TORONTO, Ont. - For the first time during the 2021 football season, a Guelph Gryphon football player has received national recognition. On Wednesday (Oct. 20, 2021), Gryphons third-year receiver
Clark Barnes was named U SPORTS Special Teams Player of the Week following his performance on Oct. 16 in Guelph's 27-10 victory over the Waterloo Warriors, highlighted by a 108-yard kick return for a touchdown.
U SPORTS Football Players of the Week (Oct. 16, 2021)
Offensive – Adam Machart (RB) Saskatchewan Huskies
Defensive – Keagan Hughes (LB) Bishop's Gaiters
Special Teams – Clark Barnes (RET) Guelph Gryphons
Special Teams Player of the Week: Clark Barnes, Guelph
Back in 2019,
Clark Barnes burst onto the OUA football scene by setting a school record with three kickoff returns for touchdowns in the first three games of his collegiate career. His 2019 rookie season was capped with national honours, as Barnes was named a U SPORTS First Team All-Canadian returner.
In 2021, his second season of OUA action following the cancelled 2020 campaign, Barnes is up to his old tricks. On Saturday night at Alumni Stadium, Barnes electrified the home crowd midway through the 3rd quarter, fielding a kickoff at his own 2-yard line before exploding 108-yards the other way for the fourth kickoff return for a touchdown in his career.
The long strides and breakaway speed for the 6-2, 200 lbs Barnes have become a familiar sight for Gryphon fans, as well as opposing teams, with Barnes going untouched the length of the field at a critical time of the game to restore a two-touchdown lead for the Gryphons over the Warriors. The Brampton native's 108-yard kick return was the longest return of the 2021 U SPORTS season by any player, with the touchdown also marking the lone kick return for a touchdown in U SPORTS football so far this season.
Nominees
CW: Logan Bitz, defensive back, Saskatchewan
OUA:
Clark Barnes, kick returner, Guelph
(Winner)
RSEQ: Alan Penverne, punter, Montréal
AUS: James Parker, kicker, Mount Allison
Offensive Player of the Week: Adam Machart, Saskatchewan Huskies
Machart had his biggest offensive game of the season, amassing 221 total yards for the Huskies in their 54-27 win over the Alberta Golden Bears. Machart rushed the ball 11 times for 132 yards, including a 68-yard major on the game's opening offensive play.
The fourth-year running back added another 89 yards receiving and was the recipient of one of Saskatchewan quarterback Mason Nyhus' four touchdown passes on the day.
Nominees
CW: Adam Machart, running back, Saskatchewan
(Winner)
OUA: Keon Edwards, running back, Western
RSEQ: Bertrand Beaulieu, running back, Montréal
AUS: Louis-Philippe Gregoire, running back, Bishop's
Defensive Player of the Week: Keagan Hughes, Bishop's Gaiters
A fifth-year sports studies student from West Kelowna, BC, Hughes led the Gaiters' defense in Saturday's 15-14 win over the Acadia Axemen. The veteran linebacker tallied 13 tackles on the day, including 12 solo tackles. Hughes also added 3 tackles for a loss of 43 total yards. The 13 tackles are tied for the sixth-most in a single game in the AUS record book and rank second in school history.
Hughes currently leads the AUS in total tackles for the 2021 season, with 30 to his name and leads in tackles per game (7.5) as well as tackles for loss (6 for 53 yards).
Nominees
CW: Stefan Conway, defensive back, Maitoba
OUA: James Greig, linebacker, Toronto
RSEQ: Thomas Landry, defensive Back, Laval
AUS: Keagan Hughes, linebacker Bishop's Gaiters
(Winner)
