Lions host Queens in opener

After a 10-day training camp for both squads, the season officially begins at 1pm with the opening kick-off. The game is presented by the Etobicoke Guardian.

Optimism is high for the Lions this season with a more-experienced roster and a strong recruiting class that has multiple players set to make their debuts in Week 1. Last year the Lions continued their upward movement in the OUA standings, finishing in seventh place with a 2-6 record, and three of those losses were by a combined nine points.

“As much as we wanted to be 5-3 last year, we’ll be a better football team in 2013 from being 2-6,” said head coach Warren Craney. “We learned a lot and it made our guys and our coaches a lot hungrier to come out and compete this year.”

The Lions surprised many in 2012 with an impressive offensive display that garnered more than 411 yards per game, the third-best average in the OUA and nearly double what the team put up the previous season. The Gaels also had a strong offence last year, accumulating nearly 391 yards per game. Where the two teams differed was on defence, as the Gaels held opponents to just 307 yards per game, the second-best mark in the conference, while the Lions were seventh with 389 per game allowed.

York should continue to roll on offence this year with the return of starting quarterback Myles Gibbon (Montreal), who was third in the OUA last year with 1992 passing yards and threw for nine touchdowns, and a receiving corps that features OUA all-star William Austin (St. Catharines, Ont.) – who led the team last season with 587 yards – and first-year receivers Ryan Dunaway (Burlington, Ont.), Jarrett Carson (Montreal) and Jason Charland (Quebec City).

The offence will also benefit from the addition of running back Connor Anderson (Newmarket, Ont.), a transfer from West Virginia Wesleyan College.

Queen’s has a solid veteran roster that should challenge for the Yates Cup this year. Starting quarterback Billy McPhee (Burlington, Ont.) was fourth in the OUA with 1975 passing yards and 10 touchdowns and running back Ryan Granberg (Sherwood Park, Alta.) earned OUA first-team all-star honours and was a CIS second-team all-Canadian after finishing second in the conference with 911 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns.

The squad also has two of the top receivers in the OUA in Giovanni Aprile (Scarborough, Ont.) and Justin Chapdelaine (Abbotsford, B.C.). They were both among the conference’s top 10 in 2012 in receiving yards – Aprile had 619 and Chapdelaine 521 – and each was named to the OUA all-star team.

The Gaels are looking to build on their semifinal showing from last year, which they reached after a 6-2 regular-season mark and a dominating 34-0 quarter-final victory over the Laurier Golden Hawks. However, the last time they were on the field in a game – in the OUA semifinals – they coughed up a 22-point lead after the third quarter by allowing 22 points in the fourth to the Guelph Gryphons and went on to lose in overtime.

Sunday’s contest represents the second year in a row that York and Queen’s have met in the season opener. Last year, the Gaels topped the Lions 48-13 on their home field at Richardson Stadium in Kingston, Ont. The Gaels raced out to an early lead at half time, using their experienced players to get ahead quickly, but the Lions held their own in the second half, with both teams scoring 13 points.

The game is free for all York students. Tickets can be purchased at the gate on game day (cash only). Adult tickets are available for $10, non-York students, seniors over 55 years of age and York alumni and staff are $7 and youth under 13 are free.

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