By Curtis Wolff
Four Dinos football players were named to the 2013 Canadian Interuniversity Sport All-Canadian first team at the Sun Life Financial All-Canadian Banquet in Quebec City on Thursday, Nov. 21.
Canada West Most Valuable Player and second-year Dinos running back Mercer Timmis was the sole Dino named to the first-team offensive unit. Timmis lead the country in touchdowns, rushing touchdowns and rushing yards in what was a breakout year for the Burlington, Ontario native.
On defence, third-year Dinos linebacker Doctor Cassama and second-year defensive back Cyril Iwanegbe also earned All-Canadian first team nods for the Dinos. Cassama was one of only two returning starts on the Dinos defence. He was an anchor for the young squad, racking up 56 tackles in 11 games so far this year. First-year starter Iwanegbe one-upped Cassama with 57 tackles.
“It’s just a tribute to all my coaches and the hard work,” said Iwanegbe. “We trained really hard in the offseason with the strength and conditioning coach and the coaching throughout the year. It’s a real honour to see all the hard work finally paying off.”
Third-year Dinos kicker Johnny Mark won the All-Canadian spot for his position on the special teams side. Mark went 15 for 17 in field goal attempts in the regular season, good enough for best in the CIS in field goal percentage at 88.2 per cent.
“Certainly this is nice. I really appreciate the opportunity and what has been given to me today,” said Mark. “But what would really cap it off would be [the Vanier Cup] this weekend. I think that’s the more important goal and that’s the one we are working towards.”
Third-year Dinos centre Sean McEwen and third-year guard Sukh Chungh were named to the All-Canadian second team at their respective positions. Both were named to the Canada West all-star team.