Three Stars: Chip Cox, Mike Reilly and Marc Beswick top Week 13′s performances

The next edition of our Three Stars series examines Week 13's top offensive, defensive, special teams and Canadian players.

First star/defensive player of the week: Chip Cox, linebacker, Montreal Alouettes: It's rare to give a defensive player top billing here, but Cox deserves it after a terrific outing in Saturday's Touchdown Atlantic clash with Hamilton. The Tiger-Cats wound up winning 28-26, but Cox was a crucial reason why the Alouettes were able to stay in the game throughout. He recorded a game-high eight tackles and added two sacks and an interception. Montreal's defence generally did an excellent job of stymieing the high-powered Hamilton offence, holding quarterback Henry Burris to just 176 passing yards with a 55.6 per cent completion mark and limiting running back C.J. Gable to 29 yards on seven carries, and Cox was a critical part of both efforts. He's been a vital piece for the Alouettes this year and leads the league with 86 tackles; the next-closest competitor, Edmonton's Damaso Munoz, only has 68. Cox also has six sacks and two interceptions on the year. He's a well-rounded piece of the Montreal linebacking corps and will be an important part of any success the team finds down the stretch.

(Honourable mentions: Ricky Foley, DE, Saskatchewan; J.C. Sherritt, LB, Edmonton; Patrick Watkins, DB, Toronto.)

Second star/offensive player of the week: Mike Reilly, quarterback, Edmonton Eskimos: It's Reilly's second-straight appearance as our offensive player of the week (and his third on the year), and what's particularly notable is that he earned the nod in a completely different fashion this time. Last week, Reilly threw for just 196 yards but did so efficiently, and really impressed on the ground, where he collected 113 rushing yards on nine carries, the highest rushing total of any CFL player that week. This week, he didn't use his legs much at all, not recording a single rushing attempt. Instead, he got it done through the air, throwing for 418 yards (a league-high this week) with a 67.4 per cent completion mark and one touchdown against zero interceptions. Not bad at all. Reilly continues to show that the Eskimos were awfully smart to bring him in this offseason.

(Honourable mentions: Fred Stamps, SB, Edmonton; Zach Collaros, QB, Toronto; Duron Carter, WR, Montreal.)

Third star/special teams player of the week: Marc Beswick, DB, Hamilton Tiger-Cats: Beswick, a Saint Mary's product, had an impressive return to the Maritimes Saturday thanks to his involvement in Touchdown Atlantic's most memorable play, a fake field goal where holder Andy Fantuz shoveled a pass to an in-motion Beswick, who then raced in for a crucial score. Beswick is in his sixth CFL season and is mostly used on special teams, but he's made an excellent impact there this year, recording 17 tackles already and matching his total from last season. He got a chance to seize the spotlight Saturday, and did so perfectly.

(Honourable mentions: Brett Lauther, K, Hamilton; Larry Taylor, PR/KR, Calgary; Paul McCallum, P/K, B.C.)

Bonus star/Canadian player of the week: Shawn Gore, slotback, B.C. Lions:

Gore led the Lions to a narrow 26-24 victory over Saskatchewan Sunday, recording a team-high six catches for 74 yards and a touchdown. He was B.C.'s leading receiver in 2012, but is off to a slower start this season, with just 332 yards thus far. This game might signal a reemergence for him.

(Honourable mentions: Andre Durie, SB, Toronto; Jon Cornish, RB, Calgary; Shamawd Chambers, SB, Edmonton.)

Want to nominate a candidate for next week's Three Stars? Get in touch with me during the week's games via Twitter or e-mail.