Monday, November 30, 2015

PORTLAND, Ore. – There may be no bigger Canadian Football League fans below the 49th parallel this week than those in Ellensburg, Wash., as two of Central Washington’s own were in the limelight in the final weekend of the CFL season.

And no star is brighter today than that of 2008 GNAC Offensive Player of the Year Mike Reilly. The former standout quarterback for the Wildcats was named the most valuable player of the 103rd Grey Cup, the league’s championship game, after he led the Edmonton Eskimos to a 26-20 win over the Ottawa Redblacks on Sunday. Reilly completed 21 of 35 passes for 269 yards and two touchdowns and also rushed for 66 yards on 10 carries as he led the Eskimos from behind after the Redblacks opened the game with a 14-0 lead.

The victory gave Edmonton their first Grey Cup since 2005 and capped a season that saw Reilly finish seventh in the CFL in passing with 2,449 yards, an average of 244.9 passing yards per game in 10 games in an injury-stunted season. Reilly finished his sixth year in the CFL, his last three with Edmonton after playing his first three seasons (2010 to 2012) with the B.C. Lions. Reilly was named a CFL Player of the Week for Week 12, Week 18 and Week 19, was the league’s October Player of the Month and was Edmonton’s nominee for the CFL Most Outstanding Player of the Year award.

On the opposite side of the line, 2012 Simon Fraser alumnus Justin Capicciotti participated in his first Grey Cup. The 2011 GNAC Co-Defensive Lineman of the Year started on the defensive line for the Redblacks and finished with five tackles. Ottawa’s leader in sacks in both 2014 and 2015, Capicciotti finished his fourth CFL season and his second with the Redblacks after beginning his career in Edmonton.

While the B.C. Lions made a first round playoff exit, Central Washington alumnus Adam Bighill made a mark of his own as he was named the CFL’s Most Outstanding Defensive Player in ceremonies held on Thursday in Winnipeg, Man. Bighill led all CFL defensive players with 121 tackles to go along with four sacks and an interception. He is the seventh B.C. player to earn the league’s top defensive honor and the second in a row for the Leos.

The 2010 GNAC Co-Defensive Player of the Year and a 2010 AFCA Division II First Team All-American, Bighill finished his fifth season with the Lions after signing with the club as a non-drafted free agent in 2011. He is only the fourth B.C. Lions player to reach 100 tackles in a season, a milestone he has reached in both 2012 and 2015.