CFL.ca Staff
OTTAWA — Western quarterback Michael Faulds and McGill receiver Charles-Antoine Sinotte made Canadian university football history on Saturday afternoon when they became the CIS career leaders for most passing yards and receptions, respectively.
Faulds, a fifth-year senior from Eden Mills, Ont., actually set two CIS marks in the Mustangs’ conference finale and the last regular season game of his career, a 47-0 win over Toronto, as he also established a single-season passing yards record.
Faulds completed 39 of 52 passes for a personal-best 550 yards and two touchdowns against the Varsity Blues, giving him 3,033 yards through the air on the season and 10,811 since his Mustangs debut in 2005.
Two-time Hec Crighton trophy winner Tommy Denison of Queen’s held the previous CIS single-season record of 3,001 yards since 2002, while McGill graduate Matt Connell set the old career mark of 10,455 a year ago in his final campaign with the Redmen.
Faulds 550-yard performance ranks fifth on the CIS single-game list and was five yards short of the Mustangs’ school record. Former Western great Warren Goldie passed for 555 yards in a playoff game against Toronto on Oct. 29, 1994.
Faulds, whose 39 completions against the Blues are tied for second on the CIS single-game list, also ends up near the top of the CIS career and single-season leader boards for most attempts and completions. He finishes second all-time with 1,241 career attempts, tied for seventh with 310 completions in a single season, second with 761 career completions, and third with 201 completions in a season.
Coming into the day, Queen’s Dan Brannagan of Burlington, Ont., also a fifth-year senior, was the front runner to break the career yards record as he entered the Gaels’ conference finale against Laurier – a 25-13 loss – with 10,425 yards, only 30 behind Connell and 164 ahead of Faulds.
Brannagan did hold the new mark for a brief moment Saturday when a 23-yard completion to Scott Valberg late in the second quarter brought his career total to 10,477, but he finished the game with 289 yards on 25-of-45 passing for a total of 10,714.
Brannagan also failed to add to his career touchdown passes total against Laurier and he ends up with 77 since 2005, good for third on the national list behind CIS record holder Chris Flynn of Saint Mary’s (87) and OUA record holder Josh Sacobie of Ottawa (79). He also ends up third on the CIS career list with 1,211 attempts and fourth with 667 completions, and his 2580 passing-yard season this fall – despite missing a game due to an injury – ranks ninth all-time.
Also of note in the Queen’s-Laurier match-up, Hawks kick returner Dillon Heap of Waterloo, Ont., added to the CIS mark for most punt return yards in a season he set a week ago. He added 15 yards on two returns to finish the campaign at 842.
Queen’s finishes the season with a 7-1 record good for first place in the OUA standings and a bye in the first round of the playoffs. Western finishes third at 6-2 and will host Guelph (3-5) next Saturday in an OUA quarterfinal (The Score, 1 p.m.).
Meanwhile at Montreal, Sinotte, a fourth-year veteran from Trois-Rivières, Que., caught 10 passes for 92 yards and a touchdown in a 30-25 loss to Concordia. He now has 195 receptions on his career, one more than the previous CIS record set a year ago by former McGill teammate Erik Galas, who needed five campaigns to haul in 194 balls.
Sinotte will get a chance to become the first player in history to reach the 200-catch plateau next Saturday when the Redmen (3-4) end the QUFL schedule against top-ranked Laval.
