BURLINGTON, Ont. – Ontario University Athletics (OUA) is excited to announce the 2015 football first-team and second-team all-stars.

Following arguably one of the greatest offensive seasons in OUA and CIS history, the No. 2 ranked Western Mustangs will take the field on Saturday afternoon at TD Stadium in London, Ont. for the 108^th Yates Cup, presented by Investors Group, with a roster that features a league leading thirteen all-stars.  The purple powerhouse became the highest-scoring team in CIS football history this season, finishing the regular season with 494 points to break the previous single-season mark of 481 set by Laval in 2003.
 
The historic offence was once again led by quarterback Will Finch (Burlington, Ont.) who has been named an all-star for the third consecutive season.  Despite having his season cut short last year due to injury, Finch was named a second-team all-star a year after he was recognized as OUA MVP and a first-team selection in 2013.
 
The 6-foot-3, 215 lbs quarterback from Burlington, Ont., threw for 2616 yards and 17 touchdowns while completing 69.5 % of his passes this season.  As a whole, the fourth-year social science student captained a Mustangs offence that put up an unprecedented 729.5 yards per game.
 
For Western it all starts up front, as Finch received protection from an offensive line that features four OUA all-stars.  At centre, Matt Van Praet (London, Ontario) is a first-team all-star for the second time in his career after previously being named to the team in 2013.  This is the second straight season that guard Sean Jamieson (Winnipeg, Man.) and offensive tackle Eddie Meredith (Toronto, Ont.) have been named to the first-team, while the offensive tackle Kadeem Adams (Halifax, NS) will represent the group on the second-team.  Adams, a social science major, is an all-star for the first time since he was named to the first-team two seasons ago.
 
After being named an all-rookie just one year ago, Mustangs running back Alex Taylor (Winnipeg, Man.) established himself as one of the most dangerous players in the conference, if not the country this year.  In just his second year in OUA, Taylor, a 5-foot-10, 207 lbs back has been named a second-team all-star after a season in which he finished second in CIS with 1068 rushing yards in 8 games.  As if the sophomore standouts performance couldn't be any more impressive, he did it on just 99 carries, averaging over a first down per carry at 10.8 yards.
 
Lining up in the backfield with Taylor and Finch on the first-team is fullback Tom Marshall (London, Ont.) who is an all-star for the first time in his four seasons at Western.  Appearing in all eight games this year for Western, the social science major and son of head coach Greg Marshall finished fifth on the team in receptions (16) receiving yards (223).  Another favourite target of Finch's, receiver George Johnson (London, Ont.), is a second-team selection after averaging 16.9 yards per catch, fourth best in the conference.
 
On the defensive side of the ball the Mustangs were the stingiest team in the conference, allowing just 13.8 points per game against.  To put that into perspective, Western only allowed 110 points all season, with 49 of those points coming in wins over Queen's and McMaster.  In four of their eight games this season, the Mustangs limited the opposition to 10 points or less.  As a result, five players from that unit have been named OUA all-stars.
 
In his fourth season in OUA, defensive tackle Rupert Butcher (London, Ont.) is an all-star for the first time in his career.  The 6-foot-5, 296 lbs standout appeared in every game this season for Western, recording 10.5 tackles, five tackles for a loss and three sacks.  Joining Butcher as a first time all-star is defensive end, John Biewald (Ottawa, Ont.) who was named to the second-team.  In his fourth season in the purple and white, Biewald finished sixth on the team in total tackles with 28.5, while his 6.5 sacks ranks him second on the Mustangs.
 
For those teams that were brave enough to try and air it out against the 'Stangs secondary, on most cases they probably wish they hadn't.  The Mustangs tied for the lead in the country with 15 interceptions, with first-team cornerback Josh Woodman (Chatham, Ont.) and free safety Jesse McNair (London, Ont.), as well as second-team defensive halfback Malcolm Brown (London, Ont.) combining to record nine of those picks.
 
Woodman was a 2014 OUA first-team all-star and a CIS second-team all-Canadian last season.  In 8 games this season, the fourth-year social sciences major finished third on the team in total tackles (34.5) and tied for Brown for the team lead in interceptions with four.  After being named an all-rookie in 2013, injuries limited McNair to just four regular season games a year ago.  However, the 5-foot-11, 186 lbs free safety bounced back this year in a big way, leading the Mustangs with 45 tackles.  Brown is a second-team all-star for the first time in his career after the King's College student-athlete led the team with six pass break ups and tied for the lead in interceptions with Woodman.
 
The full OUA release is available here.
 
FIRST TEAM
 
Pos. - Athlete - University - Year - Hometown - Program
 
Offence
QB - Will Finch - Western - 4 - Burlington, Ont. - Social Science
RB - Dillon Campbell - Laurier - 5 - Whitby, Ont. - Kinesiology & PE
FB - Tom Marshall - Western - 4 - London, Ont. - Social Science
REC - Danny Vandervoort - McMaser - 3 - Barrie, Ont. - Sociology
REC - Ian Stewart - Ottawa - 5 - Burlington, Ont. - Finance
REC - Jacob Scarfone - Guelph - 3 - London, Ont. - Marketing Management
REC - Nathaniel Behar - Carleton - 3 - London, Ont. - Communications
C - Matt Van Praet - Western - 4 - London, Ont. - Kinesiology
T - Matthew Toppan - Guelph - 4 - Oakville, Ont. - Sociology
T - Eddie Meredith - Western - 3 - Toronto, Ont. - Social Sciences
G - Zach Intzandt - McMaster - 4 - London, Ont. - Justice, Political Philosophy & Law
G - Sean Jamieson - Western - 4 - Winnipeg, Man. - Kinesiology
 
Defence
DT - Rupert Butcher - Western - 4 - London, Ont. - Huron College
DT - Asante Mizan - Laurier - 5 - Brooklyn, N.Y. - Philosophy
DE - Kwaku Boateng - Laurier - 3 - Milton, Ont. - Business
DE - Mike Kashak - McMaster - 4 - Courtice, Ont. - Labour Studies & Political Science
LB - John Rush - Guelph - 5 - Niagara Falls, Ont. - Marketing Management
LB - Jake Heathcote - McMaster - 2 - Aldergrove, B.C. - Commerce
SAM - Matt Gayer - Windsor - 3 - Leamington, Ont. - Criminology
FS - Jesse McNair - Western - 3 - London, Ont. - BMOS
HB - Nick Parisotto - Guelph - 2 - Guelph, Ont. - Leadership and Organizational Management
HB - Nathaniel Hamlin - Carleton - 3 - Ottawa, Ont. - Communications
CB - Godfrey Onyeka - Laurier - 2 - Brampton, Ont. - Health Sciences
CB - Josh Woodman - Western - 3 - Chatham, Ont. - Social Sciences
 
Special Teams
P - TJ Morton - Toronto - 3 - Elkton, Md. - Communications
K - Gabriel Ferraro - Guelph - 2 - Mississauga, Ont. - Undeclared
RET - Tunde Adeleke - Carleton - 3 - Ottawa, Ont. - Economics
RUSH - Keith Graham - Carleton - 3 - Halifax, NS. - Psychology

SECOND TEAM
 
Offence
QB - Asher Hastings - McMaster - 3 - Regina , SK. - Psychology
QB - Derek Wendel - Ottawa - 4 - Belleville, Ont. - Human Kinetics
RB - Alex Taylor - Western - 2 - Winnipeg, Man. - Kinesiology
FB - Stefano Napolitano - Carleton - 3 - Stittsville, Ont. - Criminology
REC - Dan Petermann - McMaster - 2 - Stoney Creek, Ont. - Humanities
REC - Doug Corby - Queen's - 4 - Burlington, Ont. - Arts & Science
REC - George Johnson - Western - 4 - London, Ont. - King's College
REC - Kurleigh Gittens Jr. - Laurier - 1 - Ottawa, Ont. - Sociology
C - Matthew Nesbitt - Guelph - 5 - London, Ont. - Human Kinetics
T - Kadeem Adams - Western - 4 - Halifax, NS. - Social Science
T - Sean Smith - McMaster - 5 - St. Andrews West, Ont. - Continuing - Social Sciences
G - Andrew Pickett - Guelph - 2 - Kitchener, Ont. - Human Kinetics
G - KC Bakker - Carleton - 2 - London, Ont. - Criminology
 
Defence
DT - Donnie Egerter - Guelph - 4 - Niagara Falls, Ont. - Sociology
DT - Kevin Aleinik - McMaster - 5 - Lancaster, Ont. - Kinesiology
DE - John Biewald - Western - 4 - Ottawa, Ont. - Social Science
DE - Mark Mackie - McMaster - 3 - London, Ont. - Kinesiology
LB - Curtis Newton - Guelph - 4 - London, Ont. - Sociology
LB - Nakas Onyeka - Laurier - 3 - Brampton, Ont. - Communications
SAM - Guillaume Caron - Carleton - 1 - Saint-Joseph-Du-Lac, Que. - Criminology
FS - Tristan Doughlin - Guelph - 4 - Toronto, Ont. - Arts
HB - Malcolm Thompson - Laurier - 2 - Windsor, Ont. - Sociology
HB - Malcolm Brown - Western - 4 - London, Ont. - King's College
CB - Robbie Yochim - McMaster - 1 - Kelowna, BC - Social Sciences
CB - D'Sean Thelwell - Carleton - 3 - London, Ont. - Communications
 
Special Teams
P - Dillon Wamsley - Queen's - 4 - London, Ont. - Arts & Science
K - Michael Domagala - Carleton - 3 - St. Catharines, Ont. - Criminology & Criminal Justice
RET - Ryan Nieuwesteeg - Guelph - 4 - Niagara Falls, Ont. - Sociology
RUSH - Mitch O'Connor - McMaster - 2 - Kingston, Ont. - Sociology