The Montreal Alouettes will have three finalists for individual Canadian Football League honors in Eugene Lewis, Tyson Philpot and Chandler Worthy.
Lewis is a finalist for the very prestigious Most Valuable Player Award, against Winnipeg Blue Bombers quarterback Zach Collaros.
The 29-year-old receiver has proven to be the Alouettes’ favorite target in 2022, catching 91 passes for 1,303 yards, good for third place in the CFL. The former University of Oklahoma Sooners also caught ten touchdown passes. Lewis set personal bests for receptions, yards and touchdowns in 2022.
Collaros led the league with 37 touchdown passes — a dozen more than the league’s second-place finisher — as the Blue Bombers averaged nearly 30 points per game this season. The University of Cincinnati alum had his first campaign passing at least 4,000 yards, and he completed nearly 70 percent of his passes. Collaros will attempt to become the fifth player in CFL history to win the honor two seasons in a row.
This is the second year in a row that an Alouettes player has been a finalist in the East, after running back William Stanback in 2021.
Philpot is in the running for the title of rookie par excellence, facing Blue Bombers receiver Dalton Schoen.
The Alouettes receiver, only 22 years old, was used in all ways. On offense, the former University of Calgary Dinos caught 39 passes for 459 yards, in addition to scoring two majors. Philpot also had 342 yards on kickoff returns, two of which he returned for more than 40 yards. He also returned 11 punts for 153 yards.
Schoen led the CFL in receiving yards (1,441), average yards per catch (20.6), and receiving touchdowns (16).
Kick return specialist Worthy is up against his Saskatchewan Roughriders counterpart Mario Alford for the title of Most Outstanding Special Teams Player.
Worthy is responsible for 1,862 yards gained for the Alouettes in 2022. He ranks second in the CFL with 1,220 yards on kickoff returns, scoring two passing touchdowns. This total of yards is also the second highest total in the history of the Alouettes. His 547 yards on punt returns rank him fifth in the CFL in that regard.
Alford led the CFL with four return kicks for touchdowns and amassed 1,689 combined kick return yards. He became, in 2022, the fourth player in CFL history to score a touchdown following a kick return in three different ways (kickoff return, punt return and missed field goal return ).
The CFL Gala will take place November 17 at the Conexus Arts Center in Regina, Saskatchewan during Gray Cup week. The winners are selected by members of the Football Writers Association of Canada (RAC) and by the head coaches of the circuit.
The Commissioner’s Award, the Jake-Gaudaur Veterans’ Trophy, the Tom-Pate Award, the Hugh-Campbell Award for Excellence in Leadership and the Jane-Mawby Award will also be presented during the ceremony and will recognize individuals from the four CFL corners.