Huskies QB Erik Glavic wins Hec Crighton Trophy as CIS outstanding player

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This article was published 21/11/2007 (6816 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

TORONTO – The metal football on top of the Hec Crighton Trophy trophy fell off its base and crashed to the floor as Erik Glavic was being interviewed after winning it Wednesday night.

Here’s hoping mishaps don’t come in threes for the most outstanding player in Canadian university football.

Glavic, on crutches since tearing a right knee ligament helping the Saint Mary’s Huskies advance to the national final, will miss the Vanier Cup game against the Manitoba Bisons on Friday night.

How his team fares is paramount in his thoughts.

“I’m a little surprised but it’s nice to get recognized on a national level,” he said of getting the MVP nod. “I guess it heals a little bit of the wound of not being able to play but I’d 100 per cent trade this in for the Vanier.”

Scott Evans, Wilfrid Laurier’s big offensive tackle, was presented with the J.P. Metras Trophy as outstanding down lineman.

Concordia quarterback Liam Mahoney claimed the Peter Gorman Trophy as rookie of the year.

Regina linebacker Mat Nesbitt won the Presidents’ Trophy as best defensive player.

Sherbrooke cornerback Clovis Langlois-Boucher received the Russ Jackson Student-Athlete Community Service Award during the annual CIS banquet.

The recipients of the Frank Tindall Trophy as CIS coach of the year and the Gino Fracas Award, honouring a volunteer assistant coach, were to be announced Thursday.

Glavic, 21, a six-foot-six native of Pickering, Ont., led all Atlantic quarterbacks with 16 touchdown passes. His completion percentage during the regular season was 64 per cent. He passed for 1,843 yards and was sacked only twice in conference play. He also rushed for 478 yards and five TDs.

The Saint Mary’s offence was No. 1 in Canada with 352 points and 529 yards a game, and it was second in rushing yards with 282 a game.

Tests on Monday verified the severity of his injury and he was up at 4 a.m. Halifax time to fly east with his teammates.

“Everything’s just kind of getting thrown at me,” he said. “It hasn’t all sunk in.

“I’ m sure when I’m able to sit down on my couch back in Halifax and relax for a second I’ll be able to take everything in. It’s a wild ride. I guess these are the times you remember when you’re old.”

The second-year quarterback intends to be on the sidelines to aid backup Ted Abraham any way he can.

“I haven’t had much time to cry about it,” he said of the injury. “I just have to suck it up and take it for what it’s worth and go out there and help the team any way I can.”

He never expected to be a cheerleader instead of a scrambling passer this week.

“Sucks, sucks, bites the big one, that’s for sure,” he said. “You just got to go out there and support the team.

“We’re a tight-knit group. I have confidence in them that they can pull it out.”

Personal awards – even the Crighton – are secondary in his way of thinking.

“I wouldn’t put it ahead of some championships,” he said. “To me, winning is everything.

“Putting the check mark in that win column, that’s the most important part. It’s definitely special. Ten years from now I’ll look back and really, really be proud about it. I’m very honoured, don’t get me wrong, but right now we have to put it aside and go out and win a championship.”

Coach Steve Sumarah lauded Glavic’s intensity on the field.

“Everybody who has watched Erik play sees his athleticism on the field, but what makes him a special player is his burning desire to win,” said Sumarah. “He is one of the most competitive athletes I have had the privilege of coaching.”

Glavic played basketball for St. Mary’s at the end of last season and in the playoffs and would have again this winter, but that’s out the window now.

“I played basketball all summer, more to get in shape than anything,” he said. “It’s great running up and down the court.

“My game was coming along so I was looking forward to the basketball season. What are you going to do? Torn ACL, sorry coach.”

The other finalists were quarterbacks Teale Orban of the University of Regina and Josh Sacobie of the University of Ottawa and running back Jamall Lee of Bishop’s University.

The last Saint Mary’s player to be MVP was Chris Flynn, who took it home in’88,’89 and’90. Glavic is being compared, more and more, to the former Huskies star.

“I’ve seen a highlight film of him and, woo, he’s a pretty incredible guy,” said Glavic. “Everybody keeps bringing up the similarities but he did it over four years and that’s the sign of a truly great player.

“What you do in one year doesn’t define you or your career.”

Evans, a six-foot-seven native of Cambridge, Ont., helped the Hawks lead the OUA with 240 rushing yards a game. Running back Ryan Lynch was the main beneficiary, setting a single-season school record with 170 carries.

“I’ve only played the O-line for a couple of years,” Evans said. “It really is an honour to win this award, and it really is an indication of the level of coaching that I’ve had and the work done over the last couple of years to get to this point.”

Evans, who began playing football at age 11, was in camp with the CFL’s Toronto Argonauts last spring.

“Hopefully, this spring I’ll have another shot and, hopefully, this time next year I’ll be on their roster,” he said.

He loves the mental aspect of playing his position.

“It’s all about trying to predict what the guy across from you is going to do, and be prepared for it,” he explained. “And if you are being successful, you’re imposing your will on the guy across from you.

“You’re dictating to him where he can and can’t go, and that’s a good feeling.”

Mahoney took over as the Concordia starter in the fourth game of the regular season when veteran Rob Mackay went down with a knee injury.

“I was surprised to get rookie of the year for the Quebec conference and to get it for the whole country is amazing,” said Mahoney. “It’s a blessing.

“I worked hard and my team worked hard trying to win games and to get an award like this . . . I really wish my whole team could be honoured for all the work it did to help me out in having such a successful season. A lot of the credit has to go to them and my coaches.”

The future looks bright for Concordia.

“We feel like we’re one of the top teams in the country already,” he said. “I think we’re going to be a contender for the Vanier Cup – if not next year then the year after that. We’re going to be strong.”

Nesbitt led Canada West and finished second in the country in the regular season with 64 tackles, while totalling two sacks, one interception, two pass break-ups, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery.

Langlois-Boucher has been an academic All-Canadian in two of his first three years at Sherbrooke, has maintained a 3.92 grade-point average out of 4.3 and is a recipient of the Fondation de l’Universite de Sherbrooke scholarship.

The first and second all-Canadian teams on offence, defence and special teams were also announced.

Joining Glavic and Evans on the first offensive squad are Lee, Rogers, Queen’s running back Mike Giffin, wide receivers Samuel Giguere of Sherbrooke and Charles-Antoine Sinotte of McGill, inside receivers Mike Bradwell of McMaster and Laurent Lavigne-Masse of Laval, Calgary centre Tim O’Neill, Laval guard Luc Brodeur-Jourdain and Montreal tackle Jean-Francois Morin-Roberge.

Joining Nesbitt on the first defensive team are Maranda, Cooper, Gagne, tackles Chris Van Zeyl of McMaster and Simon Patrick of Manitoba, Alberta linebacker Dan Bass, cornerbacks Paul Woldu of Saskatchewan and Jean Petit-Frere of Laval, halfbacks Sammy Okpro of Concordia and David Timmons of Ottawa, as well as Saskatchewan free safety Dylan Barker.

Ottawa kicker Ara Tchobanian, Western Ontario punter Derek Schiavone and Mount Allison returner Gary Ross make up the top special teams squad.