Men's Football | 3/24/2018 10:00:00 PM

MONTREAL -- Receiver Jeremy Sauvageau earned two trophies -- including Team MVP honours -- and linebacker Dane Wagner collected three trophies to highlight the 34th annual Friends of McGill Football awards gala, Saturday. The event, held at the EVO Plaza Centreville, featured guest speaker Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, a McGill medical student who has played the past three seasons in the NFL with the Kansas City Chiefs. Also on hand was Dr. Jean-Philippe Darche -- one of three Redmen grads to have played in the NFL -- who suited up for Seattle and Kansas City.

Sauvageau, a 5-foot-11, 187-pound wide receiver from St. Augustine des Desmaures, Que., received the Students' Society Trophy as Team MVP and the Dan Pronyk Memorial Trophy as most outstanding offensive player. The 22-year finance sophomore merited second-team All-Canadian honours after leading the RSEQ conference and ranking fourth among national leaders with 841 reception yards on 39 catches in eight games. He topped the Redmen offence with three touchdowns and also led the Quebec league with lofty averages of 21.6 yards per catch and 105.1 reception yards per game (which ranked sixth in the nation). Sauvageau also added 19 yards on punt returns and 13 more on kickoff returns to lead the team in all-purpose yards with 868 in eight games.

Wagner, a junior from Niceville, Fla., was named as both the team's most outstanding defensive player (Friends of McGill Trophy), the top special teams player (Vaughan McVey Trophy) and best team player (Charlie Baillie Trophy).

Team captain Joel Houle, a senior tight end from Chateauguay, Que., was also double award recipients. He took home the Fred Wigle Memorial Trophy for the third straight season as most sportsmanlike player and also received the Adriano Tassone Memorial Trophy, awarded to the top graduating player.

For the second straight year, Kamba Katchelewa, a junior linebacker from LaSalle, Que., took home the Willie Lambert Trophy as most dedicated player.

Other major awards went to junior receiver Jacob Dwinnell (Vic Obeck Trophy; most improved player) of London, Ont., defensive lineman Xavier Bilodeau (Fred Dupre Memorial Trophy; rookie of the year) of Quebec City, Que., fifth-year senior Steven Gusew (Touchdown Club Trophy; most outstanding lineman) of Boucherville, Que., and defensive back Jean-Philippe Hudon, a kinesiology sophomore from Levis, Que., who won the Dr. Strachan Hartley Trophy as  the player who best combines proficiency in academics and citizenship.

The gala, which officially marked the conclusion of the team's 137th season of football, ended with a warm tribute to five graduating seniors, including the aforementioned Joel Houle (physical education) and Steven Gusew (management), as well as defensive lineman Ousmane Guindo (sociology) of Laval, Que., defensive back David Polynice (industrial relations) of Montreal and defensive lineman Anis Kali (finance) of St. Augustin de Desmaures, Que.


2017-18 McGILL FOOTBALL MAJOR AWARDS PROFILES:

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER (Students' Society Trophy):
Jeremy Sauvageau (see profile above)

MOST OUTSTANDING OFFENSIVE PLAYER (Dan Pronyk Memorial Trophy):
Jeremy Sauvageau (see profile above)

MOST OUTSTANDING DEFENSIVE PLAYER (Friends of McGill Trophy):
Dane Wagner, a 6-foot-1, 217-pound linebacker, started all eight games and spearheaded the defence with a team-leading 41 total tackles, 30 of them solos. The 21-year-old history junior had 7.5 tackles for loss, including 1.5 quarterback sacks. He was also credited with one interception and a fumble recovery.

MOST OUTSTANDING SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER (Vaughan McVey Trophy):
Dane Wagner (see profile above)

MOST OUTSTANDING TEAM PLAYER (Charlie Baillie Trophy):
Dane Wagner (see profile above)

MOST SPORTSMANLIKE PLAYER (Fred Wigle Memorial Trophy):
Joel Houle, a 24-year-old from Chateauguay, Que., is a versatile 6-foot-3, 230-pound tight end, who has also played on the offensive line and at quarterback. Also a recipient of a Jean Beliveau leadership award, he is a five-time trophy winner for the Redmen, including most sportsmanlike three times, as well as most outstanding graduating player and most dedicated player (2015). A holder of the Charlie Baillie football scholarship, Houle is a physical and health education senior 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 OUTSTANDING GRADUATING PLAYER (Adriano Tassone Memorial Trophy):
Joel Houle (see profile above)

MOST DEDICATED PLAYER (Dr. Willie Lambert Trophy):
Kamba Katchelewa, a six-foot, 227-pound linebacker from LaSalle, Que., saw duty in seven contests and registered four solos and one assisted tackle. The 23-year-old physical and health education junior had one tackle for loss and also had one knockdown.

MOST IMPROVED PLAYER (Vic Obeck Trophy):
Jacob Dwinnell, a 6-foot-1, 188-pound wide receiver from London, Ont., played in six of the team's eight regular season games. The 21-year-old economics junior hauled in 10 receptions for 147 yards.

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR (Fred Dupré Memorial Trophy):
Xavier Bilodeau, a 6-foot-1, 217-pound defensive lineman from Quebec City, dressed for all eight games. The 21-year-old Arts freshman registered 19 total tackles, including a pair of quarterback sacks.

MOST OUTSTANDING LINEMAN (Touchdown Club Trophy):
Steven Gusew is a 6-foot-3, 282-pound offensive lineman from Boucherville, Que. The 25-year-old management senior started all eight games at left tackle.

AWARD FOR PROFICIENCY IN ACADEMICS, ATHLETICS & CITIZENSHIP (Dr. Strachan Hartley Memorial Trophy)
Jean-Philippe Hudon, a 5-foot-7, 181-pound defensive back from St. Nicolas, Que., ranked fourth on the team in total tackles with 33.5 in seven games. Hudon registered a team-leading three QB sacks to go along with a knockdown, one forced fumble and a fumble recovery. A 22-year-old science sophomore majoring in kinesiology, he earned Academic All-Canadian status and merited a berth on the Principal's Student-athlete Honour Roll.

 
SOURCE:

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