The York University Lions football team mounted a comeback in the fourth quarter but ultimately fell short in a 24-19 defeat to the Toronto Varsity Blues in the 41[SUP]st[/SUP] annual Red & Blue Bowl at Varsity Centre on Saturday (Sept. 18).
The Varsity Blues held a 21-3 lead at the end of the third quarter and appeared to be cruising to the finish line, but the Lions outscored the Blues 16-3 in the final frame to make the game interesting. They had a chance on their final drive but an interception by Lions quarterback Nick Coutu (St. Catharines, Ont.) ended the drive and the game.
Despite the setback at the end of the contest, Coutu had a career game with 320 passing yards (31 of 49). His one touchdown was a beauty; a 41-yard bomb downfield to Alex Bugdahn (Toronto), who stretched across the goal line for the score with less than two minutes remaining.
He spread the ball around to seven different receivers in the contest, with five recording at least two catches. Jonelle Tolbert (Mississauga, Ont.) led the way with 13 catches for a game-high 146 yards.
Coutu also added 101 rushing yards to lead all players in the game.
The Lions other touchdown of the game was scored by rookie running back Dallas Smith (Welland, Ont.) on a two-yard run early in the fourth quarter. The Lions got into the red zone on that drive thanks to a surprise 32-yard run by linebacker Steven Reading (Fenelon Falls, Ont.), who ended up with the ball on a fake punt on third down.
Reading, the CIS leader in tackles last year, was effective once again with 7.5 tackles in the game, including one for loss. Also having a big day was Patrick Russell (Brampton, Ont.), who had a sack, a forced fumble and fumble recovery, two pass break-ups and 3.5 total tackles.
Playing in his first game for the Lions, linebacker Chris Burnett (Brampton, Ont.) had 6.5 tackles and a sack.
The Lions dominated on offence throughout the game, out-gaining the Varsity Blues 459-327 in total yards, but were undone by four interceptions and three fumbles.
Leading the way for the Varsity Blues was quarterback Andrew Gillis (Markham, Ont.), who recorded 143 passing yards and 83 rushing yards and added two running touchdowns. Rookie running back Aaron Milton (Whitby, Ont.) also had a big game with 82 rushing yards (including one touchdown) and 64 receiving yards.
Both teams got off to a slow start as the game was scoreless after one quarter. However, the Blues got on the scoreboard quickly in the second on a three-yard touchdown run by Gillis after a Lions fumble at their own 15-yard line.
The Lions countered seven minutes later on a 33-yard field goal by Ramsey Aburaneh (Cambridge, Ont.), but Toronto responded with Milton’s touchdown three minutes after to make the score 14-3 at the half.
The only scoring in the third quarter was Gillis’ second touchdown run of the day, before the Lions turned it up in the fourth. Following Smith’s score – the Lions’ first touchdown of the season – the teams traded safeties, Toronto added a single and Bugdahn hit the end zone to put up the final points of the game.
Next up for the Lions is a trip to Waterloo to face the Laurier Golden Hawks (1-2) on Saturday afternoon (Sept. 25). Kick-off is set for 1pm at University Stadium.
NOTES: Coutu’s 320 passing yards were the most of his career, and marked the first time he threw for more than 200 yards in a game … York out-gained Toronto 218-190 in the first half … The Lions’ 33 first downs in the game were the most this season … The Varsity Blues have won three straight Argo Cups … Attendance at the game, which was also Toronto’s annual Shriners Game, was 1,662.
Courtesy: York Sports Info
Photo credit: Jing-Ling Kao-Beserve
| York 19 |
Toronto 24 |
| Toronto () | 0 | 14 | 7 | 3 | 24 |
| York () | 0 | 3 | 0 | 16 | 19 |
| U of Toronto | Varsity Centre |
| 2 | 13:18 | Toronto – A. Gillis 3 yd run. (A. Lomasney kick is good). Drive: 2 plays, 15 yards in 0:42. |
0 – 7 |
| 2 | 06:54 | York – R Aburaneh 33 yd field goal. | 3 – 7 |
| 2 | 03:42 | Toronto – A. Milton 49 yd run. (A. Lomasney kick is good). Drive: 2 plays, 59 yards in 0:43. |
3 – 14 |
| 3 | 01:41 | Toronto – A. Gillis 6 yd run. (A. Lomasney kick is good). Drive: 4 plays, 38 yards in 1:30. |
3 – 21 |
| 4 | 10:15 | York – D Smith 2 yd run. (R Aburaneh kick is good). Drive: 14 plays, 105 yards in 4:15. |
10 – 21 |
| 4 | 07:34 | Toronto – Team safety | 10 – 23 |
| 4 | 05:02 | Toronto – | 10 – 24 |
| 4 | 02:33 | York – Team safety | 12 – 24 |
| 4 | 01:53 | York – A Bugdahn 41 yd pass from N Coutu. (R Aburaneh kick is good). Drive: 9 plays, 0 yards in 1:24. |
19 – 24 |
| 33 | FIRST DOWNS | 19 |
| 16 10 7 |
Passing Rushing Penalty |
5 11 3 |
| 40% (2 of 5) | THIRD DOWN EFFICIENCY | 25% (1 of 4) |
| 0% (0 of 0) | FOURTH DOWN EFFICIENCY | 0% (0 of 0) |
| 495 | TOTAL NET YARDS | 331 |
| 76 6.5 |
Total Offensive Plays Average gain per play |
56 5.9 |
| 320 | NET YARDS PASSING | 151 |
| 31-49 6.5 5 for 36 4 |
Completions-Attempts Net yards per pass play Sacked:Number-Yards Had intercepted |
16-25 6.0 3 for 4 1 |
| 175 | NET YARDS RUSHING | 180 |
| 27 6.5 |
Rushing Attempts Average gain per rush |
31 5.8 |
| 8 for 256 | PUNTS: Number-Yards | 10 for 423 |
| 32.0 | Average | 42.3 |
| 83 | TOTAL RETURN YARDS | 162 |
| 9 for 21 5 for 47 1 for 15 |
Punt Returns:No-Yards Kickof Returns:No-Yards Int. Returns:No-Yards |
6 for 42 4 for 40 4 for 80 |
| 10 for 76 | PENALTIES: Number-Yards | 22 for 203 |
| 3-2 | FUMBLES: Number-Lost | 1-1 |
| 35:08 | TIME OF POSSESSION | 24:52 |
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| 55 | S Reading | 7 | 1 | 8 | – | 1-2 | – | – | ||||
| 8 | C Burnett | 6 | 1 | 7 | 1-1 | 1-1 | – | – | ||||
| 1 | A Collymore | 5 | 1 | 6 | – | – | – | – | 1 | |||
| 9 | M Boyd | 4 | 1 | 5 | – | – | – | 1-15 | ||||
| TM | York Team | 4 | 0 | 4 | – | 1-1 | – | – | ||||
| 10 | T Feroiu | 3 | 1 | 4 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 13 | A Clarke | 3 | 1 | 4 | – | – | – | – | 2 | |||
| 58 | P Russell | 3 | 1 | 4 | 1-1 | 2-8 | 1 | 1-0 | – | |||
| 40 | J Beauchamp | 3 | 0 | 3 | 1-2 | 1-2 | – | – | ||||
| 92 | C Lewis | 3 | 0 | 3 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 26 | R Poroznik | 2 | 0 | 2 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 45 | S Peru | 1 | 1 | 2 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 89 | J Murton | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 4 | A Bugdahn | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 21 | J Marshall | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 2 | J Tolbert | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 81 | M R-Weekes | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 46 | S Laberge | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 42 | A Tombler | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 25 | C Small | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| TOTALS | 52 | 8 | 60 | 3-4 | 6-14 | 1 | 1-0 | 1-15 | 3 | |||
| 22 | D. Batchelor | 10 | 0 | 10 | – | 2-5 | – | 1-9 | ||||
| 43 | W. DeSouza | 8 | 1 | 9 | 1-5 | 1-5 | – | – | ||||
| 21 | H. Lopez | 8 | 0 | 8 | – | – | – | 1-19 | 1 | |||
| 36 | E. Barzegar | 6 | 1 | 7 | – | – | – | 1-52 | ||||
| 26 | K. Asare | 5 | 2 | 7 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 55 | A. Fehler | 5 | 2 | 7 | 2-16 | 2-17 | – | 1-0 | 1 | |||
| 24 | K. Kennedy | 4 | 3 | 7 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 16 | W. Sharpe | 4 | 2 | 6 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 91 | A. Olusoga | 3 | 0 | 3 | – | 1-1 | 1 | 1-0 | – | |||
| 92 | M. Evans | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1-13 | 1-13 | – | – | ||||
| 40 | D. Howes | 2 | 0 | 2 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 17 | T. Inkila | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0-2 | 0-2 | – | – | ||||
| 56 | M. Tedesco | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 54 | P. Brunet | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 42 | H. Beeforth | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 14 | M. Rodrigues | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 13 | C. Johnson | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| TM | Team | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 30 | X. Hasko | – | – | 1-0 | – | |||||||
| TOTALS | 63 | 14 | 77 | 5-36 | 7-43 | 1 | 2-0 | 4-80 | 2 |
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