TORONTO – The York University Lions football team will play host to the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees on Saturday afternoon (Sept. 28) at the annual Homecoming game.
Kick-off is set for 1pm at York Stadium, and the game can also be watched live online on LionsTV (yorkulions.ca/lionstv). In addition to the action on the field, plenty is happening around the stadium for the fans in attendance, including a trip giveaway to Australia courtesy of TravelCUTS and Topdeck Travel, free commemorative Homecoming 2013 t-shirts for the first 500 fans, food trucks, face painting and more. (For more information on the ultimate 10-day trip for two to Australia, click here.)
The contest promises to be an exciting one, featuring two of the best offences in the conference battling for an important third win in the OUA standings. The Gee-Gees are currently second in the OUA with an average of 523 yards per game, which has helped them post a 2-3 record, while the Lions are fourth with an average of 438 per game and a 2-2 record.
The Lions are coming off a big 50-34 victory over the Carleton Ravens last weekend on the road, putting up the most points in one game since posting 55 in a win over Waterloo in 2004. The triumph pulled the squad back up to .500 on the year, and the Lions are currently tied with Ottawa and McMaster for fifth place in the OUA standings with four points.
York has alternated wins and losses through its first four games and won its only other contest at York Stadium this year, a 33-20 victory over Laurier in Week 3.
The Gee-Gees, meanwhile, enter this weekend on the heels of a pair of losses to the top two teams in the conference. Two weeks ago they lost 83-27 to No. 2 Western and last week fell 36-21 to No. 3 Queen’s. Prior to that Ottawa won two in a row, defeating Waterloo 44-32 and Toronto 34-10.
The Lions won the most recent meeting between the two squads, knocking off the Gee-Gees 47-36 last year at York Stadium.
Two fifth-year quarterbacks with similar skill sets will go head-to-head for their teams, with York’s Myles Gibbon (Montreal) and Ottawa’s Aaron Colbon (Ottawa) among the league leaders in both passing and rushing yards. Gibbon ranks fifth in the OUA, and first among quarterbacks, with 75.25 rushing yards per game and is also sixth with 227.5 passing yards, while Colbon leads the OUA in passing yards per game (378.4) and eighth in rushing yards (63.8). Gibbon has posted 10 touchdowns (eight passing and two rushing) and Colbon 17 (15 passing, two rushing).
Gibbon’s favourite targets this year have been fifth-year receiver Will Austin (St. Catharines, Ont.) and rookie Jason Charland (Quebec City). Austin has 13 catches for 210 yards and two touchdowns, and Charland 14 receptions for 164 yards and a pair of scores. Ottawa’s top receiver is Nicolas Dagher (Beirut) with 27 receptions for 420 yards and two touchdowns.
Both squads also have top rushing attacks, with York’s Errol Brooks (Toronto) ranking third in the OUA with 93.75 yards per game and Ottawa’s Brendan Gillanders (Orleans, Ont.) fifth with 73 per game.
With both offences firing on all cylinders, the result of the game may come down to which team can get the important defensive stop. The Lions are sixth in the OUA, allowing an average of 406.75 yards per game, and the Gee-Gees are ninth with a mark of 501.4 per game.
York’s leader on defence has been fourth-year defensive end James Tuck (Aurora, Ont.), who has 24 tackles, 2.5 sacks, two pass break-ups, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery.
The game is free for all York students. Tickets can be purchased at the gate on game day. 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. Alumni can get a free ticket for the game by pre-registering at yorku.ca/alumni/homecoming.
The Gee-Gees football team hits Toronto on Saturday, September 28 en route to York Stadium for their sixth game of the regular season. York (2-2) is coming off its highest scoring game of the season, a 50-34 win played in Ottawa against the Carleton Ravens.
Throughout past seasons, this matchup has seen many landslide victories in favour of Ottawa, such as the 65-12 home victory in 2011 when the Gee-Gees took hold of the game right off the bat by scoring 42 points before halftime. However, during the 2012 season the Lions put on the pressure, and put up the points for a 47-36 win.
This season, the Gee-Gees (2-3) and Lions have had two of the same opponents beat them out. Against Queen’s, York suffered a major 52-1 loss back in August whereas uOttawa failed to make a comeback this past Saturday and ended the game with a 36-21 score. Pitted against the McMaster Marauders, the teams had similar outcomes, with York (41-27) finishing more soundly than Ottawa (51-24).
Gee-Gee quarterback Aaron Colbon still reins as the OUA’s passing leader, while fifth-year Myles Gibbon of York lands the sixth position.
Thus far, Colbon more than doubles Gibbon’s passing yardage (910) with 1892 yards. However, Gibbon finished the season with a higher passing percentage (53.8 per cent) than Aaron Colbon (48.2 per cent) in 2012.
Running back Errol Brooks is placed ninth in the CIS ranks for his rushing average per game at a steady 93.8, with only two players from the OUA ahead of him. However, Gee-Gee captain Brendan Gillanders falls soon after in the ranks with an average of 73.0.
Coach Barresi’s expectation for every Gee-Gee is a simple, yet key notion. “I just want a general team effort.”
Fans can watch the game live at http://www.ssncanada.ca/ with kickoff at 1 p.m.
Photo credit: Richard Whittaker
Source: Ottawa Gee-Gees Sports Information
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