Ottawa lineman earns honour
Second time was the charm for Ettore Lattanzio at the Canadian Interuniversity Sport football awards.
The fourth-year Ottawa Gee- Gees defensive tackle received the J.P. Metras Trophy as top lineman in 2014 during an awards ceremony on Thursday in Montreal.
Lattanzio is the third Gee- Gee to win the Metras award, following Boyd Young in 1984 and Chris Gioskos in 1989. He was selected from a field of candidates that included Ottawa Redblacks draft pick Vincent Desloges, a Laval Rouge et Or defensive tackle, Mount Allison Mounties defensive tackle Jacob LeBlanc and UBC Thunderbirds defensive tackle Donovan Dale.
A finalist last year, when the award went to McGill offensive tackle Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, Lattanzio led Ontario University Athletics football with eight quarterback sacks and tied for top spot among all CIS players with 14 tackles for loss.
The graduate of Mother Teresa High School in Nepean and the Myers Riders club program has a career total of 31 sacks in four seasons with the Gee- Gees. “Opponents always have to account for Ettore,” Gee- Gees head coach Jamie Barresi said. “He draws double teams all season long and still does what he does. His speed, strength, and determination set him apart and he is an incredibly important part of our team.”
Lattanzio and Desloges, who led CIS football with 12 sacks, were named CIS firstteam all-Canadians along with McMaster Marauders kicker Tyler Crapigna of Nepean and Carleton Ravens wide receiver Nate Behar.
Crapigna, whose Marauders team will face the Montreal Carabins in Saturday’s Vanier Cup national championship game, was 24-for-27 in field-goal attempts and set a new CIS career record with 84. Behar caught 48 passes for 837 yards, including a 55-yarder on the final play to give the Ravens a 33-31 victory against the Gee- Gees in the Panda Game.
Two Ottawa-area products now with the Acadia Axemen, kicker Ryan Bégin of Orléans and linebacker Drew Morris, were named secondteam all-Canadians.
The last Gee- Gee to win a major CIS football award was quarterback Brad Sinopoli, now a wide receiver with the CFL’s Calgary Stampeders, who received the Hec Crighton Trophy as most outstanding player in 2010.
This year’s Hec Crighton winner was Calgary Dinos quarterback Andrew Buckley. The fourth-year kinesiology student also received the Russ Jackson Award honouring excellence in football, academics and citizenship for the second consecutive year. Another Jackson nominee was Acadia defensive back Sean Stoqua of Ottawa.
Other award recipients included: Saint Mary’s Huskies linebacker Jonathan Langa, Presidents’ Trophy as defensive player of the year; Laval quarterback Hugo Richard, Peter Gorman Trophy as top rookie; and Mount Allison head coach Kelly Jeffrey, Frank Tindall Trophy.