UTS Gridiron

In March 2008, UTS held our club presentation at James Squires Tavern.

UTS MVP – Jamie Weeks (WR / RB / KR)
Jamie had an extraordinary season in 2007 in only his second year of being involved in the sport. Although being sidelined by injury for 2 games, he still managed to score 19 TD’s and gain 1,609 all-purpose yards. Jamie scored TD’s rushing, receiving, on kick return and punt return, proving himself to be an ever present threat for opposition teams. This was the second stellar season for Jamie, and already holds the UTS all-time record with 32 TD’s.

UTS Offensive MVP – Simon Irrgang (QB)
In any other season, Simon’s year would have been good enough to earn himself an MVP. Simon threw for over 2,600 yards and 41 TD’s. In 5 games, Simon threw for at least 4 TD’s, with his strongest effort being 365 yards and 6 TD’s against Bondi. Although Simon still has his best years at QB still ahead of him, in his 3 years playing this position he has thrown for over 7,300 yards and 104 TD’s and has thrown for at least 250 yards on 13 occasions. Simon has achieved all this whilst being UTS Team Captain and Club Vice-President.

UTS Defensive MVP – Tied – Rey Penalosa (S) and Keith Watkins (LB)
Although diverse in their style, it was impossible to split Rey and Keith in the defensive voting.

Reymund is best known for his aggressive style and especially his hard hitting tackles. Rey was second on the team with 69 tackles and 6 sacks, but led the team with 6 int’s including 1 returned for a TD. Rey played some exceptional games, including a 5 sack / 1 interception game against the Mustangs, an 11 tackle / 2 interception game against the Predators, and a 6 tackle / 1 interception game in the final where he kept the leading Lions receiver to only one short reception for the game.

Keith was UTS’ most consistent defensive player in 2007, rejoining the team after taking 2 years off, and stepping up from the backfield to fill a key LB position. Keith led the team with 81 tackles and 7 sacks. His sure tackling and consistent defensive pressure helped UTS improve our rush defense from 4.2 yards per carry in 2006 to 1.9 yards per carry in 2007. Sacks improved from 10 the previous year to 37 in 2007.

UTS Rookie – Ben Battle (MLB)
As the name suggests, Ben is ready for a contest whenever he hits the field. Although he is only 21 years old, Ben’s rugby background made him a natural to be groomed as UTS’ middle linebacker of the future. Ben finished 2007 with 60 tackles, although he saw limited playing time for the first half of the season.  The last 4 games saw Ben accumulate 33 of those tackles.

UTS Player’s Player & Coaches Award – Stephen Irvine (WR)
In just his second season in the sport, Stephen’s work ethic and attitude earned him both the Player’s award and the Coaches award. After enduring a learning season in 2006, Stephen exploded in 2007 with 47 receptions for 903 yards and 15 TD’s. With the addition of his kicking abilities he smashed the UTS single season scoring record by registering 154 points. Stephen is a tireless worker and rarely missed an attendance session all season.

Honourable Mentions
Several other players deserve honourable mentions for their contributions throughout the season.

Gordon Chan moved over to LB in 2007 and was 5th on the team with 61 tackles. In addition to his sure tackling, and although undersized, Gordon also contributed in many games on the offensive line with some stellar performances.

Daniel Kirkland arrived at the club after missing the first half of the season. In his first game he led the defense in tackles from safety, whilst in other games he managed to shut out his receiver from cornerback. In the final 4 games he saw some time at RB where rushed for 287 yards and 5 TD’s at an average of 7.8 yards per carry. His best game was in the final where he led the game in rushing with 109 yards and a TD, caught 3 receptions, and registered 7 tackles. Daniel was the UTS MVP for both the Semi final and the Grand Final.

Washington Laban joined UTS in the week prior to game 1. Washington quickly proved himself as a dependable defender, accumulating 25 tackles until his season was ended with a knee injury in week 7. Washington also played RB and in his first game reversed his field and broke 5 tackles to run for a 63 yard TD. Several of his other runs featured on the UTS Top 10 plays for the season. Washington finished the season with 300 yards rushing and 5 TD’s at an average of 10.7 yards per carry. He gained a further 300 yards on kick and punt returns.

Semisi Tara started the season with the responsibility of left tackle. Throughout the season, he played all line positions except for centre, played defensive line and linebacker. Semisi was UTS’ most dependable lineman for the season.

Mike Harper moved from MLB to a more natural nose tackle in 2007, a position which is pivotal in the 3-3 defense. Mike finished equal 3rd on the team in tackles with 62, but left his best work until the final where he dominated the Lions centre and registered 10 tackles to lead the team. The disruptive presence of Mike kept the usually dominant Lions ground game to average only 2.9 yards per carry for the game.

Rob Zuo continued to develop as a cornerback in 2007. Although his interceptions dropped from 11 to 6 since 2007, this is partly due to opposition QB’s avoiding Rob. However Rob’s tackling throughout the season was outstanding.