Players Of The...Past Couple Of Weeks

The OUA revealed its weekly award winners earlier today which only underscored that I once again neglected to record them a week ago. So I'll do those first.

Defensive Player of Week Seven – Trevor Hoyte, Carleton Ravens

In a must-win game for Carleton, the Ravens were going up against one of the nation’s best, with the McMaster Marauders finding their groove on both sides of the ball. But with Trevor Hoyte at the heart of it, Carleton was able to upend the Hamilton squad and come away with the clutch victory. 

Hoyte was a man on a mission against the Marauders, making his presence felt on multiple occasions across the field. The third-year linebacker picked up eight tackles in the game, all of the solo variety, to produce a game-high in the category. He also added a forced fumble to his impressive stat line. The effort was also a season-high for the Gatineau, Que. native and brought his season average up to over 4.5 tackles per game. 

Not only was the defensive effort important in shutting down the Marauders when it mattered, especially in the opening half, but it was a much-needed effort in a must-win scenario to keep the Ravens’ playoff hopes alive.

For a little additional background, here's some text from the Ravens' announcement about Hoyte joining the program in 2017.

...the defensive standout played for several teams including Bel-Air Norsemen of the National Capital Amateur Football Association (NCAFA), Philemon Wright Falcons of the National Capital Secondary School Athletic Association (NCSSAA) and Hadley Hawks.

Special Teams Player of Week Seven – Kevin Victome, Ottawa Gee-Gees

The Ottawa Gee-Gees kept their winning ways intact against Windsor on Friday, more than doubling up on the Lancers when the final whistle blew, and a key figure in the win was on the special teams side of the ball – Kevin Victome. The freshman cornerback has been off to an outstanding start to his career in Garnet and Grey and his latest effort was highlighted by a pair of plays that were a definite factor in the outcome. 

Up only one point in the third quarter, Victome flew off the edge to block a go-ahead field goal from the Lancers. If that wasn’t enough, the Ottawa native made another standout effort early in the fourth quarter. Victome sped downfield on a kickoff, laying a hit on the returner and forcing a fumble that resulted in a scoop and score touchdown for the Gee-Gees who eventually won 54-26. 

For the game, Victome also racked up 4.5 tackles and a pass breakup.

Carleton also placed a player on the Week 8 honourees.

Defensive Player of the Week – Danny McWhirter, Carleton Ravens

In their second straight must-win game to close out the season, the Carleton Ravens did what they had to do, as Danny McWhirter and the team defence stepped up in a big way to shut down Laurier and claim the final spot in the Yates Cup playoffs. 

McWhirter was a one-man wrecking crew for the Ravens, with his eyes on lighting up seemingly any time a ball was thrown in his direction. The third-year defensive back made his initial impact with a pick-six late in the opening half. He got his hands on the Connor Carusello pass and took it back 52 yards to the house to give Carleton a 12-0 lead at the time. He wasn’t even close to being done there; however, as he would haul in his next interception just a few minutes later to halt Laurier in their tracks once again. He would cap off his three-interception day by snagging a deep Carusello pass early in the fourth quarter and keep momentum the way of the black birds. 

McWhirter would finish the day with four pass break-ups, including the three interceptions, as well as one solo tackle, helping to limit Laurier to just 190 yards passing and 10 points on the day and punch Carleton’s ticket to the postseason.

McWhirter as named to the OUA all-rookie team in 2017.