Promotion
Canadians in the NCAA: Week 9

Canadians in the NCAA: Week 9

By Michael Preston

Buffalo defensive lineman Ronald Hilaire came out on top of a personal rivalry with fellow Quebecer Jabari Arthur during the ninth week of NCAA college football action.

Hilaire, who hails from Laval, QC, and his Bulls triumphed 26-10 over Arthur’s (Montreal, QC) Akron Zips, succeeding where few have done so before this season in shutting down one of the Mid American Conference’s most potent offensive threats. Arthur was held to just 3 receptions for 39 yards and a solitary carry for 6 yards as Buffalo remained on top in the MAC.

Arthur became the Zips’ all-time leading receiver earlier this year and currently has 55 receptions for 726 yards and eight touchdowns. The former Vieux Montreal Prep renewed a rivalry with Hilaire, a former Vanier Prep standout, when Akron and Buffalo clashed.

Hilaire recorded 6 tackles and a sack and a crucial stop on third and one that led to Akron punting away possession before Buffalo marched 71 yards downfield to take the decisive lead in the game. He said: “We are building every week and are in the driving seat in the MAC which is where we intend to stay.”

Buffalo senior James Judges (Pickering, ON) had a quarterback hurry as Akron threw four straight incompletions while chasing the game.

Jerome Miller (Toronto, ON) continues to impress for Missouri Rolla and carried the ball 18 times for 112 yards and a touchdown in a 48-10 victory over Lincoln. Miller, who also had 2 receptions for 15 yards, dashed 27 yards for a touchdown to open up a 34-10 lead in the win.

Another Toronto native, wide receiver Kevin Logan, caught only one pass for 4 yards for Lafayette against Colgate, but it was worth six points. His touchdown grab capped a 13-play, 71-yard drive for a 7-0 lead in a game the Leopards would eventually lose 36-27. Also from Toronto, junior receiver Eric Lee carried the ball 3 times and gained 10 yards as Weber State won a high-scoring shootout against Portland State by 73-68.

Former Vanier College standout Kevin Challenger caught 4 passes for 60 yards as Boston College remained unbeaten and retained the number two ranking in the polls with a 14-10 win at Virginia Tech. Across the Charles River in Cambridge, Harvard wide receiver Matt Lagace had 3 receptions for 42 yards in a 28-21 Crimson win over Dartmouth.

Upsetting a ranked team this week was Connecticut, whose tight end Martin Bedard (Laval, QC) played in a 22-15 defeat of spiraling South Florida, the first time the Huskies have downed a Top 25 team.

Back on the defensive side of the ball, Tristan Black (Toronto, ON) led the way with 7 tackles and a sack in a losing effort for Wayne State against Northwood. Jamal Westermann’s (Brampton, ON) 4 tackles and a sack were not able to prevent Rutgers from falling to a 31-3 loss to number-six ranked West Virginia, while most other Canadians making defensive plays fared better in terms of putting one in the win column.

There were 6 tackles and 2 passes defended for Eric Fraser (Burnaby, BC) for Central Michigan in a 41-32 win at Kent State, junior defensive end Mike Stadnyk (Regina, SK) had 3 stops and half a sack as Montana came out on top of Northern Arizona 21-16 and Keith Shologan (Edmonton, AB) was good for a tackle as UCF defeated Southern Miss 34-17.

Mike McEachern (Calgary, AB) posted 2 tackles for Western Illinois in a 27-14 win over cross-state rival Illinois State and freshman linebacker Casey Carr made a tackle in another shootout, a 70-63 Abilene Christian win over Tarleton State. The win over number eight-ranked Tarleton gave number 21 Christian a shot at making the D-II playoffs with a record that currently stands at 7-2. On special teams, Matt Black (Toronto, ON) returned 3 kickoffs 60 yards, including a longest return of 25 yards, as Saginaw Valley State won 29-24 against Indianapolis. Black also made 3 tackles on defense.