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Ivan Birungi: AUFC MVP & All Canadian Reciever

Ivan Birungi played for the Ottawa-Cumberland Panthers in his OVFL days, and now stars as the main reciever for the Acadia Axemen in the Atlantic University Football Conference.

A Pickering, Ontario native, Birungi, the 6ft 4", 226 pound junior, led the Atlantic conference with 38 catches (9th CIS), 792 receiving yards (4th CIS) and 10 touchdown receptions (2nd CIS). Birungi has 22 TD catches in three seasons with the Axemen.

Thats three shy of the AUFC career record set by Saint Mary’s Matt Nealon from 1988-90.

That record will be broken next season, no doubt, however Birungi also set a new Acadia Football record for TD receptions in a season with 11, and career total TD receptions with 22.

Not only does that break the Acadia record, it also sits him atop the #4 position in AUFC history.

Birungi was named to the CIS All-Canadian first team along with Western star Andy Fantuz, and was named AUFC Most Valuable Player. Blaine Scatcherd was the last Axemen to be named league MVP in 1999 and Acadia's Aubrey Cummings is the last receiver to win the award.

Quite an accomplishment. Congratulations.

Andy Fantuz: Hec Crighton Winner

Just how good is Andy Fantuz? Well, the Indianapolis Colts and Montreal Alouettes think he's pretty damn good.

And I'm not one to argue.

The London Free Press reports that both teams sent scouts to Western's game against Ottawa on November 5th. Although Fantuz was injured early in the game, he was a dominant force on defense, picking off the Ottawa quarterback three times for a few yards each.

The star reciever of the University of Western Ontario won the Hec Crighton award as the CIS football player of the year.

Fantuz is only the fifth receiver in history to receive the honour and the first since Calgary's Don Blair in 1995, and is the sixth consecutive winner from the OUA.

The 6-foot-4, 220-pound Mustang wideout led the nation in the regular season with 12 touchdown receptions, was tied atop the CIS leaderboard with 44 catches, and finished second in receiving yards (825).

A former rookie of the year, Fantuz holds the CIS reciever records for most catches with 189, most total yards with 4123 yards, and for most touchdowns with 41. He has been named an All Canadian in each of his four seasons, including three times on the first team in 2002, 2004, and 2005.

Oh yeah, Fantuz was also the OUA MVP.

And he's in the OVFL Hall of Fame.

Oh, and he's going to be drafted in the first round of the CFL draft. Probably the #1 pick, too.

"It's a dream I've always had, to get drafted in the first round and to go No. 1 would just be incredible," Fantuz said Thursday, shortly after being presented with his award. "I'm trying not to think about that too much, I'm just trying to get myself in the best situation to be drafted No. 1."

Congratulations to Andy and to the Essex Raven's organization.

Yet Another OVFL Alumni Headed to Stanford

Brian Bulcke will be following in the footsteps of former Essex Raven, now St. Louis Ram, Oshiomogho Atogwe, when he heads to Stanford on a scholarship. Brian accepted a full-ride to play for the Cardinals, and will be visiting the California campus this weekend.

This past season, Brian finished 7th overall in defensive points with a total of 68. Bulcke had 31 single tackles, and 26 assisted, combining for a total of 44. In addition, Brian recorded 9 sacks.

Not only is Brian a fantastic football player, he is also an exceptional student, winning Ontario Tackle Football's Academic Excellence Award in 2003 and 2004.

It's great to see another Canadian heading to play football down south. I have no doubt in my mind that Brian will make Canada proud.

Congratulations!

OVFL Coaching Opportunity

The Etobicoke Eagles are now accepting applications at both the Varsity and Junior Varsity level for coaching positions for the 2006 season.

We encourage all interested parties to contact us immediately.

Any interested coaching candidates will note that we have had a substantial change in organizational direction and vision, and we are making it our mission to make the Etobicoke Eagles an organization to which members, be they coaches, volunteers, or players, can be proud to say that they belong.

Having said that, the Eagles have a mandate to find the best-qualified coaches that they can, year in and year out.

Please email your inquiries to etobicoke_eagles@hotmail.com with 'COACHING INQUIRY' in the subject line.

Laurier Wins a Triller!

The Laurier Golden Hawks win the Vanier Cup by a score of 24-23 on the leg of Brian Devlin and his 6 points.

The kicker is rarely ever seen as a very important component of a football team. Brian Devlin proves that the kicker may just be the most important component.

Hailing from St Patricks High School in Sarnia, Ontario, Devlin has started five seasons and can clearly remember the Goldenhawks 1-7 season three years ago. Laurier's fought a hard battle since, going 12-0 and winning the Vanier Cup. Talk about a miraculous turn-around.


Some observers described the Mitchell Bowl, in which Saskatchewan edged No. 1 Laval 29-27, as the real Canadian university championship game. The Golden Hawks took it all in and got their revenge, proving that Ontario is the real hot bed of football in Canada!

"There's nothing better than saying I told you so," said defensive end David Montoya, named defensive player of the game. "This is the best feeling there is right now."

The strength of Saskatchewan's offence was a huge front line that averaged six foot four and 296 pounds. The Huskies utilized that advantage in the run game - outgaining Laurier 193-173 - but the Hawks countered effectively by using their superior quickness to put pressure on Bilan and prevent big plays.

"They're very quick," Towriss said. "They were able to run things down from behind, the first team we've seen do that this year."

And for Towriss, a three-time Vanier Cup champion in nine career appearances, this loss is the hardest of the three to swallow.

"In the end, they made just one more play than we did, but we played a pretty good football game, it's not like we gave it away. Laurier's chances of completing a perfect 12-0 season looked slim midway through the fourth quarter, when David Stevens broke free on the right sidelines and ran 85 yards for a touchdown that put Saskatchewan up 23-15.

But the Huskies' burly defence couldn't contain the Hawks' athletic offensive line on the ensuing drives, failing to plug holes that quarterback Ryan Pyear, the game's MVP, and running back Nick Cameron exploited.

"We have the heart of a lion," said Pyear. "In the huddle, guys had confidence, they still knew there was a lot of time left. We still knew we could win it."

They set up the exciting finish when Pyear connected with fullback Bryon Hickey on a six-yard TD with 2:53 left, cutting Saskatchewan's lead to 23-21. They looked to have it tied on a two-point convert attempt but a wide open Cameron couldn't hold on to the pass.

Laurier's defence then came up with a key stop, which Saskatchewan couldn't match.

Stalled at midfield and facing third-and-16, Pyear found Dante Luciani who dove after the catch to the Saskatchewan 38 for a gain of 17. Six plays later, after a holding penalty halted their march to the end zone, Devlin split the uprights for the winning points.

Updates of OVFL Alumni perfomances to come. Stay tuned.

Vanier Cup: Facts & Figures

• This will mark the first meeting in history between Saskatchewan and Wilfrid Laurier.
• Saskatchewan is 0-2 in Vanier Cup finals vs. OUA teams (lost twice to Western: 50-40 in overtime in 1994 and 35-10 in 1989). Laurier is 0-1 in Vanier Cup finals vs. Canada West teams (lost 20-7 to Alberta in 1972, as Waterloo Lutheran).
• The 1994 Vanier Cup between Saskatchewan and Western is the only CIS final in history to be decided in overtime.
• This will be only the third match-up between undefeated teams in the 41-year history of the Vanier Cup. StFX defeated Waterloo Lutheran (now Wilfrid Laurier) 40-14 in 1966, and UBC edged Western Ontario 25-23 in 1986.
• The last team to complete an undefeated season with a Vanier Cup win was the 2001 Saint Mary's Huskies (11-0).
• Of the 17 undefeated teams to advance to the Vanier Cup prior to this year, nine were crowned CIS champions: Saint Mary's (2001), Western Ontario (1994), UBC (1986), UBC (1982), Acadia (1981), Queen's (1978), Ottawa (1975), Manitoba (1969), StFX (1966).
• The 2005 Huskies (2002, 2004, 2005) are the sixth team in history to participate in three Vanier Cups over a four-year period. The others are: Saint Mary's (2001, 2002, 2003: only team to play in three straight Vanier Cups), Saint Mary's (1999, 2001, 2002), Acadia (1976, 1977, 1999), Western (1976, 1977, 1979), and Western (1974, 1976, 1977).
• Saskatchewan is making its eighth Vanier Cup appearance, tying Saint Mary's for second most all-time behind Western (11).
• Saskatchewan is currently tied with Laval, Alberta, Queen's, UBC and Saint Mary's with three Vanier Cup victories. Western (6) and Calgary (4) lead the way.
• Saskatchewan head coach Brian Towriss will be making his CIS-leading eighth appearance at the Vanier Cup. Peter Connellan of Calgary and Larry Haylor of Western (still active) follow with five apiece. With a win on December 3rd, Towriss would tie Connellan for most Vanier Cup victories by a head coach (4).
• Laurier was second in the CIS in the regular season this year with 330 points scored and third with 114 points allowed. Saskatchewan was fifth with 294 points scored and second with 99 points allowed.