SHAW CFL TOP PERFORMERS – WEEK 1

The three players were chosen by a panel of judges who independently send their selections to the CFL head office. The panel includes former Canadian Football League players Matt Dunigan and Duane Forde of TSN and Pierre Vercheval of RDS.

DL | CHARLESTON HUGHES | SASKATCHEWAN ROUGHRIDERS

In his first game in green for the Saskatchewan Roughriders, Charleston Hughes recorded three sacks for a loss of 24 yards and a fumble return to help secure the win over the Toronto Argonauts.

The Saginaw, Michigan native collected his first sack at the close of the first quarter, pushing through traffic to bring down pivot Ricky Ray, securing his 100^th career sack.

Hughes kept up the pace, bringing Ray down again at the end of the second quarter. He completed the hat trick just a minute later with another sack, totalling three in the first half of the game. On the final play of the game, Hughes recovered an SJ Green fumble before being tackled.

With 102 in his career, Hughes now trails Rodney Harding by three sacks to join the top 10 in CFL history.

He recorded 40 tackles and 11 sacks in 14 games in 2017.

QB | MIKE REILLY | EDMONTON ESKIMOS

Quarterback Mike Reilly threw for 408 yards and rushed for 43, throwing a touchdown pass and running two in to give Edmonton the edge in their 33-30 victory.

Reilly opened the game, which spanned six hours with weather delays, with a 101-yard touchdown play from deep in his own zone to put Edmonton ahead 7-0 after Sean Whyte’s convert.

The pivot snagged a touchdown of his own as the first quarter died, conducting a 10-play drive that culminated in a one-yard dive over the line to give Edmonton a comfortable lead.

Reilly kept his cool through two lightning delays, calling his own number once more and throwing a successful two-point convert to tie the game before marching down to put Sean Whyte in position for the win in a three-play drive.

Reilly threw for over 5000 yards in both 2016 and 2017. Last year he threw a career-high 30 touchdown passes and was named the 2017 Most Outstanding Player.

WR | DEREL WALKER | EDMONTON ESKIMOS

Receiver Derel Walker helped Edmonton win their 2018 season opener with an impressive 176 receiving yards and a touchdown.

Walker caught eight of 10 passes, including his longest play of the game, a 101-yard dash for a touchdown in the first quarter.

He made another 10-yard catch to close out the first quarter in a play that led to an Edmonton touchdown. Several of Walker’s other passes led to Sean Whyte field goals as he worked with Mike Reilly to give Edmonton a win in their first game of 2018.

The Hillsboro, Texas native collected 634 yards and three touchdowns in eight games in 2017, after a stellar 2016 season that say him rack up 1589 yards and 10 touchdowns in 18 games.

Walker was the 2015 Most Outstanding Rookie.

SHAW CFL TOP PERFORMERS LEADERBOARD

2018 SHAW CFL TOP PERFORMERS OF THE WEEK