to show all my hard work I put in this off-season, this season as a whole, the work that we put in since training camp to now, just being recognized for all that hard work, all those passes being knocked down, all those sacks, all those tackles,” said Jefferson, who signed with the Bombers as a free agent after moving on from Saskatchewan.

The Texas native had a career-high 12 sacks, 24 tackles, an interception, six forced fumbles including two he recovered, five tackles for a loss and 16 pass knockdowns, which is a CFL-record for defensive linemen. The Bombers were at or near the top of numerous league defensive categories, with Jefferson leading the way.

“I came here, got a chance to be with a new coach, play with some new players, play in a new system. At the end of the day I was still able to be me, still able to be the dominant player than I know I am. Tonight they crowned me the most dominant player in the league. And I’m happy,” said Jefferson.

Two other Bombers were named West Division nominees but came up short. Stanley Bryant was edged out in his bid for a third straight win by Van Zeyl in the closest vote (26-24) count, while Mike Miller came second to Williams by a 34-16 tally.

“I can’t say enough about Stanley Bryant. I’ve watched him for years. He’s an incredible tackle. I’m glad he let me win one,” said Van Zeyl, who celebrated the moment with all of his Hamilton teammates in the crowd at Scotiabank Saddledome.

“We rally around each other. We play for each other. We have a lot of fun together,” he said. “Incredible season. One more game to play, though. I’ll enjoy this tonight and then back to business tomorrow.”

Linebacker Henoc Muamba of the Montreal Alouettes was named Most Outstanding Canadian — an award Bombers running back Andrew Harris would have likely won easily had he been nominated. A positive steroid test during the season not only cost Harris two games to suspension, but also his spot as the West Division representative as Winnipeg voters opted not to award him. Harris also might have taken a run at the Most Outstanding Player award won by Banks.

Muamba began his professional career in Winnipeg after being selected first overall in the 2011 CFL draft. He spent three years with the Bombers, eventually going south for a couple stints in the NFL before landing back in Canada as a free agent.

“It means a great deal. I’m humbled. I’m honoured to even accept the award. There’s a lot of great Canadians playing in this game,” said Muamba.

Linebacker Nate Holly of the Calgary Stampeders won Most Outstanding Rookie.

The winners were selected by a panel of voters represented by members of the Football Reporters of Canada (FRC) from all nine markets along with the national chapter, along with all head coaches. There were 50 votes cast for each award.

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @mikemcintyrewpg