Nine players from the Ottawa REDBLACKS – more than any other team – have been named to the East Division All-Star squad for 2015, the Canadian Football League announced today.
The Bytown Nine includes quarterback and ringleader Henry Burris, the 40-year-old Temple grad and Oklahoma native, who had one of the finest years of an outstanding 16-year CFL career.
The other REDBLACKS players selected:
- Receiver Chris Williams
- Receiver Brad Sinopoli
- Offensive Tackle SirVincent Rogers
- Centre Jon Gott
- Defensive End Justin Capicciotti
- Cornerback Abdul Kanneh
- Cornerback Jovon Johnson
- Defensive Back Jerrell Gavins
Burris set numerous records in a masterful campaign, all the while seeming to stop the hands of time, becoming the only quarterback to start all 18 regular-season games for his team this season … despite his age.
In fact, nobody but Burris has started at quarterback for the REDBLACKS in two seasons. Burris has started 36 consecutive REDBLACKS games … and counting.
He set a career high with 5,703 passing yards and established a new CFL record for completions in one season with 481, as the REDBLACKS completed the franchise’s second year with a 12-6 record, clinching top spot in the East.
Included in Burris’ list of remarkable accomplishments in 2015 was a 45-completion performance during a victory at TD Place on October 1 against the Montreal Alouettes, setting a new league record.
Burris also completed 70.9% of his passes, threw 26 touchdown passes against 13 interceptions. and ran for seven majors, the second-highest total of his career.
Last Saturday in a division-clinching victory over Hamilton, Burris threw six touchdown passes, a career best.
Williams, an off-season free-agent acquisition, led the East with 88 catches and was second in the league only to Darius Bowman of Edmonton. He also led the REDBLACKS with 1,214 receiving yards and added five touchdown receptions.
Sinopoli, another free-agent signing, was one of four Ottawa receivers to gain 1,000 receiving yards in 2015, along with Williams, Ernest Jackson and Greg Ellingson.
The four receivers became just the third group of teammates to gain 1,000 receiving yards in the same CFL season since the Montreal Alouettes accomplished the feat in 2004 and 2005.
Sinopoli, a Peterborough native and former quarterback with the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees, collected 1,035 receiving yards, leading all national players in the category. He also had three touchdown catches and led the CFL with 471 yards after catch (YAC; Williams was second with 467).
Rogers, who signed as a free agent in February, started all 18 games at left tackle and was lauded throughout the season for his ability to protect his quarterback’s blind side.
Gott, an Alberta native and second-year member of the REDBLACKS, also started all 18 games on the REDBLACKS’ O-line. The six-year CFL veteran garnered his second divisional all-star selection; the other in 201e while a member of the Calgary Stampeders.
Capicciotti, acquired in the 2013 CFL Expansion Draft, led the REDBLACKS with 12 sacks, despite missing two starts early in the season. The Simon Fraser grad and Toronto native had a pair of three-sack performances: August 30 against Saskatchewan and October 24 at Winnipeg. He also ranked fifth on the REDBLACKS with 47 tackles.
Three members of Ottawa’s defensive secondary also received all-star selections.
Kanneh, the second-year corner from New Mexico State, led the REDBLACKS and the East Division with six interceptions. He also finished tied for the league lead with Deon Lacey of Edmonton with three forced fumbles and with Matt Black of Toronto and JC Sherritt of Edmonton with four fumble recoveries.
Johnson, the 2011 Defensive Player of the Year in the CFL with Winnipeg, had five interceptions and 52 tackles. Most importantly, Johnson’s veteran leadership set the tone for the Ottawa secondary for the duration of the campaign.
Gavins had four interceptions, including one for a touchdown on August 23 in Toronto. He also registered 40 tackles, including a team-high nine during a win on October 16 against Winnipeg.
The REDBLACKS finished the season at 12-6, clinching first place in the East with a thrilling 44-28 victory over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats at TD Place on November 7.
Ottawa will host the Eastern Final on Sunday, November 22, facing the winner of this Sunday’s Eastern Semi-Final between Toronto and Hamilton.
Tickets for the Eastern Final, the hottest ticket in town, are available here or by calling 613-232-6767, x1.
