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HEADLINES

QB Kyle Williams Named QUFL Rookie of the Year

Montreal, Nov. 8, 2004 - Perhaps the most difficult position for a first-year player to earn playing time at the Canadian Interuniversity Sport level is at quarterback but that is exactly what Kyle Williams of Bishop's University did in his rookie season at the Lennoxville campus en route to being named the Quebec University Football League's "Rookie of the Year."

While most university signal-callers spend several years as red-shirts or back-ups, learning the system with a clipboard in their hand, Williams had first-hand experience from the opening snap of the 2004 CIS campaign and he showed that he belonged on the field.

Williams, just one year out of Waterdown High School, earned the Gaiters' number-one spot during a training camp battle with veteran Pat Nadeau promptly justified the decision by head coach Tony Addona in Bishop's season opener against the Sherbrooke Vert et Or.

In his opening offensive drive the 18-year-old rookie drove the team 69 yards for a field goal with the key play in the drive was a 35-yard pass reception from Williams to David Delaby.

Williams and the offensive unit proved the Gaiters with a 17-9 lead late into the fourth-quarter and even though the Vert et Or rallied for a 21-17 victory, Addona knew he had something special in Williams who finished his first-ever game completing 16 of 35 pass attempts for 227 yards and also ran for a team-high 56 yards.

"Kyle Williams has been a great find for us, someone that will lead the programme successfully for years to come," Addona said after the end of the season. "He has great athletic ability, a strong and accurate arm but just as important, he is also a well-respected leader on this football team."

The pressure on Williams intensified in Week 3 of the regular season when the Gaiters' top runner, Michel Foures-Wilson was injured for the season, forcing the Gaiters to rely solely on Williams' young arm. Williams had his finest game of the season a week later when he led Bishop's to a 25-13 inter-conference victory over the Mount Allison Mounties as he completed 11 of 26 passes for 237 yards and three touchdowns.

The Gaiters' reliance on the pass subjected Williams to unyielding pressure and multiple pass-coverages employed by some of the country's best defensive units. The constant attention to stopping the Bishop's passing attack took its toll in Week 6 when Concordia's Mickey Donovan, the QUFL Defensive Player of the Year, delivered a blow that gave Williams a concussion and prematurely ended his rookie campaign.

"It was a shame that he got knocked out of the Concordia game because he was playing well against one of the better defences in the country and you could see he was starting to understand our offence and take control of the team as a leader."

Williams finished the abbreviated season with impressive stats in his first year of university football as well as high praise for his coach. He completed 71 of 159 attempts for 1020 yards, three touchdowns and 11 interceptions.

"Kyle reminds me of a Chris Flynn in that Chris came into St. Mary's and resurrected the football team and I feel quite strongly Kyle is capable of the same accomplishments," Addona, Flynn's coach at Champlain College said. "To become a team leader in your rookie year is an amazing achievement and demonstrates his strong character. "