Men's Football | 3/26/2017 2:52:00 PM

MONTREAL – Andrew Seinet-Spaulding, a rookie lineman from Montreal, collected three major trophies at the 33nd annual Friends of McGill Football awards gala, Saturday. The event, held at the Plaza Centreville EVO Vieux-Montreal, was highlighted by keynote speaker Charles Davis from FOX and the NFL network, and former defensive coordinator of McGill's 1987 Vanier Cup national championship team, which was celebrating their 30th anniversary reunion.
 
Seinet-Spaulding, a six-foot, 303-pound defensive tackle, who started all eight games, took home the Students' Society Trophy as most valuable player, the Friends of McGill Football Trophy (most outstanding defensive player) and the Charlie Baillie Trophy (most outstanding team player).

He becomes only the third freshman in team history to merit MVP honours, joining Michael Soles (1986) and Karl Forgues (2015). A 20-year-old studying health and social services management, Seinet-Spaulding was named as the RSEQ conference defensive rookie of the year after registering 19 total tackles, including 14 solos, five tackles for loss and 2.5 quarterback sacks in addition to being credited with one fumble recovery.
 
Co-captain Louis Brouillette, a fifth-year receiver from Sherbrooke, Que., was also a multiple award recipient, collecting the Dan Pronyk Memorial Trophy as most outstanding offensive player, and the Adriano Tassone Memorial Trophy, awarded to the top graduating player.

Other major awards went to defensive back Pier-Olivier Grenier-Gachet (Vaughan McVey Trophy; most outstanding special teams player) of St. Jean sur Richelieu, Que., tight end Joel Houle (Fred Wigle Memorial Trophy; most sportsmanlike) of Chateauguay, Que., defensive tackle Scott MacDonald-Ducharme (Vic Obeck Trophy; most improved) of Gatineau, Que., defensive lineman Antoine Mongeau (Fred Dupre Memorial Trophy; rookie of the year) of Laval, Que., linebacker Kamba Katchelewa (Willie Lambert Trophy; most dedicated) of LaSalle, Que., offensive lineman Alexis Andrieux (Touchdown Club Trophy; most outstanding lineman) of Montreal and offensive tackle Qadr Spooner of Brossard, Que., who won the Dr. Strachan Hartley Trophy as  the player who best combines proficiency in academics and citizenship.
 
Head coach Ronald Hilaire also introduced his current 36-man recruiting class, which is composed of 20 players from Quebec, in addition to six from France, two apiece from British Columbia, Ontario and the U.S.A., as well as one from Alberta.

Finally, tribute was pair to six seniors expected to graduate, a group that includes the aforementioned Louis Brouillette (mechanical engineering) and Qadr Spooner (social work), plus co-captain and DB Charles-William Tremblay (health & social service management), REC Jean-Christophe Bouchard (physical therapy), OL Nicolas Bertrand (agricultural economics) and co-captain and OL Pierre-Olivier Daloze (civil engineering).

Among the many McGill football alumni on hand was former longtime head coach Charlie Baillie, along with Dr. David Fleiszer, the team's only Hec Crichton trophy winner as the nation's player of the year in 1969.

Baillie and his 1987 McGill football team thrilled the Montreal and McGill community by winning the Vanier Cup national championship. The team featured a collection of colourful characters, including a stellar offensive line that came to be known as the "Crazy Dogs". Led by quarterback Bryan (Pee Wee) Fuller, future-CFL all-star running back Michael Soles and a voracious defence, the Redmen bounced back from a 2-5 record the previous year to post a 5-2 regular season record. They finished 9-3 overall, winning their final eight games, including post-season victories over Queen's (27-24), Bishop's (32-16), Saint Mary's (30-29) and UBC (47-11). Among the silverware they collected that season was the Montreal Shrine Bowl, Shaughnessy Cup, Dunsmore Cup, Robert Stanfield trophy (Atlantic Bowl champions) and the Vanier Cup.

 

2016-17 McGILL FOOTBALL MAJOR AWARDS PROFILES:

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER (Students' Society Trophy):
Andrew Seinet-Spaulding (see profile above)

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR (Friends of McGill Trophy):

Andrew Seinet-Spaulding (see profile above)

MOST OUTSTANDING TEAM PLAYER (Charlie Baillie Trophy):

Andrew Seinet-Spaulding (see profile above)
 
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR (Dan Pronyk Memorial Trophy):

Louis Brouillette, a fifth-year mechanical engineering senior and wide receiver, led the team in reception yardage with 402 on 27 catches for a 14.9 average per catch and a pair of touchdowns. The 24-year-old native of Sherbrooke, Que., added another two TDs, on on a five-yard rushing play, the other on a 17-yard fumble return, to finish second on the team in scoring with 24 points. He also added 22 yards on three kickoff returns to finish with 434 all-purpose yards.

MOST OUTSTANDING GRADUATING PLAYER (Adriano Tassone Memorial Trophy):

Louis Brouillette (see profile above)

SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE YEAR (Vaughan McVey Trophy):

Pier-Olivier Grenier-Gachet, a 5-foot-7, 158-pound defensive back from St. Jean sur Richelieu, Que., led the team in all-purpose yards with 856 in eight games for an average of 85.8 yards per outing. The 21-year-old human resources management freshman collected 333 yards on kickoff returns, 328 on punt returns and 25 on a pair of interception returns. On the defensive side of the ball, he ranked fourth on the team with 29 total tackles, 27 of them solos, and was credited with three knockdowns.
 
MOST SPORTSMANLIKE PLAYER (Fred Wigle Memorial Trophy):

Joel Houle, a 23-year-old from Chateauguay, Que., is a versatile 6-foot-3, 234-pound "Swiss Army knife" who was converted from quarterback this past year to both tight-end and left tackle and played primarily in a blocking role along the offensive line. Last season he won the team's Willie Lambert Trophy (most dedicated player) and the Fred Wigle Trophy. A holder of the Charlie Baillie football scholarship, he is a physical and health education junior who has earned Academic All-Canadian honours and made the Principal's Student-athlete Honour Roll. In the community, he has volunteered as a team delegate in their outreach program to visit patients at the Montreal Children's Hospital, as well as the Shriner's Hospital for Children and the Montreal General Hospital.

MOST IMPROVED PLAYER (Vic Obeck Trophy):

Scott MacDonald-Ducharme, a six-foot, 254-pound defensive tackle and long-snapper from Gatineau, Que., saw duty in all eight games, posting eight tackles. A 21-year-old management sophomore majoring in marketing, he was also credited with a half-sack and one knockdown.

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR (Fred Dupré Memorial Trophy):

Antoine Mongeau, a 5-foot-10, 195-pound defensive back earned a spot as a freshman starter. The 20-year-old fom Laval, Que., was second on the team in tackles with 36.5 in eight games, 25 of them solos. He also registered one QB sack, one interception, one knockdown, a forced fumble and one fumble recovery.

MOST DEDICATED PLAYER (Dr. Willie Lambert Trophy):

Kamba Katchelewa, a six-foot, 221-pound linebacker from LaSalle, Que., dressed in all eight games, registering 9.5 tackles. The 22-year-old physical and health education sophomore also had one interception.

MOST OUTSTANDING LINEMAN (Touchdown Club Trophy):

Alexis Andrieux is a six-foot, 269-pound offensive lineman from Montreal. The 21-year-old civil engineering sophomore dressed for all eight regular season games, in addition to a preseason contest and a post-season game.

PROFICIENCY IN ACADEMICS, ATHLETICS & CITIZENSHIP (Dr. Strachan Hartley Memorial Trophy)

Qadr Spooner, a 24-year-old social work senior from Brossard, Que., who achieved a lofty grade-point average of 3.80, is McGill's top candidate for the upcoming CFL draft, was unable to attend the gala as he was at the CFL Combine camp in Regina. The 6-foot-4, 314-pound left tackle drew the attention of some CFL scouts as far back as his freshman year in 2013 when he started alongside NFL-bound McGill senior Laurent Duvernay-Tardif. 

 
SOURCE:

Earl Zukerman
Communications Officer
Athletics & Recreation
McGill University
514-398-7012 (Tel.)
TWITTER: @EarlZukerman
E-MAIL: earl.zukerman@mcgill.ca