Laval Rouge et Or receiver Kevin Mital has been awarded the Jeff Russel Trophy as the most outstanding player in the Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ).
The 23-year-old receiver had a historic second campaign with Laval, tying Ottawa’s Rob Harrod (1998) and Bishop’s Alexander Fox (2013) for RSEQ’s single-season receiving touchdown record with 12. He added 58 catches for 751 yards, leading the nation in all three categories.
The transfer from Syracuse set a team record with four receiving touchdowns in a single game against McGill on September 3 and notched three scores on two other occasions. Mital accounted for 72 of the Rouge et Or’s 274 points this season, a record for a U Sports pass catcher.
With 19 career receiving touchdowns in 16 career games, Mital is already Laval’s all-time leader in that category and sits just six shy of the top spot in the RSEQ record books.
Also receiving major awards were Montreal linebacker Nicky Farinaccio, who was named the the conference’s Outstanding Defensive Player, and Laval tackle Nathaniel Dumoulin Duguay, who took home the Outstanding Lineman award.
Farinaccio led the nation with 10.5 sacks in his second season with the Carabins, finishing just two short of the U Sports record. He forced three fumbles while tackling the opposing quarterback and added 33.5 tackles.
In his second university season, Dumoulin-Duguay headlined a Laval offensive line that allowed only nine sacks this season, helping quarterback Arnaud Desjardins to complete 73 percent of his passes, a Canadian record.
McGill quarterback Eloa Latendresse-Regimbald was named the Outstanding Offensive Rookie and will receive the conference’s nomination for the national Peter Gorman Trophy. Laval’s Glen Constantin received the RSEQ’s Coach of the Year trophy, while Sherbrooke’s Luc Sylvain was honoured as the top volunteer assistant.
Each player and coach will now be in contention for the equivalent national award. Montreal halfback Nicolas Roy was named Outstanding Defensive Rookie and Concordia returner Santino Sparagna was honoured as the conference’s top special teams player, neither of which have equivalent categories at the U Sports level.
The RSEQ season will wrap up following the Dunsmore Cup on Saturday, November 12. The Laval Rouge et Or and the Montreal Carabins are scheduled for a 2:00 p.m. EST kick-off.
