The transition from high school to university is not supposed to be an easy one.
Moving three hours from home and staying far away is not supposed to be comfortable.
Not every post secondary school boy becomes immediately adopted by a group of 70+ grown men, including the largest friendliest man I have ever had the joy of calling a friend, Former Marauder now Argos OL Matt Sewell.
From day one at McMaster I was embraced for who I was, not what coaches or seniors wanted me to be. I will be forever thankful for that acceptance as a first year because I have heard several stories from other OUA schools of freshman being ignored in an effort to tear down a rookie before coaches can build him into the man they want.
Not at Mac. Just play your heart out and be you has always been the message.
I still remember how fun the summer workouts were leading up to training camp. every night I would go home and wonder, HOW IS EVERYONE SO FAST?!? The other thing that jumped out to me was Kyle Quinlan’s command and understanding of every concept.
In training camp we had five quarterbacks. Far exceeding the number we would entertain the rest of my career at Mac.
We began the 2010 season at home, against my home town team. Queens was never really on my radar as an option but the symbolic nature of the week one matchup wasn’t lost on me or anyone in my family, all of whom made the trip.
In the locker room pre game we found crisp new uniforms. A definite upgrade from the previous edition. My memory was taken back to day one of football in grade 10 while getting dressed and realizing all the little things that make dressing an 8 year old in their gear at a football camp so difficult.
Where are my knee pads?
Did I leave my mouthgaurd at home?
What size pants do i have?
Do I need a belt?
Should I wear eye black? Eye strips?
All things which in your senior years are automatic and the least of your concerns while prepping for quality competition.
The largest source of anxiety that last day of August 2010: MY RIBS.
I’ve never had a rib injury or rib pain, but have always worn a flack jacket more from habit and comfort than anything else. At Frontenac I wore a lumpy construction that made me look as though I finished each 830-230 shift at school with a 12 pack of Budweiser daily.
In the mad scramble to reach the field on time I realized I didn’t have a flack jacket.
WHAT IF KYLE GETS HURT AND I HAVE TO GO IN?? A question which would later become irrelevant, the man was indestructible.
Needless to say I was late for my first warmup as I found a jacket from the always reliable and eternally under appreciated General Manager of McMaster football Stu Smith.
In a rush to look the part I strapped tape to my jacket to hold the strap in place so it didn’t come undone. It looked like this.
More on that little piece of tape later.
In the first quarter of my first OUA game my team lost 2-3 seniors with serious knee injuries. I can’t remember the exact number because the whole experience from kickoff to head on the pillow at night was a blur. What I do remember about that first quarter is thinking, “my god is this what university football is like? A battlefield of attrition where you watch your friends get mowed down by a firing squad of equally vulnerable men in opposing military uniforms”.
I can now confirm in my 5th year that sentiment which I had in the first 10 minutes of my career was correct. More on knees and heartbreak later.
We looked up and down that bench and found the resolve to play together and get a win. Challenge accepted. We squeaked out a quality 23-18 victory.
1-0
All first years returned to our training camp residence across the street in Haddon Hall that night as bubbly and excited as could be. No shenanigans, just raw excitement to be a part of something collective and successful.
In week two we faced the Laurier Golden Hawks and Coach Gary Jeffries. A man who I deeply respect and nearly committed to months earlier.
I have never had to use a bathroom so bad in my life… Still figuring this whole timing of hydration thing.
Behind Kingston QB Evan Pawliuk and DB Scott McCahill the Hawks jumped on us at home going up 22-0 at the half. WHAT THE HELL.
Cue Kyle Quinlan. Challenge accepted.
In that second half I learned what the KQ show was all about. Leadership, determination, a bazooka of a right arm and the legs to chase down his own throw if he wanted. It was all on display. On our last offensive drive KQ dropped back and scrambled for a 14-yard touchdown run to put McMaster ahead 26-22 with 2:41remaining in the 4th creating the ‘Hamilton Hug’ when Kyle sprinted the full 20 yards through the end zone to the beer tent patrons outside the maroon and embraced them with a celebratory hug.
The defence came up with a goal line stop to seal the victory. The first for Mac against the Hawks since November 8th, 2003 when Laurier fell in the Yates Cup 41-17 at Ivor Wynne Stadium.
So many characteristics of that day became the foundation of our success moving forward to 2011 and 2012
In week 3 we traveled to Western in a game that was nationally broadcast on The Score. Tim, DJ, the whole crew was there in what would become the sign of a significant game moving forward.
We were demolished.
Downside: First loss of my career
Upside: I’m going in.
My parents were also there to see my first OUA game action. They drove the 5 hours from Kingston to a game which I had absolutely 0 chance of entering. I got in and they were there. They also never missed a single snap of my career. Backup, starter, on TV, in person, In Vancouver, Moncton, Toronto, Waterloo, Windsor, London, Ottawa, it didn’t matter they were there.
With the game long gone in the 4th Coach Ptaszek scrambled down the bench to me and with his trademark intensity told me to get my heart rate up. A sentence which raises ones heart rate and blood pressure more than any aerobic bike could.
I jumped in called the first play, looked across the line, and froze.
John Surla.
That dude with the crazy eye black. I had watched him several times in the past couple years when Western visited Queens. No game more memorable than the 2009 Yates Cup which saw Michael Faulds and Danny Brannagan play shot for shot in front of a national audience. One with a never changing pocket, the other with one knee. Again, those damn knees.
No I was standing face to face with a guy I had watched for years, and he was staring at me. I actually turned around for a second to make sure he wasn’t looking at someone behind me.
I overcame the nerves and went 7-9 for 78 yards and one touchdown. Oh about that touchdown..
A bootleg from the 4 yard line. I rolled out and a blur of white and purple came towards me. Fearing for my existence i pitched the ball to the first maroon thing in sight: Jordan Kozina. That blur was Hamilton Ti-Cat Safety Craig Butler. A true welcome to game speed moment.
After that touchdown I fist pumped like I had just hit the greatest chip shot of all time on the 16th hole at Augusta but instead of my caddy Steve Williams being there to awkwardly miss a high five…
I was met with the entire bench walking past me towards the handshake line. Time had expired on that final play and I looked like the least knowledgeable rookie of all time.
In week 4 we travelled to Ottawa to take on Brad Sinopoli, Ottawa U and the living conditions at Frank Claire Stadium.
We dressed in a portable classroom, our bench stood beneath speakers that swung dangerously in the wind from the 4th story of the overhanging roof. All signs pointed to an impending disaster, and it came.
We had a 35-33 lead heading into the fourth quarter against the #2 nationally ranked Gee-Gees, but a 106-yard touchdown reception from Brad Sinopoli to Cyril Adjeitey with2:42 remaining in the ball game allowed the Gee-Gees to survive with a 43-35 victory.
In week 6 we played at York in our fresh white road uniforms, on a field that served as the community toilet for the York regions Canada Goose population.
Stains on stains on stains.
I got my first true extended run by playing the whole 2nd half and went 14-23 making numerous errors. Not the start I had envisioned. Back to the clipboard life.
In week 7 we hosted Guelph on the Thursday night before Canadian Thanksgiving. A solid scheduling move that I believe all schools should mandate for all varsity sports. Most if not all athletes would happily trade a short week of prep for a chance to go home mid semester for an extra day or two. Coach Ptaszek always did his best to make this a reality and the gesture did not go unnoticed by our guys.
In that game our all-star first year kicker broke his leg on a late attempted block. I have never wanted to throw up on an empty stomach so badly in my life. The memory of those two seconds where my brain processed what I just saw happen to my friend makes my chest twist in knots to this day. I spent the next couple weeks visiting Tyler as often as possible to make the hospital feel as much like home as possible.
Tyler was down but not out. Challenge accepted. He battled through a gruesome injury in a way which I never would have predicted. More on Tyler later.
Before the playoffs senior Running Back Jordan Kozina gathered all players in a basement classroom in McMaster arts quad and laid down the facts. I don’t remember the exact words but something along the line of “we are alone, all we have is this room and we can either embrace this struggle or fold and say goodbye to our numerous seniors”. Challenge again accepted.
We again defeated Queens at home 40-19 in a game that I again have absolutely no recollection of. Something about those early match ups against Queens that should demand permanent memories resulted in a blank slate. The only thing I remember was being interviewed by a local Kingston reporter about how good it felt to beat Queens and end their season despite the fact that I never crossed the white line into the war zone.
He was likely attempting to find a quote to play back in 4 years time when Queens defeated me as a starter to end my career in some sort of Joyceville Penitentiary justice.
I did not indulge him. Great team, great program. Were on to Western.
At Western we competed at a much higher level than we had in the regular season but failed to complete the challenge losing 34-28.
After the game I was left with one visual. Our heart and soul Jordan Kozina left alone on the field after ending his career in defeat. An image all too familiar to senior varsity athletes. That image of Kozi created the poster for how I did not want to end my career. I saw it, in person from 20 feet away. It was real and it was threatening all of us if we didn’t work hard and work together. (Not that Jordan didn’t, he was one of the hardest workers i’ve ever been around)
That summer I posted that picture of Kozina on a knee at Western in my room as a constant threat to my existence. We figuratively climbed a mountain together that summer without realizing that effort would give us the opportunity to visit a place we could literally climb a mountain. Vancouver.
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