London, ON - The triumph and memories of the 2021 Vanier Cup will never be forgotten for the members of the Western Mustangs football team and now those memories are symbolized with the championship rings that were presented at the team banquet on Saturday night at the Hellenic Centre.
The team gathered friends, family, alumni and supporters for the first time in three years to celebrate the team individual award winners, graduating athletes and the 2021 Vanier Cup championship team.
Nearing the end of the night Head Coach Greg Marshall called up each player individually and had a member of past Vanier Cup Championship alumni to present them with the ring boxes. Each player was asked to not open their boxes at first though as Marshall wanted everyone to open them together.
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"I actually had to box 140 rings by myself because I didn't want anyone to see them," said Marshall "The design and final product was a secretive project and I couldn't be more ecstatic with how they turned out, Baron did a great job on the rings and it's a real tribute to these guys and it is really a reflection that will bond these guys forever."
The ring has several important features including all of Western Vanier Cup championship years around the top crown of the ring, along with eight purple stones representing those championships. On top it is features a football shaped purple design emblazoned with the Mustangs logo. On one side of the ring is the player/coach/staff members name and their jersey number or position with notable buildings on Western campus in the background along with the university crest, on the opposite side are the trophies that the Mustangs won in 2021 (Yates Cup, Mitchell Bowl & Vanier Cup). Inside the band of the ring are the Mustangs logo along with the scores of the three championship games along with the letters JF, memorializing Defensive Assistant Jack Frimeth, Linebacker Jason Fassano and legendary Western coach Jack Fairs.
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"As soon as we gave G-Marsh (Greg Marshall) a little bit of an idea of what we liked, he took it from there and put it all together and not one of us saw it until today," said Mustangs veteran Antonio Valvano "When we all opened the boxes tonight, you could see it in everyones faces and hear it in the room, it was sheer amazement. This is what we fought for this year and it was absolutely worth it and it's unbelievable."
The ring presentation was the cherry on the top for defensive lineman Deionte Knight who was
invited to a pair of NFL rookie camps earlier in the day.
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"This was an amazing night for all of us on this roster from top to bottom, we all battled so hard to get this and to see this ring was vindication for all the hard work and dedication we put in as a unit," said Knight "Now we have something that we can keep and ties this group together for the rest of our lives which is just so special."
The team's individual award winners for this season:
MVP Offence - Keon Edwards
MVP Defense - Daniel Valente Jr.
Outstanding Lineman Offence - Elliot Beamer
Outstanding Lineman Defense - Deionte Knight
MVP Special Teams - Brian Garrity
Rookie of the Year - Evan Hillock
Most Improved Player - Phil Grohovac
Darwin Semotiuk Award - Nicolas Theriault
Paddle Award - Ali Yasir
