WATERLOO, Ont. — Jahnai-Taj Copeland-Lewis of McGill University returned an interception 58 yards for a touchdown and was named defensive player of the game but his efforts were insufficient as Team West secured a 32–20 victory in the 2025 U SPORTS East-West Bowl on Saturday. The all-star game played before 960 fans at Warrior Field was a showcase designed for top Canadian university football prospects eligible for the 2026 CFL Draft.
 
It was the highest scoring East-West Bowl since a 35-17 win for the West in 2019.

Quarterback Anton Amundrud of the Saskatchewan Huskies led Team West's offence, completing 19 of 29 passes for 301 yards, a touchdown and one interception, while playing just half the game. His squad's key target was UBC receiver Shemar McBean who merited offensive player-of-the-game honours after tallying 142 yards on three receptions and one touchdown.
 
Team West's offence was dominant, racking up 29 first downs and 540 net yards, compared to the East, which had 15 and 189, respectively.  The West's two quarterbacks found a dozen different receivers for a combined 399 yards. Both defensive units combined for five interceptions, including three by the East, forced three fumbles and had two QB sacks.
 
The West took a 7-0 lead midway through the opening quarter when Amundrud hooked up with Laurier's Layomi Ojutalayo for an 11-yard TD toss. McMaster kicker Michael Horvat converted and put the West ahead 10-0 with a 25-yard field-goal at the 4:36 mark of the second stanza.
 
Five minutes later, the East rallied with a 20-yard field-goal by Ottawa's Zach Copeland, followed by the  "pick-six" from Copeland-Lewis. The fleet, 5-foot-6, 189-pound defensive back from Lasalle, Texas, knotted the score at 10-10 with just eight seconds remaining before halftime. A certificate student, the Redbirds senior also recorded five solo tackles and two assisted tackles.

He was one of three McGill players in the East lineup. Other Redbirds included running back Brandon Ciccarello, a management junior from Kirkland, Que., who rushed four times for 25 yards and returned one kickoff for 15 yards. Completing the trio was offensive lineman Felix-Olivier Leclerc, an industrial relations junior from Quebec City.  Also, Khaalid Hicks, a defensive line coach at McGill, served on the East coaching staff.
 
Copeland, the aforementioned Team East kicker, added a rouge with four seconds remaining in the second quarter and a 22-yard field-goal at 14:58 of the third to put the East ahead 14-10.
 
But the West initiated a rally of their own when Waterloo quarterback Nick Orr hooked up with McBean for a 55-yard TD pass-and-run play to regain the lead (17-14) at 12:11 of the third quarter. Orr was named earlier in the week as one of nine U SPORTS pivots invited to a CFL training camp as part of the league's QB Internship program.
 
The West added a pair of majors in the final quarter, on a four-yard run by Guelph's Isaiah Smith and a one-yard plunge by Guelph's Donavin Milloy.
 
The East completed the scoring on the final play of the contest when Carleton linebacker Christopher Toupin recovered a fumble and rumbled 23 yards into the endzone.
 
More information available at East-West Bowl Game Day Information webpage.
 
2025 EAST-WEST BOWL TEAM ROSTERS
 

EAST ROSTER
Position	Player	University
QB	Alex Vreeken	Queen's
QB	Jerome Rancourt	Western
RB	Jack Nyrose	Toronto
RB	Brandon Ciccarello	McGill
RB	Angel Vital	Laval
RB	Quentin Scott	Wilfrid Laurier
HB/FB	Noah Legros	Sherbrooke
HB/FB	Sandro Pierini	Western
REC	Zachary Houde	StFX
REC	Joshua Jack	Saint Mary's
REC	Hugo Lacroix	Sherbrooke
REC	Russell Weir	Queen's
REC	Chad Alexander	Acadia
REC	Cedric Maurice	Bishop's
REC	Thomas Desrosier	Sherbrooke
REC	Nolan Cheeseman	Mount Allison
REC	Frederick Hachey	Carleton
OL	Chidera Oragui	StFX
OL	Damien Irep	Concordia
OL	Zac Cloutier	Ottawa
OL	Sebastian Holden	Toronto
OL	Alassane Diouf	Montreal
OL	Felix-Olivier Leclerc	McGill
OL	Adam Lachance	Montreal
OL	Matt Ljuden	Alberta
OL	Carter Stuart	Alberta
DL	David McGill	StFX
DL	Liam MacDonald	Saint Mary's
DL	Brody Burke	Carleton
DL	Josh Dunham	Acadia
DL	Curtis Squires	Mount Allison
DL	Parker Williams	Toronto
DL	Kailan Harrison	Acadia
DL	Otito Nwaogu	StFX
LB	Steven Kpehe	Queen's
LB	Matthew Schill	Saint Mary's
LB	Loic Gagne	Concordia
LB	Jaxxon Breashear	Ottawa
LB	Christopher Toupin	Carleton
LB	Justin Pace	Queen's
LB	Charles-Elliott Boulianne	Montreal
LB	Nicolas Roy	Montreal
DB	Jean-Sebastien Lamothe	Concordia
DB	Schneider Cave	Carleton
DB	Ethan Doherty	Mount Allison
DB	Alex MacDonald	Bishop's
DB	Jahnai-Taj Copeland-Lewis	McGill
DB	Cherif Camara	Bishop's
DB	Patrick Cumberbatch	Ottawa
DB	Mathis Berube	Montreal
DB	Louis-Philippe Gauthier	Montreal
LS	Chris Liberta	Concordia
K/P	Zach Copeland	Ottawa
WEST ROSTER
Position	Player	University
QB	Anton Amundrud	Saskatchewan
QB	Nick Orr	Waterloo
RB	Donavin Milloy	Guelph
RB	Liam Talbot	Windsor
RB	Melchis Ilunga	York
RB	Isaiah Smith	Guelph
HB/FB	Evan Basalyga	Waterloo
HB/FB	Sebastian Parsalidas	Wilfrid Laurier
REC	DeShawn Le Jour	Manitoba
REC	Shemar McBean	UBC
REC	Layomi Ojutalayo	Wilfrid Laurier
REC	Everett Reid	McMaster
REC	Carter Kettyle	Alberta
REC	Nathan Udoh	Manitoba
REC	Aidan Nemeth	McMaster
REC	Colby Ginn	Windsor
REC	Jarod Tessier	Guelph
OL	Brady Szeman	Calgary
OL	Riley Schick	Regina
OL	Victor Olaniran	Manitoba
OL	Nic Gidaro	Waterloo
OL	Jack Warrack	Saskatchewan
OL	Riley Scheffer	UBC
OL	Ethan Graham	Regina
OL	Spencer Walsh	Wilfrid Laurier
OL	Mitchell Schechinger	Guelph
OL	Fred Vreugdenhill	McMaster
DL	Franklin Ibelo	Calgary
DL	Kaleb Mackie-McLeod	Manitoba
DL	Charlie Parks	Saskatchewan
DL	Marcus Tenney	Wilfrid Laurier
DL	Robert Keyes-Wilson	Guelph
DL	Connor Franzisi	Western
DL	Marcus Ola	Waterloo
DL	Nathan Jule	Saskatchewan
DL	Yunus Larry	Guelph
LB	Osasere Odemwingie	Calgary
LB	Anthony Sestanovic	McMaster
LB	Brody Clark	York
LB	Ben Dobson	Calgary
LB	Colin Mckeller	Regina
LB	Peyton Ryder	York
LB	Kirill Niari	York
DB	Ethan John	Windsor
DB	Isaiah Blackson	Waterloo
DB	Carson Sombach	Regina
DB	Tristan Miller	Wilfrid Laurier
DB	Harrison Daley	Windsor
DB	Denny Ferdinand	Ottawa
DB	Mason Henry	Waterloo
DB	Benjamin Sangmuah	UBC
K/P	Michael Horvat	McMaster

 

WEST COACHING STAFF
Position	Coach	University / Team
Head Coach	Michael Faulds	Wilfrid Laurier
Offensive Coordinator	Mason Nyhus	Saskatchewan
Defensive Coordinator	Donnavan Carter	Guelph
Special Teams Coord.	Myles Manalo	Western
Quarterbacks Coach	Tom Flaxman	Hamilton Tiger-Cats
Running Backs Coach	Josh Martin	Alberta
Receivers Coach	Stevenson Bone	Alberta
Receivers Coach	Brandon McCracken	Wilfrid Laurier
Offensive Line Coach	Adam Blasetti	Calgary
Offensive Line Coach	Sean Jamieson	Western
Offensive Line Coach	Chris Hopkins	McMaster
Defensive Line Coach	Chris Anstey	Calgary
Defensive Line Coach	Andy Williams	Manitoba
Linebackers Coach	Matt Berry	Guelph
Linebackers Coach	Derek Lamer	Regina
Defensive Backs Coach	Tanner Hamade	Guelph
Defensive Backs Coach	Mike Domanico	Windsor
Women's Intern Coach	Kendall Westlake	Windsor

EAST COACHING STAFF
Position	Coach	University / Team
Head Coach	Cherif Nicolas	Bishop's
Offensive Coordinator	Scott Borden	Mount Allison
Defensive Coordinator	Zak Colangelo	Mount Allison
Special Teams Coord.	Brad Miller	Ottawa
Special Teams Assistant	Mack Holliday	Carleton
Quarterbacks Coach	Maxime Gauthier	Sherbrooke
Running Backs Coach	Kevin Regimbald	Sherbrooke
Receivers Coach	Corey Grant	Carleton
Receivers Coach	Rushon Dagelman	Waterloo
Offensive Line Coach	Dave Van Den Heuvel	StFX
Offensive Line Coach	Angus O'Mara	Carleton
Defensive Line Coach	Khaalid Hicks	McGill
Defensive Line Coach	Adam Melanson	Acadia
Linebackers Coach	Chris Johnson	Toronto
Linebackers Coach	Jean-Gabriel Poulin	Alberta
Defensive Backs Coach	Antoine Pruneau	Montreal
Defensive Backs Coach	Jerome Erdman	Waterloo
Women's Intern Coach	Sierra McPhail	Waterloo

SOURCE:
Earl Zukerman
Sports Information Officer
Athletics & Recreation
McGill University
514-983-7012 (Tel.)
www.mcgillathletics.ca
earl.zukerman@mcgill.ca