Quarterback Aaron Colbon (Ottawa, Ont.) threw for 452 yards and the Ottawa Gee Gees put up an impressive 670 offensive yards to defeat the Waterloo Warriors 44-32 at Warrior Field on Labour Day afternoon.
Colbon was 28-for-40 with four passing touchdowns and one rushing while Warrior starting quarterback Jamie Cook (Collingwood) was poised all afternoon going 24-for-40 with 297 passing yards of his own.
Colbon didn’t waste any time putting his Gee Gees on top throwing a 78 yard strike to receiver Ben Fisher (Kingston, Ont.) before calling his own number on a 1-yard run for the major only 2:18 into the game.
Ottawa would pad their lead on a field goal before Waterloo gave the home crowd something to cheer about as Cook laid in a perfect pass for Paul Cecile (Azilda) into the endzone making the score 10-7 for the visiting Gee Gees.
Following a single by Waterloo kicker Jake Fiorucci (Niagara Falls), the Warriors found themselves on top for the first time thanks to a 17-yard field goal by Fiorucci.
Waterloo’s first lead of 2013 would last all of two minutes before Brendan Gillanders (Orleans, Ont.) would coral a 3-yard pass to put the Gee Gees up 17-11. Ottawa would add a rouge late in the half to take an 18-11 lead into the break.
The flood gates would open for both squads in the third quarter with Ottawa capitalizing first on Colbon’s third passing touchdown of the game. His 25-yard bullet to Gillanders put Ottawa in front 25-11.
On the ensuing possession the resilient Warriors would march down the field setup by a tremendous catch by Brandon Eaket (Kitchener) (Kitchener, Ont.) in triple coverage setting up a 1-yard run by Danny Silvestri (Waterloo) to cut into the Ottawa lead.
Ottawa would make a statement late in the third quarter scoring two touchdowns in the late going of the third quarter to take a commanding 43-18 lead. The first coming off a 6-yard pass from Colbon to Nicolas Dagher (Beirut, Lebanon) and the second a perfect 52-yard strike to Simon Le Marquand (Gatineau, Que.).
The black and gold would be ignited before the end of the busy third quarter as Miklos McMaster (Niagara Falls) would pick off Colbon and turn it back down field 30 yards. Following several Ottawa penalties Cook would leap over his offensive line for the major.
Midway through the fourth quarter, Waterloo would once again march down the field led by second year running back Glorian Ganza (Kitchener) who on his third touch of the drive would punch it in from 1-yard to cut Ottawa’s lead to only 11.
The Warriors offence would have one more crack at the end zone but Ottawa’s defence stood tall and after adding a single would take the game 44-32.
With the win Ottawa improves to 1-1 on the season and will host the Toronto Varsity Blues (0-1) next weekend while Waterloo (0-2) make the long trip to Ottawa to face the Carleton Ravens (0-0), their first home game since their return to the OUA.
Source: Waterloo sports info
Big day for Dagher in 44-32 win
Ottawa’s offence clicked into gear on Labour Day Monday, posting a 44-32 win over the Waterloo Warriors in week two of OUA football action. Brendan Gillanders ran for 144 yards and Aaron Colbon amassed 452 passing yards but it was the play of second-year receiver Nicolas Dagher which stood out for Ottawa.
Two big strikes in the middle of the field by Dagher powered a seven-play, 85-yard Ottawa scoring drive in the third quarter. The two receptions by Dagher, 32 yards and 21 yards apiece, set up space for first-year Trevor Kennedy to catch a ball on the sideline and cut back to the middle, advancing the ball to the six yard line. Dagher then finished off the drive with a six-yard catch at the back of the endzone which put Ottawa ahead 32-18.
On the day, Dagher totalled 145 yards on nine catches to lead all receivers. Nick Anapolsky led the Warriors with 112 yards, also on nine catches.
Waterloo clawed back within reach after Dagher’s score, showing that they are a much different team than the one which suffered a 61-0 beating in Ottawa last season. The Warriors recorded 297 passing yards and 409 total yards of offence, along with two interceptions and one sack. Ottawa held an 18-11 lead at halftime.
The visitors quickly silenced the home-opener crowd of black and gold faithful by scoring on the first drive of the game thanks to a 78-yard reception by second-year Ben Fisher which set up a one-yard quarterback sneak by Colbon. Three plays later, a blocked punt by Kevin Moncion and Simon Le Marquand appeared to give Ottawa complete control, but the Warrior defence limited the damage to a field goal.
That allowed the Warriors to storm back and take an 11-10 lead at the beginning of the second quarter, capitalizing on another Gee-Gees special teams turnover when a punt snap sailed over the head of Dominic Bellardini. Ottawa recovered the lead thanks to the first big run of the day by Gillanders, which he followed up with a three-yard touchdown catch.
Waterloo relied heavily on their ground game but found success with passing out of a no-huddle offence late in the first half, driving all the way to the Ottawa red zone before the defence buckled down and made three straight stops as the clock ran out on the first half.
Colbon aired out a 25-yard pass to Andrew Mullings in the end zone to start the second half, and later added a 52-yard touchdown pass to Le Marquand. The fifth-year pivot was consistently looking downfield for big gains, stretching the Warrior defence. Colbon also added 75 yards rushing to the offensive look.
The Gee-Gees improve their record to 1-1 while the Warriors fall to 0-2. Ottawa will next take the field for the grand opening game at Gee-Gees Field. Kickoff is 1 p.m. on Saturday, September 7 and tickets are available through the Gee-Gees box office at 613-562-5800 x 4337 or online at CapitalTickets.ca.
Source: Ottawa sports info
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