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Bishop's University Gaitors' Jordan Heather, right, holds the Hec Crighton Trophy as CIS football player of the year with his coach, Coach of the Year, Kevin Mackey during Vanier Cup celebrations Thursday, November 21, 2013 in Quebec City.JACQUES BOISSINOT/The Canadian Press

Bishops's Jordan Heather became the seventh consecutive quarterback to capture the Hec Crighton Trophy as the country's top football player on Thursday night.

Heather, a fifth-year pivot from Oromocto, N.B., became the first member of the Gaiters program to claim the Canadian Interuniversity Sport prize since the inception of the award in 1967. He beat out Mount Allison running back Jordan Botel, Western quarterback Will Finch and Calgary running back Mercer Timmis for the honour.

Other CIS award winners announced were Western linebacker Pawel Kruba, who captured the Presidents' Trophy as defensive player of the year; McGill offensive tackle Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, who merited the J.P. Metras Trophy as most outstanding down lineman; McMaster wide receiver Daniel Vandervoort, who received the Peter Gorman Trophy as top rookie; Bishop's head coach Kevin Mackey, who claimed the Frank Tindall Trophy; and Calgary quarterback Andrew Buckley, the recipient of the prestigious Russ Jackson Award honouring excellence in football, academics and citizenship.

Heather shattered one of the most prestigious single-season records in CIS football, tallying 3,132 passing yards in eight league games (an average of 391.5 a game), surpassing the mark of 3,047 set only a week earlier by Finch. The previous record was 3,033 by Western's Michael Faulds in 2009.

The last non-quarterback to win the award was Windsor running back Daryl Stephenson in 2006.

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