OUA RECAPS: ‘Stangs win big again, Andrews scores 3 in Gaels win, McMaster claims shootout, Augustine powers Gryphons, Ravens soar [stats]

WATERLOO, Ont. – Matt Uren recorded two touchdowns and racked up 143 yards receiving to help lead the Western Mustangs to a 59-9 victory over the Laurier Golden Hawks on Saturday night at University Stadium.

“[Laurier]’s a good football team. We played four quarters today and showed what we can do,” said Mustangs head coach Greg Marshall. “We’ve got to get better, but there’s a lot of good things that we did today.”

“I thought the play of our offensive line [was key], and Will put the ball in really good spots. We kept them off balance with the run and the pass – our offence is really difficult to defend. The biggest difference was the play of our defence, they put pressure on them, they did a nice job up front.”

With the win the Mustangs improve to 3-0 on the season, tying them for first place in the OUA with the Guelph Gryphons, and have outscored their opponents 59-9. The Golden Hawks fall to 1-2 on the season, and are in a four-way tie for sixth.

Uren proved to be quarterback Will Finch’s favourite target for the second time in three games this season, hauling in 10 passes. The London native now leads the Mustangs with 340 yards receiving and three touchdowns, all while averaging 113.3 yards per game.

“He’s one of the best receivers I’ve ever thrown to, he’s just so dynamic and athletic,” said Finch. “Anytime you have a versatile athlete like that, if you get the ball into his hands he’s going to make plays.”

While Uren may have been Finch’s most targeted receiver he certainly wasn’t the quarterback’s only target, as Finch completed 25 of 33 passes for a season-high 385 yards with three touchdowns and one interception in a little over three quarters of play.

Not to be outdone by their teammates in the passing game, the Mustangs running backs continued to dominate opposing defences with 349 total yards and three touchdowns. Second-year back Alex Taylor once again led the way, running the ball 15 times to record 159 yards and one touchdown.

Jesse McNair led the Mustangs defence with 9.5 tackles, with Ricky Osei-Kusi coming in just behind with seven tackles and three sacks in his first game of the season. Also making an impact were Clay Harris II and Nick Vanin as both returned interceptions for touchdowns.

“I’ve seen that play a couple of times, and as soon as I read that pattern I just trusted my eyes, jumped [the route], and I knew there wasn’t anyone in front of me,” said Vanin on his interception.

Harris II opened the scoring just under four minutes in, picking off Laurier quarterback James Fracas at the 20 yard line and making a highlight reel return, cutting all over the field and making multiple defenders miss en route to the end zone to give the Mustangs an early 7-0 lead.

Taylor made it 14-0 for the purple and white with less than a minute remaining in the quarter, scoring on a four-yard run that was set up earlier in the drive with an impressive 29-yard run of his own three plays prior.

The Mustangs running game continued to put points on the board, as Yannick Harou recorded his second touchdown of the year on a 33-yard run, giving Western a 21-0 lead less than two minutes into the second quarter.

Both offences quieted down for the next few minutes, until Finch found receiver Uren in traffic in the end zone on a 23-yard pass. Western increased its lead to 35-0 on the ensuing drive as Vanin intercepted Fracas’ pass and went 28-yards untouched into the end zone for his first career CIS touchdown.

Ben Kelly rounded out the scoring in the half with a career-long 46-yard field goal to give the Mustangs a 38-0 lead midway through the game.

The Mustangs offence continued to put points on the board in the third quarter, with touchdowns coming on passes from Finch to Matt Brazier and Uren from 29 and 15 yards respectively. Stevenson Bone recorded the Mustangs final points a one-yard run early in the fourth quarter for his first touchdown of the year.

Laurier recorded their first points of the contest early in the third quarter on a 37-yard field goal from Nathan Mesher. He added another three points to the board in the opening minute of the fourth quarter on a 33-yard field goal, before finishing the game’s scoring with a 37-yard field goal with less than two minutes left, to set the scoreboard at 59-9 in favour of the Mustangs.

Next up for the Mustangs is a matchup against the 2-1 Queen’s Gaels on Saturday, September 19, with game time set for 1 p.m. at TD Stadium.

“We’ve got a great rivalry with Queen’s, so that will be fun,” said Marshall. “Hopefully we’ll have a nice day with a big crowd, Queen’s and Western have a great tradition and they’re a very well-coached team, we expect that Laurier, Queen’s, and Carleton, all these games are going to be tough.”

Fans can watch all the action live on OUA.tv and Rogers Cable 13, or listen on CHRW Radio 94.9 FM or on Newstalk 1290 CJBK with Tom McConnell and legendary Mustangs coach Larry Haylor calling all the action.

NOTES: As head coach of the Mustangs Greg Marshall has never lost to the Golden Hawks, compiling a perfect 11-0 record in his nine seasons at the helm…Clay Harris II and Nick Vanin’s interceptions and touchdown returns were the first of their CIS careers in both categories…Vanin and Harris II’s touchdowns were the first interceptions that the Mustangs have taken back for points since last year’s season opener against York…Finch’s interception midway through the second quarter was his first of the season. Up to that point in 2015 he’d thrown 55 consecutive passes, including 43 completions, without being picked off…

Source: Western Sports Info, Photo Trevor Mahoney

KINGSTON, Ont. (September 12, 2015) – The Queen’s Gaels (2-1) finished with a 47-24 victory over the Waterloo Warriors (0-3) Saturday afternoon despite rainy weather conditions. Jesse Andrews(Arnprior, Ont.) was a force offensively for Queen’s finishing the day with 204 total yards of offence with three touchdowns.

GAME FLOW

The first quarter saw both teams struggled early with the cold and wet weather conditions. Waterloo kicker Caleb Girard had the first chance to get the Warriors on the board but missed a 33-yard field goal. Both teams went back and fourth exchanging possession for majority of the first quarter. The Gaels had a field goal attempt with three minutes left in the frame but mishandled the snap with Matteo Del Brocco (Leamington, Ont.) not being able to scramble for the first down giving away possession. Queen’s defence answered on the very next series with an interception by Frederic Kinkead (Quebec City) in Waterloo territory. The Gaels took advantage of the great field position with Jesse Andrews (Arnprior, Ont.) rushing 15-yards for the first touchdown on the day to give the Gaels a 7-0 lead. The Gaels defence continued their pressure on Waterloo with Luke Ball (Kingston, Ont.) getting a sack on the final play in the first quarter.

Queen’s rushing attack began to control the play early in the second quarter. Andrews continued his strong performance in the first half with a 11-yard run for his second touchdown scored on the day to give the Gaels a 14-0 lead. Waterloo cut Queen’s lead in half late in the second quarter with a 20-yard touchdown pass from Warriors Lucas McConnell to Lam Diing. Queen’s passing game was inconsistent during most of the first half completing four of eleven pass attempts for 77 total yards. Gaels quarterback Nate Hobbs (Mississauga, Ont.) answered on the ground with a goal line rushing touchdown that gave Queen’s a 21-7 lead. Waterloo answered back in the last seconds of the first half with a 39-yard touchdown pass to cut the Gaels lead down to seven going into half-time.

The Gaels started the second half stopping the Warriors first drive with a sack by defensive lineman Natu Myers(Ottawa). Queen’s offence took off from there with three touchdowns scored in the third quarter. Hobbs had a difficult start to the game where he completed only one of his first seven passes, but that was not the case in the second half where he settled down and got into a rhythm throwing three straight touchdown passes in the third quarter. Andrews caught the first from 12-yards out, followed by Curtis Carmichael (Scarborough, Ont.) catching a 27-yard highlight reel catch for the second and Rudy Uhl (North Vancouver) caught a 25-yard touchdown pass for his first touchdown as a Queen’s Gael.

Hobbs finished the day completing just over 50% of his passes for 223 yards with three touchdown passes. Andrews once again was the difference in the game rushing the ball 21 times for 192 yards and two rushing touchdowns to go along with one touchdown reception. Mike Moore (Mississauga, Ont.) led the Gaels defence with six and half total tackles to go along with a sack.

FINAL SAY?
“We knew we were a better team, we were struggling with just a couple explosion plays. Coach (Sheahan) said to just come out and play like we could and that showed in the third quarter.” – Jesse Andrews,  RB

“Well we had a few mental mistakes at the start so second half we knew we had to come out like it was a zero-zero ball game and just change the pace.” – Luke Ball, DL

BY THE NUMBERS
481 – Number of total rushing yards for Andrews in the season.
6 to 1 – Number of touchdown passes Hobbs has thrown this season compared to interceptions.
4 – Number of sacks for the Gaels Defence.
125 – Amount of points Queens has scored in their previous two matchups against Waterloo.
6 – Number of conversions by Wamsley to bring him within six of the all-time Queen’s record.
25-0 – Third quarter score in favour of Queen’s.
30 – Number of tackles for loss yards by the defence.
3 – Number of times Waterloo’s Strength Coach & Defensive Assistant Sam Sabourin was an All-Canadian Linebacker for the Queen’s Gaels from 2011-2013.

UP NEXT
The Gaels (2-1) will head on the road to London next weekend on Saturday September 19th to take on the Western Mustangs. Kickoff is at 1pm.

Source: Shawn MacDonald, Queen’s Gaels Sports Information

McMaster claims shootout win over Ottawa

HAMILTON (September 12, 2015) – McMaster’s Asher Hastings of Regina tossed five touchdowns as the No. 7 McMaster Marauders exploded for 33 second-half points to drop the Ottawa Gee Gees 57-42 at Ron Joyce Stadium on Saturday.

McMaster moves to 2-0 on the year while Ottawa falls to 1-1 in the third week of OUA football competition.

Hastings was 24 of 35 tallying 343-yards passing with five touchdowns in the air while adding another on the ground in a wild victory which saw the Marauders down by 15 points late in the second quarter.

“It’s stressful when the other team is putting up points and you know that the pressure is on all game,” said Hastings of the Saturday afternoon shootout. “I’m definitely going to have a headache from all of the yelling the worrying, but it’s fun when you know that you can put up points like we can.”

Gee Gees quarterback Derek Wendel of Belleville, Ont., had a strong game as well, throwing for three touchdowns and 301 yards as well as an interception. He completed 24 passes on 46 attempts.

Dan Vandervoort of Barrie, Ont., caught two of those five touchdown passes, with his second coming on a 61-yard bomb from Hastings late in the third quarter which handed McMaster the lead for good.

Hastings was unsurprised by what his offence achieved on Saturday, given the weapons he has at his disposal.

“Ottawa plays aggressively on defence, so you’ve got to make them pay,” said the Marauders second-year quarterback. “We didn’t get the running game going to the extent that we wanted to, but if you’re going to play man coverage against Danny Vandervoort and the guys we have in our receiving corps, we should be able to make you pay.”

It appeared Ottawa would walk away with an easy victory in the first half of the game as the Gee Gees struck for 22 consecutive points and built what looked like a comfortable 15-point lead in the second quarter.

However just before the half McMaster responded, with Hastings connecting with Vandervoort on a 13-yard touchdown pass to make the score 32-24 heading into the break.

The second half saw the Marauders score 33 points, including 26 unanswered to take advantage of the Gee Gees and swing the game into their favour.

THEY SAID IT: “At halftime, we challenged our offensive line and running backs and explained that five yards versus seven yards on first down is a whole different world. You saw a few sustained, run-focused drives in that second half that contributes to having only seven points on the board from them in the second half” – Head Coach Stefan Ptaszek

“They need an identity. Ottawa has a razor-sharp quarterback that has weapons all over the field and we’re used to smothering people. We had to be patient today and make enough plays to hold them at bay. That second half is who this defence is going to become” – Head Coach Stefan Ptaszek

TRICK PLAY: Ottawa didn’t roll over and pulled the game within eight points (50-42) with less than six minutes to play. However, on the ensuing drive, McMaster used a trick play to score their final touchdown. The Marauders offence direct-snapped the ball to receiver Mitchell O’Connor of Kingston, Ont. who punted onside. Dan Petermann of Stoney Creek, Ont. recovered the punt in the air, taking it 10 yards untouched down the sideline into the end zone for the touchdown.

RECORD BREAKER: Vandervoort’s second touchdown reception of the game not only broke the game in McMaster’s favour but handed him 19 touchdown receptions for his career. He is now tied with Vaughn Swart (2000-05) and Matt Peressini (2007-11) on the school’s all-time list.

ARIAL ATTACK: Four different McMaster receiver’s caught touchdowns including Vandervoort (2) as well as Max Cameron of St. Catharines, Ont., Aaron Baker of Scarborough, Ont., and Jordan Lyons of Burlington, Ont. Dan Petermann of Stoney Creek, Ont., was the top receiving target leading all receivers in the game with 6 receptions and 135 yards.

DEFENCE: The Marauder defence suffocated Ottawa’s running attack surrendering just 69 yards. Bryce Vieira of Vandureuil-Dorion, Que., was the Gee Gee’s top runner with just 41 yards. Robbie Yochim of Kelowna, B.C., had an interception in the game while Cole Munden of Oakville, Ont. led the defence in tackles with five.

BY THE NUMBERS: McMaster and Ottawa combined for 99 points, which is the highest-scoring game the Marauders have ever been involved. The previous mark was 98 points back in 1998, when the Waterloo Warriors bested the Marauders 55-42 on October 10 in Waterloo, Ontario.

Source: Michael Grobe, McMaster Marauders Sports Information

Gryphons improve with road win over York

Toronto, ON – It wasn’t pretty. But the No. 5-ranked Gryphons are now 3-0 on the season. On Saturday at York University, the Gryphons football team won 49-22 over the York Lions (0-3). Running back Johnny Augustine had three touchdowns on 186 total yards (88 rushing, 98 receiving) as the Gryphons used a big first quarter to pick up their second road win of the season.

The Gryphons had the wind at their backs in the opening quarter and made sure to take advantage. After Johnny Augustine (Welland, ON) opened the scoring with a 1-yard touchdown run, Gryphons quarterback James Roberts (Cambridge, ON) would find Colin Booth (Sault Ste. Marie, ON) for a 21-yard touchdown to give Guelph an early 14-0 lead.

Not only was York unable to sustain any drives on offence during the opening quarter, they were also unable to change field position as punting into the wind gave the Gryphons terrific starting positions on several occasions. To make matters worse for York, midway through the opening quarter, Lions quarterback Eric Kimmerly bobbled a snap,Curtis Newton pounced on it, and the Gryphons took over at the Lions 24-yard line. Four plays later, Roberts found James Ingram (Guelph, ON) who made a terrific catch in the endzone to give the Gryphons a 21-0 lead. The Gryphon defence would force a two and out on the ensuing York possession. With the wind in his face, York punter Nick Naylor would have his kick hang up and trickle out of bounds for a rarely seen 0-yard punt. That meant the Gryphons took over on the Lions 31-yard line. Three plays later, Gryphon running back Johnny Augustine had his second of three touchdowns on the day. It was 28-0 Gryphons. It was still the first quarter. It was all Gryphons early.

In the second quarter, that talented Gryphon defence would come up with several big plays. All-Canadian linebacker Curtis Newton (London, ON) came up with an interception early in the second quarter. On York’s next possession, they would be picked off once again. This time, it was senior defensive back Iain Hutchison (Sault Ste. Marie, ON) who got his hands on one deep in his own endzone and showed some nice awareness to come down with a foot in bounds to complete the catch. The Gryphons defence had three interceptions in the game, with all three coming in the same quarter as Mackenzie Myers (Guelph, ON) also got his hands on one in the second quarter. The Gryphons led 28-3 heading into the locker room at halftime.

Unfortunately for the Gryphons, not only were they coming up with plenty of interceptions themselves, they were also guilty of throwing a few. Maybe more than a few. Guelph starting quarterback James Roberts threw a career high five interceptions in the game. As a result, the Lions were able to remain somewhat close to the Gryphons on the scoreboard. Guelph still had a healthy 35-10 lead heading to the fourth, but on the first play of the final quarter, the Lions would get a spark.

York’s Jahmari Bennett (Mississauga, ON) has played a bit of everything for the Lions. From quarterback to running back to receiver. Oh yeah, he’s not bad at returning kickseither. When Gryphons kicker Gabe Ferraro missed on a 35-yard field goal attempt to start the fourth quarter, Jahmari Bennett would take it back 115-yard the other way for a touchdown, trimming the deficit to 35-17. York would later add a safety and a field goal to make it a 35-22 game with 7:49 to go. But that is as close as they would get.

The Gryphon offence would put together an impressive 8-play, 75-yard drive to push their lead back to 20. A big 38-yard scamper by running back Daniel Palmer-Salmon (Brampton, ON) was the biggest play of the drive. Receiver A’dre Fraser (Halifax, ON) made 8 catches on the day for 92 yards and helped the Gryphons move inside the York red zone. The drive would be capped by a 1-yard QB sneak for a touchdown by Roberts to put the Gryphons up 42-22.

Soon after that score, Roberts would give way to backup quarterback Alex Skinner (Ottawa, ON). He would make an impact on the game by capping the scoring with a 55-yard touchdown to Jacob Scarfone (London, ON) with 2:25 to go in regulation. The touchdown was Scarfone’s fourth of the season. The Gryphons finished with 472 yards of total offence on the day, compared to 300 from York.

The Gryphons will now return home to face the McMaster Marauders in a re-match of last year’s Yates Cup. Kickoff is set for 1pm at Alumni Stadium on Saturday, September 19 with a soldout Homecoming crowd expected to be on hand.

Source: Andy Baechler, Guelph Gryphons Sports Information

GRYPHONS TAKE DOWN LIONS IN HOMECOMING 2015

 

 

Lancers fall to Carleton

The Lancer Football team lost to the visiting Carleton Ravens 62-16 on Saturday afternoon at Alumni Field.

With the loss, the Lancers are still looking for their first win of the season as they are now 0-3 on the year. They will now head up to the nation’s capital next week to face the Ottawa Gee Gees (1-2).

Rookie quarterback Liam Putt threw for his first two OUA career touchdowns connecting with Dave McDuffie and Beau Lumley in the second half. Putt went 18-for-28 for 274 yards and three interceptions.

Lumley finished the game with 188 yards on six catches, while McDuffie had 41 yards in the air, 39 punt return yards and 92 kickoff return yards for a total of 172 all-purpose yards. On the ground, Windsor was led by Tarrence Crawfordwith 47 yards.

The Ravens built up a 51-0 lead in the third quarter before the Lancers found the end zone. Putt connected with McDuffie on a 24 yard pass to put the Lancers on the board midway through the quarter. Putt recorded his second touchdown of the day with a 30 yard pass to Lumley early in the fourth. The Ravens conceded a safety late in the game to give Windsor their other two points.

Windsor will now face the Ottawa Gee Gees on Saturday September 19th at 1:00pm on the road. The game can be seen live on www.oua.tv.

Western vs. Wilfrid Laurier at Waterloo, Ont. 9/12 at 7:30PM
Western 59	Laurier 9

WAT vs. Queen’s Gaels at Kingston 9/12/2015 at 1:00 PM
Waterloo 24	Queen’s 47

Ottawa Gee Gees vs. McMaster Marauders at Hamilton 9/12/2015 at 1:07 pm
Ottawa 42	McMaster 57