Three Stars: Ted Laurent, Jerome Messam and Justin Medlock top the semifinals

Welcome to this year's first playoff edition of the Three Stars, focusing on the top performances from offensive, defensive and special teams players. This time, we're looking at the top showings from the East and West semifinals.

First star/defensive player of the week: Ted Laurent, defensive tackle, Hamilton Tiger-Cats: Laurent has been a terrific addition for the Tiger-Cats over the last two years, and the reunion with Kent Austin (who was at Ole Miss at the same time as him) has worked out well for him. Laurent's stats were down a bit this year, as he only recorded three sacks during the regular season (he posted nine last year), but he was vital in Sunday's 25-22 win over Toronto, notching two sacks and providing terrific pressure up the middle all day. He and the rest of the Hamilton defence kept enough pressure on Argonauts' quarterback Ricky Ray to hold him to 220 yards and one touchdown, well below Ray's usual standards. Laurent should be key for the Tiger-Cats going forward.

(Honourable mentions: Keon Raymond, DB, Calgary; Deron Mayo, LB, Calgary; Emanuel Davis, DB, Hamilton.)

Second star/offensive player of the week: Jerome Messam, running back, Calgary Stampeders: The Stampeders' move to pick up Messam in October is looking smarter and smarter thanks to Jon Cornish still battling a head injury. Messam has filled in very well, and he was a vital part of Calgary's offence in Sunday's 35-9 win over the B.C. Lions. The Graceland University product was okay on the ground, collecting 66 rushing yards on 15 carries (an average of 4.4 yards per carry), but he was even more valuable in the passing game, catching four passes for a team-high 81 yards (including a big 61-yard gain that helped seal this one late). He'll likely be a big part of their offence heading into the West Final.

(Honourable mentions: C.J. Gable, RB, Hamilton; Eric Rogers, WR, Calgary; Diontae Spencer, WR, Toronto.)

Third star/special teams player of the week: Justin Medlock, punter/kicker, Hamilton Tiger-Cats: Medlock was vital to Hamilton's success Sunday, nailing all three of his field goals and both of his extra points. He made a 46-yard game-winning field goal on the final play and also hit from 55 yards (one short of the CFL playoff record) and 22 yards early on. All three of his field goals were with the wind (which reached up to 23 kilometres an hour) at his back, but keeping accuracy in the wind is still often a challenge, and Medlock did that very well. The UCLA product also displayed some great directional punting ability, averaging 41.7 yards on seven punts and containing dangerous Toronto returner Chad Owens (who had just 32 yards on five punt returns).

(Honourable mentions: Rob Maver, P, Calgary; Richie Leone, P/K, B.C.; Brandon Banks, PR/KR, Hamilton.)

Bonus star/Canadian player of the week: Ted Laurent, defensive tackle, Hamilton Tiger-Cats: We discussed Laurent's performance above, but it's also worth talking about the ratio benefits he's provided to the Tiger-Cats. The Montreal native is a Canadian who does very well at a position often manned by imports, giving Hamilton ratio flexibility elsewhere. His three tackles and two sacks Sunday were a big part of the Tiger-Cats' victory.

(Honourable mentions: Jerome Messam, RB, Calgary; Andrew Harris, RB, B.C.; Cory Greenwood, LB, Toronto.)

Keep an eye on 55-Yard Line for next week's Three Stars, and if you'd like to nominate a candidate during the week's games, contact me via Twitter or e-mail. Thanks for reading!