FB: Alberta's Peterson named CW Player of the Year

Nov. 9, 2023 - Alberta running back Matthew Peterson has been named the 2023 CW Football Player of the Year after leading a resurgent Golden Bears team back to the playoffs with their best regular season record since 2005.

The conference unveiled its major award winners Thursday, which also included UBC's Theo Benedet as Outstanding Lineman, Regina quarterback Owen Sieben as Rookie of the Year, Saskatchewan's Nick Wiebe as Defensive Player of the Year, and Alberta's Chris Morris as Coach of the Year.

Manitoba offensive lineman Mark Rauhaus was named the Student-Athlete Community Service recipient, while Bisons Assistant Coach Vaughan Mitchell was named the conference's Gino Fracas Award nominee for U SPORTS Assistant Coach of the Year.

The winners will go on as Canada West's nominations for the U SPORTS national awards.

PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Matthew Peterson
​Team: Alberta Golden Bears
​Position: Running Back
​Year: Fourth
​Hometown: Brooks, Alta. ​
​Program: Arts

Powering the Golden Bears to their best regular season in nearly two decades, fourth-year running back Matthew Peterson has been named the Canada West Player of the Year.

Peterson led Canada West with 1,128 rush yards, the second highest rush total in the entire nation. The Brooks, Alta. product finished with an absurd 9.6 yards per carry in 2023, adding four rushing touchdowns for the 6-2 Golden Bears. Peterson also added 11 receptions for 157 yards, leading the conference with 1,285 all-purpose yards.

The former U-18 Team Canada running back also etched his named in various record books in 2023, with his 1,128 rush yards the fourth most in Golden Bears history. Peterson’s 104-yard rush against Saskatchewan in Week 3 was the second longest in CW history, with a 95-yard scamper the following week marking the ninth longest.

He is the sixth Golden Bear to win the Canada West Player of the Year Award, and first since Ed Ilnicki in 2017.

Peterson will now move forward as the Canada West nominee for the U SPORTS Hec Crighton Trophy.

“Matthew is one of the most complete players I have ever coached. On the field, Matt is the ultimate competitor. He plays with a ferocity and at a level of physicality that is difficult to match. This mentality combined with his explosiveness and ability to score from anywhere on the field has made him the most dynamic offensive threat in Canada West Football this season.”
​-Chris Morris, Alberta Golden Bears head coach

OUTSTANDING LINEMAN: Theo Benedet
​Team: UBC Thunderbirds
​Position: Offensive lineman
​Year: Fourth
​Hometown: North Vancouver, B.C.
​Program: Arts

Selected as a unanimous Canada West offensive All-Star for the second straight year, Theo Benedet also repeats his 2022 Outstanding Lineman award.

Starting every game for the Thunderbirds since his rookie season in 2019, the North Vancouver native burst onto the national scene last year, winning the J.P. Metras Trophy as U SPORTS Lineman of the Year, the first Thunderbird to win the award since 1999 and the first offensive lineman to do so since McGill’s Laurent Duvernay-Tardif in 2013.

Serving once again as the Canada West J.P. Metras nominee this year, Benedet’s abilities have grown even more over the past season, thanks in part to working closely with veteran offensive line coach Dan Dorazio.

Last February, the 6-foot-7, 305 pound right tackle was the lone Canadian invited to participate in the prestigious East-West Shrine Bowl at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, North America’s premiere college all-star showcase.

Benedet entered the 2023 season as the top ranked U SPORTS CFL draft eligible prospect, ranked third overall.

While much credit for UBC’s high flying offence rightly goes to quarterback Garrett Rooker and an outstanding receiving and running back core, the efforts of Benedet as a leader on the front line cannot be discounted, providing critical protection for the top offence in the conference.

OUTSTANDING DEFENSIVE PLAYER: Nick Wiebe
​Team: Saskatchewan Huskies
​Position: Linebacker
​Year: Third
​Hometown: Calgary, Alta.
​Program: Business

One of the greatest linebackers in U SPORTS this season, Nick Wiebe had a tremendous impact on the success of the Saskatchewan Huskies.

With 47 solo tackles, 27 assisted tackles and one sack, the third year from Calgary, AB was the cornerstone of the Huskies defence, helping the team to a 5-3 record. Wiebe led the conference in tackles with 60.5 total (47 solo, 27 assisted), for an average of 7.6 per game. That mark placed him in elite company across the country, as he had the fourth highest tackles per game across U SPORTS.

"Nick is an incredible talent who has grown immensely during his time as a Huskie. He’s smart, fast and physical, he plays linebacker the way it should be played, he loves football. He’s a leader and an absolute joy to coach.”
​-Scott Flory, Saskatchewan Huskies head coach

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Owen Sieben
​Team: Regina Rams
​Position: Quarterback
​Year: First
​Hometown: Langley, B.C.
​Program: Arts

Sieben missed almost all of his senior year at Port Coquitlam’s Terry Fox Secondary due to injury, but returned to full strength in 2023 and played a pivotal role for the Regina Rams in his first season of U SPORTS football.

Sieben had a brilliant camp, but it looked like he was headed for a redshirt season with veteran quarterbacks Noah Pelletier and Bryden O’Flaherty both on the roster. That all changed in Week 3, when Sieben took over as the team’s starting quarterback with both Pelleter and O’Flaherty injured. And it was all Sieben from there, as the first-year pivot immediately established himself as one of the most accurate passers in the conference and finished second in Canada West and 10^th in all of U SPORTS with a 64.6% completion percentage.

“To come into Canada West and play at the level that Owen did as an 18-year-old was nothing short of impressive,” Rams head coach Mark McConkey said. “He was ready from the moment he got here at spring camp. Owen works hard, he’s dialed in with his reads and his progressions, and he’s super coachable. He wants to get better, he wants to compete, and he’s got maturity well beyond what you’d expect from a first-year player. Owen has an exceptionally bright future as a football player and as a person.”

In his six games played, Sieben completed 117 of his 181 passes for a total of 1,356 yards including five touchdowns. Also a threat to run the ball, Sieben scrambled 22 times for 131 yards including a late game-tying 7-yard touchdown at Manitoba.

STUDENT-ATHLETE COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARD WINNER: Mark Rauhaus
​Team: Manitoba Bisons
​Position: Offensive Lineman
​Year: Third
​Hometown: Winnipeg, Man.
​Program: Biochemistry

Rauhaus is regarded by his coaches and peers as a well-rounded and impactful student-athlete willing to learn at every opportunity. He is diligent, considerate, extremely dedicated to his sport, studies, and community service.

In addition to the heavy training demands the sport of football requires, Rauhaus has selflessly dedicated his time to helping others off the field, and has devoted himself to becoming a better leader. In spring of 2023, Rauhaus was selected to the President Student Leadership Program, a prestigious program with a cohort of just 22 students selected annually from across Manitoba. Through this program, he had the opportunity to travel across the province to network and learn from a variety of influential leaders.

As part of the leadership program, Mark spearheaded an initiative to help New Directions, a social work organization. He piloted a project that integrates independent skills workshops into the supported independent living program, supporting people with intellectual and physical disabilities. Throughout the summer, Mark worked closely with participants and identified financial skills as an area of need and interest. In conjunction with SEED Winnipeg, he was able to formulate a financial skills curriculum. In addition to his summer research position and extensive summer training, Mark devoted 3-4 hours/week to this initiative. This project was quite personal to Mark, as his brother has autism.

For the 2023-2024 academic year, Mark was also elected by his peers to be on the UMAC executive as the Director of Bisons Against Bullying. This program brings Bisons student-athletes into schools to share stories and lessons about bullying, and to encourage bystanders to speak up and step in to put an end to bullying.

“Mark carries himself with the utmost integrity and is a role model to the young players in our program. His influence on those around him is all encompassing, he helps bring out the best athlete and person in those around him, often serving as a moral compass. Mark was seven games into his best season as a Bison before he tore his MCL, He is selfless and identifies his personal success with the whole team, his reaction to set-back and failure has always been to reset and find another way to move forward."
​-Brian Dobie, Manitoba Bisons head coach

Coach of the Year: Chris Morris
​Team: Alberta Golden Bears

Guiding the Golden Bears to their first winning season since 2005, Chris Morris has been named the Canada West Coach of the Year.

It is the first Coach of the Year Award for Morris, who has now led the Bears to three playoff appearances in the last four seasons. The 2023 iteration of the Bears finished second in Canada West with a 6-2 record, and have been ranked inside the U SPORTS Top 10 for seven consecutive weeks.

A 14-year CFL veteran and three-time Grey Cup Champion with the Edmonton Elks, Morris led the Bears to the second-highest scoring offence in CW in 2023, with the Bears averaging 30.9 points per game this season. Their 228 rush yards per game led the conference by nearly 60 yards per game, with their 475 yards per game ranking fourth in the nation.

The Bears six regular season wins in 2023 are the most under Morris, who took over the program prior to the 2013 season. He is the seventh Bears head coach to be named the CW Coach of the Year, and will now move forward as the conference’s nominee for the U SPORTS Frank Tindall Trophy. ​

“Chris leads by example and he has worked tirelessly for the betterment of the University of Alberta's football program and our student-athletes. It is very gratifying to see Chris recognized with the Canada West Coach of the Year award, but even more so to see the collective efforts of the entire program be rewarded with strong on-field results this season.” ​
​- Katie Spriggs, University of Alberta Interim Director of Athletics

GINO FRACAS AWARD NOMINEE: Vaughan Mitchell
​Team: Manitoba Bisons
​Year: Twenty-fifth

Recognizing the outstanding support he provides to both the Manitoba Bisons players and fellow coaching staff, Vaughan Mitchell has been named the CW nominee for the Gino Fracas Award.

Mitchell, a Bisons alum himself, has worked in a variety of capacities for the team, first as the offensive line coach in 1997, before transitioning to the offensive coordinator. He has worked with the teams' running backs, before taking on extra responsibility as the run game and protections coordinator.

After taking a season off to focus on family, Vaughan returned to the Bisons in 2018 as an Offensive Consultant. In 2019, Vaughan began his third stint as Offensive Coordinator.

The Gino Fracas Award is presented by Football Canada annually to recognize the assistant coaches that provide endless hours to improve the experience for the players while providing support to other coaches. This award recognizes the key role that assistant coaches play in football, as they are instrumental to the success of programs across the country.

Mitchell is the quintessential example of this. Throughout his time as a coach in the program, Vaughan has conducted himself with integrity and demonstrated his love for the game on a daily basis. He volunteers his time at youth clinics, Manitoba provincial team practices, and is a long-time presenter at local football coaching clinics.

He has shown a true devotion to developing excellence with the Bison football team, as well as the local football community.