Four members of the York University Lions football team were selected to the 2021 East-West Bowl roster announced by U SPORTS and the Canadian Football League (CFL).
Representing the Lions on the West roster are defensive lineman Kwadwo Boahen, linebackers Dawson Davis and Matt Dean, and kicker Dante Mastrogiuseppe.
The roster recognitions celebrate the next generation of top Canadian football prospects, with 110 U SPORTS-eligible standouts identified for the 2022 CFL Draft, following completion of the 2021 Draft on May 4.
Boahen is a six-foot-three, 260-pound lineman from Calgary, who has been with the Lions for three seasons. In his debut season, he earned a place on the OUA all-rookie team and was named the squad’s Jeff Johnson Rookie of the Year. In his second year, he started all eight games and finished sixth on the Lions in total tackles while also recording a forced fumble.
Davis played his first season with the Lions in 2017 and appeared in seven games as a rookie. The six-foot-one, 230-pound Abbotsford, B.C., native took the following season off but returned even better in 2019, starting all eight games and ranking fifth on the team in total tackles.
Fellow linebacker Dean is six foot two, 196 pounds and from Oshawa, Ont. He was an OUA all-rookie team member along with Boahen in 2018 and had one of the team’s highlights of the year that season, blocking a game-winning field goal attempt by Waterloo to preserve a 34-32 victory. The following season he tied for third on the team in total tackles, led the team in tackles for loss and had three sacks.
Rounding out the quartet is Mastrogiuseppe, a six-foot-one, 190-pound London, Ont., native who has been the team’s starting punter and placekicker since he first joined the team in 2017. He played in all 16 games over his first two seasons and in 2018 he ranked fourth overall in the OUA in punting average, a mark that was also a York school record.
For the next year, players from both squads will vie for coveted spots on the CFL Scouting Bureau Top 20 Prospects List – published in the fall, winter and spring – before showcasing their skills through virtual or in-person regional and national combines in advance of the draft this time next year.