Alberta Golden Bears’ running back Matthew Peterson has been named the U Sports offensive player of the week.
The native of Brooks, Alta. had a career day as he helped lead his team to a 26-22 upset win over the Saskatchewan Huskies. He carried the ball 16 times for 191 yards and caught five passes for 104 yards, finishing the game with 295 all-purpose yards. He set a new program record with a 104-yard run in the third quarter, which also tied the ninth-longest run in U Sports history.
The five-foot-ten, 210-pound ball-carrier has now rushed for 448 yards through three games this season, helping Alberta start the year 3-0 and crack the U Sports football national rankings for the first time in 2023.
The other nominees for the award were Mount Allison running back Brandt Burzuk (AUS), Montreal quarterback Jonathan Sénécal (RSEQ), and Wilfrid Laurier quarterback Taylor Elgersma (OUA).
Bishop’s Gaiters’ linebacker Gabriel Royer was named the U Sports defensive player of the week after making 9.5 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, 0.5 sacks, one interception, and one pass knockdown in his team’s 40-9 win over the Acadia Axemen. The native of Lawrenceville, Que. has now made 22 tackles on the year to lead the AUS conference.
The other nominees were Concordia defensive back Loïk Gagné (RSEQ), Western defensive back Jackson Findlay (OUA), and UBC defensive back Max Kennedy (CW)
Carleton kicker returner Othman Brahm was named the U Sports special teams player of the week after returning five punts for 165 yards and a touchdown in his team’s 52-0 win over the York Lions. The Laval, Que. native now leads the OUA in punt return average this season at 24.7 yards per attempt.
The other nominees for the recognition were Mount Allison kicker Graeme Maither (AUS), Montreal kicker Philippe Boyer (RSEQ), and Alberta returner Jonathan Giustini (CW).
Click here for a full breakdown of this past weekend’s football action in U Sports and click here for this week’s U Sports top ten football rankings, which featured significant movement this week.
