Tachinski, Turner among nine Bisons named conference all-stars

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This article was published 05/11/2024 (701 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Manitoba Bisons were eliminated from the Canada West university football playoffs on Saturday but the sting of that loss was softened somewhat this week when nine players, including second-year kicker Maya Turner, were named conference all-stars.

Turner, who made history in 2023 when she became the first female to score points in a U Sports football game, is now the first woman to earn conference all-star honours.

Turner had a stellar season, hitting on 14-of-18 field goal attempts — her longest coming from 48 yards out.

“It’s always been my goal, since I started kicking, to not to just be a good kicker for a girl but to be a good kicker overall and for the league,” said the 22-year-old product of Maple Grove, Minn., whose 77 per cent success rate was tops in Canada West. “I guess (earning all-star honours) has been a goal for my kicking career at some point. And the team was playing really well throughout the season and that definitely set me up for success.”

Turner also connected on all 25 of her conversion attempts.

“I want to just keep improving and keep going up from here,” she added. “I want to always be working towards getting higher percentages and farther kicks.”

Retiring Bisons head coach Brian Dobie was thrilled to see Turner recognized by the panel of Canada West coaches voting on the all-stars.

“I felt she had earned everything all the way through the season and and now our opponents have validated her,” said Dobie. “They recognized her and and honoured her in the voting as the best player at her position.”

While Turner completed a historic season, teammate Jackson Tachinski also dazzled the Canada West coaches.

The fourth-year Winnipeg product was named the conference’s player of the year as well as being a unanimous selection as all-star quarterback.

“It makes you feel a little bit better after a loss,” said Tachinski, who set career highs in passing yards (1,842), passing touchdowns (eight) and rushing yards (637) while adding seven rushing TDs. “Stuff like that is cool but obviously I wanted a different kind of the trophy at the end. But we’ll take what we can get.”

Tachinski plans to take a short break before starting to train for the CFL’s regional draft combine next spring. He has one year of U Sports eligibility remaining but hopes to be chosen in the 2025 CFL Draft.

“In my mind, I think I’m a quarterback,” said Tachinski. “I think I can played quarterback. I think teams could use me at the position, especially with how third downs are in the CFL. You kind of need that designated third-down guy. But at the same time, I’m always a team-first guy, and I always want to win… I think I could play multiple positions, but I’m going to try to play quarterback first.”

Tachinski, who was also a member of the U of M’s men’s basketball program in 2022-23 before devoting himself to football, was part of the CFL’s quarterback internship program while attending training camp with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in 2022 and 2024.

“I see him as a CFL calibre player — I really do,” said Dobie. “I mean, here’s a two-sport athlete at the university level… I sincerely see him, with the right team, as that No. 3 quarterback who can be your short-yardage guy. He throws really well, but he certainly is a threat to do damage with all kinds of things that an offensive co-ordinator might put into their system.”

Dobie said Tachinski could be a success in the CFL in another role.

“He’s 6-4, 215 and he runs really well,” said Dobie. “He’s long and he’s really smart and you want really smart at safety, anchoring the back end of your defence, he could be that guy. He could be a receiver, too. He’s got great hands.”

Other Manitoba all-stars included:

Receiver AK Gassama: Led Bisons with 451 receiving yards on 38 receptions.

Gassama, who has completed his fifth and final year of eligibility, is now the first receiver in program history to be named a Canada West all-star in three consecutive seasons.

Left guard Giordano Vaccaro: A three-year starter who is a conference all-star for the second consecutive season.

Vaccaro, a unanimous selection by conference head coaches, helped the Bisons set a school record with U Sports-leading 2,016 rushing yards in 2024. The total broke a 29-year school best by 168 yards.

Left tackle Sean Rowe: First offensive lineman in school history to be named the U of M’s male rookie of the year (2023).

Centre Mark Rauhaus: Won the Russ Jackson Award in 2023 for his excellence in athletics, academics and community service. Is expected to apply for medical school next year.

Running back Breydon Stubbs: A first-time all-star, Stubbs established a school record with 14 rushing touchdowns during the 2024 regular seaosn. Rushed for a total of 1,071 yards and 15 majors on 177 carries in nine games.

Defensive lineman Collin Kornelson: Earned his first all-star selection in his fifth and final season at Manitoba. Had a career-high 20 solo tackles and 17 assisted tackles while leading Manitoba with two sacks.

Punter Ben George: Finished second in Canada West and sixth in the country with a punting average of 42.6. He also handled kickoffs. George’s played his first four years of U Sports football at Acadia where he was an conference all-star.

mike.sawatzky@freepress.mb.ca