Gerardo Elías Álvarez Ovalle (born 15 September 1988) is a Mexican professional

gridiron football Gridiron football ( ),"Gridiron football"
''Encyclopædia Britannica'' ...

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

for the Dinos de Saltillo of the

Liga de Fútbol Americano Profesional The Professional American Football League ( or LFA), is a semi-professional American football league in Mexico, founded in 2016. Starting with four teams, the LFA has since expanded to eleven members as of 2022. The regular season runs in the sp ...

(LFA). Álvarez played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

at UAC and previously played in the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

(CFL) with the

BC Lions The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division (CFL), West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place. The Lions playe ...

Early career

Álvarez plays American football since he was a kid, where he earned the nickname "Pewee" for his small and thin complexion. Despite this, he was invited by several

programs to join their teams. Álvarez chose the Lobos of the Autonomous University of Coahuila, where he played from 2006 to 2010, also majoring in

Civil engineering Civil engineering is a regulation and licensure in engineering, professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads ...

. Álvarez became one of the top players of the ONEFA's Northern Conference and was fundamental part of the 2009 Lobos UAC team that won that year's championship after defeating Águilas UACH 31–24 in the final. After finishing his college football eligibility in 2010, Álvarez played

flag football Flag football is a variant of gridiron football (American football or Canadian football depending on location) where, instead of Tackle (football move)#Gridiron football, tackling players to the ground, the defensive team must remove a flag or ...

and was part of the Mexican team that won the silver medal at the 2014 IFAF Flag Football World Championship.

Professional career

Dinos de Saltillo

In 2016, Álvarez was one of the first players to be signed by the Dinos de Saltillo of the

(LFA), Mexico's top American football league, ahead of the 2017 LFA season, Dinos' debut season in the league. In 2017, Álvarez helped the Dinos to reach the Tazón México II, LFA's championship game, in the team's maiden season. Dinos lost the game 18–24 against

Mayas CDMX The Mayas, also called Mayas LFA or Mayas Puebla, were an American football team based in Mexico City (CDMX), Mexico. The Mayas competed in the Central Division of the Liga de Fútbol Americano Profesional, the top American football league in Mex ...

and Álvarez scored one touchdown. Álvarez was awarded as the 2017 LFA's best receiver. In 2018, Álvarez established a new LFA record for most touchdowns in a single match, in a game against rivals Fundidores de Monterrey, scoring four touchdowns.

BC Lions

Álvarez was selected by the

as the 25th pick of the third round of the 2019 CFL–LFA Draft. Álvarez joined the BC Lions, alongside fellow countryman Fernando Richarte. Álvarez was signed to the practice roster and made his CFL debut on 15 June 2019 against the

Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division (CFL), West division. They play thei ...

. Álvarez remained on the Lions' roster but returned to Mexico to play the 2020 LFA season with the Dinos, but the season was cancelled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. Álvarez was re-signed by the Lions for the 2020 CFL season, but the season was not played.

Return to Mexico

After being released by the BC Lions, Álvarez has played for the Dinos de Saltillo.

References

External links

BC Lions profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Álvarez, Gerardo 1988 births Living people BC Lions players Mexican players of American football Mexican players of Canadian football American football wide receivers Mexican expatriate sportspeople in Canada Canadian football wide receivers Dinos de Saltillo players Autonomous University of Coahuila alumni