Halfback Sammy Okpro was named the Concordia Stingers' most valuable player at the annual football awards banquet on Saturday night at Molson Breweries.
It was a special night as the members of the 2007 Stingers gathered as a team to celebrate their accomplishments. The graduating seniors addressed their teammates for the final time and former Concordia standout and Montreal Alouettes star Sylvain Girard was the guest speaker.
Girard also presented Okpro with team MVP award.
“Sammy is the best football player on our team,” says head coach Gerry McGrath. “He’s tough. He’s tenacious. His anticipation of what is going to happen next on the field is uncanny. He has a great understanding of the game and serves as a coach on the field.”
In seven games, Okpro had 30 solo tackles, 13 assists, one interception and three pass breakups. He was the second leading tackler on the Stingers.
He was named a QSSF all-star and a CIS all-Canadian in 2007.
Quarterback Liam Mahoney was named the Stingers’ MVP offence and outstanding offensive rookie. In just over four games he completed 60.2 per cent of his passes and threw for six touchdowns. He also rushed for more than 600 yards, averaging more than eight yards a carry.
He was the recipient of the Peter Gorman Trophy presented annually to the CIS’s outstanding rookie.
Second-year linebacker Cory Greenwood was the outstanding defensive player. He collected 41 solo tackles and 20 assists last season. He was named to the QSSF all-star team.
Other award recipients were: Kristian Matte, outstanding offensive lineman; Tom Kuchiran, outstanding defensive lineman; Rene Paredes, top special teams player; Nicholas Hum and Maurice Forbes, co-winners of the outstanding defensive rookie award; Sean Guevremont, most dedicated player, and Keith Dauper, top academic award.
