KINGSTON – The Laurier Golden Hawks (4-4) spoiled the Gaels (5-3) Homecoming in the final regular season game with a 49-26 defeat at Richardson Stadium Saturday afternoon in front of a sold out crowd.

GAME FLOW
The Gaels opened up the game with a good kickoff return by Brad Innis (Toronto) to give the offence good field position to start. Queen’s did not take long to open the scoring in the game as they drove down the field with ease during their first offensive possession ending with a rushing touchdown by Jonah Pataki(Wallaceburg, Ont.) to give the Gaels a 7-0 early lead. On the Gaels second offensive possession they conceded a safety to give Laurier their first two points of the game. The Golden Hawks next offensive drive saw them move down the field but were limited to a field goal to bring the score to 7-5. On the following offensive drive Queen’s quarterback Nate Hobbs (Mississauga, Ont.) fumbled the ball with Laurier’sRashari Henry recovering and returning it 38 yards for a touchdown to give the Golden Hawks their first lead of the game 12-7. The Gaels had another great kickoff return this time by Chris Osei-Kusi (Brampton, Ont.) bringing the return back to midfield. Queen’s was not able to capitalize on the great field positon late in the first quarter.

Early in the second quarter the Golden Hawks continued to build on their lead as they hit another field goal to bring the score to 15-7. Queen’s and Laurier each failed on third down conversions on their next two offensive drives with the game at a stalemate. Laurier’s defence continued their strong play as they forced another fumble from Pataki and recovered it in Gaels territory. The Queen’s offence could not find any rhythm during the second quarter. The Gaels had a punt blocked on their own 35-yard line with Laurier taking over possession deep in Queen’s territory but could not gain anything from their good field position. The Golden Hawks offence started to gain momentum late in the second quarter with another long drive that ended in another field goal to make the score 18-7. On the first possession after Laurier’s field goal, Hobbs was intercepted by a Golden Hawks defensive lineman Asante Mizan who returned the it for another defensive touchdown to build Laurier’s lead to 25-7. The pick six was Hobbs first interception thrown this season at Richardson Stadium. The Gaels quarterback continued to get pressured on almost every play as he was sacked on back to back plays to end another offensive drive and just before half Hobbs threw another interception on the last drive of the half.

Laurier began the second half with possession and finished their first drive with another field goal to take a 28-7 lead. The Gaels had one of their better drives of the game early in the third which ended with Pataki rushing for his second touchdown on the game to cut the lead to 28-14. Laurier’s special teams started to contribute with a great kickoff return to the Gaels 30-yard line. The Golden Hawks capitalized on their great field position which ended with a touchdown reception to take their lead to 35-14. The touchdown reception was Laurier’s first offensive touchdown of the day. With another great special teams play of a 57-yard punt return to the Gaels two-yard line, Laurier’s running back Eric Guiltinan punched it in to give the Golden Hawks a 42-14 lead. The Gael’s defence forced a fumble late in the third quarter by defensive back Jake Firlotte (Abbotsford, B.C.) to give Queen’s offence another possession.

The fourth quarter began with the Gaels driving deep into Laurier territory but the drive ended with a field goal byDillon Wamsley (London, Ont.) to bring the score to 42-17. The final quarter saw the Gaels offence play their best football on the day and added another touchdown score with a reception from Doug Corby (Burlington, Ont.) to bring the game to 42-24. The touchdown score was a little to late for the Gaels as the game winded down with the final score of 49-26 for the Golden Hawks who earned a playoff game with their victory.

FINAL SAY
“I think they were stopping the run pretty well. They are an active defence and were reading our plays pretty well. We always remain positive and even though we were down we knew we had a chance to come back.” – Doug Corby

BY THE NUMBERS
52 – Number of Career Field Goals by K Dillon Wamsley (2 Shy of All-Time Record)
122 – Number of Rushing Yards by Jonah Pataki
7 – Amount of solo tackles by Linebacker Luke McQuilkin
140 – Number of Rushing Yards by Laurier’s Dillon Campbell
10/31/2015 – Date of the Gaels home playoff against the Carleton Ravens
11 – Number of total tackles by Laurier’s Brandon Calver

UP NEXT
Up next for the Gaels is a home playoff matchup against the Carleton Ravens on Saturday October 31st at 1pm at Richardson Stadium.

Ottawa, ON – On Saturday afternoon (Oct. 24) in Ottawa, the Gryphons secured a second place finish in the OUA standings as well as a first round bye in the playoffs with a 44-12 win over the No. 10-ranked Carleton Ravens. For a fourth straight year, the Gryphons finish the regular season with a 7-1 record. Quarterback James Roberts threw for over 300 yards and four touchdowns while the Gryphon defence held the Ravens without an offensive touchdown in the game. The Gryphons are the No. 2 seed in the OUA and will now play at home in an OUA semi-final game on Saturday, November 7^th while Carleton (5-3) will enter the playoffs as a No. 5 seed and will travel to Kingston to face Queen’s.

The Gryphons were able to get off to a great start on Saturday against Carleton thanks to some solid defence and some big plays in the passing game. Shortly after James Roberts foundRyan Nieuwesteeg to convert on a 2^nd and 15, it was time forJacob Scarfone to make another memorable catch in what has been an unforgettable season for the third year receiver. This time, Scarfone was able to come up with a one-handed grab on a 34-yard completion to set the Gryphons up with a 1^st and Goal. Running back Johnny Augustine would punch it in from there as the Gryphons held an early 10-0 lead at Ravens Field.

After having already forced a fumble on the previous Carleton possession, the Gryphon defence was at it again on the ensuring Ravens drive, this time causing Carleton running back Jahvari Bennett to cough it up. The Gryphons would recover on the Carleton 32-yard line, and as the saying goes, the Gryphons would go for the jugular on the very next play. A 32-yard touchdown pass from Roberts to Ryan Nieuwesteeg gave the Gryphons a 17-0 lead heading to the second quarter. For Nieuwesteeg, who has found the endzone twice this season on punt returns, it marked his first receiving TD of 2015.

Last week, the Gryphon defence held Windsor to just 58 yards passing. This week, the Ravens weren’t having much fun either trying to move the ball through the air against the Gryphons. In the second quarter, Ravens quarterback Jesse Mills would have his pass tipped by All-Canadian Curtis Newton and then picked off by former OUA All-Star John Rush. The two standout linebackers, as they have all season, were leading the way for the Gryphon D. With Carleton’s offence being held off the scoreboard, Guelph’s lead would grow to 27-0 after James Roberts picked up his third touchdown pass of the opening half. This time, Roberts showed some nice pocket presence and athleticism to avoid the rush, step up and throw on the move. For the second time on the day, Roberts had himself a 32-yard touchdown pass, this time to Jacob Scarfone. It was a dominant opening 30 minutes for the Gryphons in all three phases of the game, as they took a 27-2 lead into the locker room at the half.

The Ravens were finally able to find the endzone in the third quarter on a 90-yard punt return for a touchdown from Tunde Adeleke. But the way the Gryphon defence was playing, it seemed as though scoring on a big play on special teams may be the Ravens only hope of finding pay dirt. Late in the third quarter, Curtis Newton was at it again, helping the Gryphons come up with their second INT of the game. Newton was able to sniff out a Carleton screen pass and came up with his second INT on the season before taking it back 36-yards to the Ravens 20-yard line. A few plays later, Roberts and Scarfone would connect for a 20-yard touchdown, giving the Gryphons a 34-12 lead. For Roberts, it was his fourth TD pass of the day. For Scarfone, who finished the day with 5 receptions, 125 yards and 2 TD, it was the exclamation mark on a tremendous 2015 season. Scarfone finishes the regular season with 57 catches, 940 yards and 10 touchdowns. Those numbers put him amongst the CIS leaders in each category (T-3^rd in receptions, 2^nd in yards, 2^nd in TD). His 57 catches this season are also the second most in school history for a single season (behind only Frank Marouf‘s 60 catches back in 1991).

In the final quarter, Roberts tied a career-high with his fourth touchdown pass of the game, connecting with Johnny Augustine for a 46-yard TD strike. Gabriel Ferraro‘s third field goal of the day came late in the game and capped the scoring as the Gryphons rolled over the Ravens 44-12.

Roberts finished the day 14-26, 327 yards, 4 TD and 0 INT. Augustine finishes the season tied for 2^nd in the country with 12 rushing touchdowns on the year. Ryan Nieuwesteeg returned 12 punts for 117 yards and in the process, set a new school record with 838 punt return yards on the year. His 838 punt return yards on the season are the second highest total in CIS history, next only to Laurier’s Dillon Heap who had 912 in 2009.

The Gryphons will have next week off after having earned a first round bye. The OUA playoff picture is as follows:

(1) Western — First Round Bye
(2) Guelph — First Round Bye

OUA Quarter-finals:
(6) Laurier @ (3) McMaster
(5) Carleton @ (4) Queen’s

* Note: the Gryphons will face the highest ranked team to come out of the quarter-final matchups.

Source: Andy Baechler, Guelph Gryphons Sports Information

Carleton Falls to High-Flying Gryphons in Regular Season Finale

Ottaws — Ravens Football found itself overmatched in its final game of the 2015 OUA regular season, as Carleton fell 44-12 to the visiting Guelph Gryphons.

A sloppy first half sunk the Ravens, who finished the season with a 5-3 record and are now set for a date next Saturday in Kingston against the Queen’s Gaels in the 4v5 OUA quarterfinal.

“(Guelph) are a very good team,” said Carleton head coach Steve Sumarah. “They executed when we had them in second-and-long, and when we had opportunities to move the ball, we dropped it and took penalties.”

The Ravens struggled out of the gate, with a pair of first-quarter fumbles on offence leading directly to a 17-0 Gryphons lead after fifteen minutes — a deficit from which Carleton would never recover.

“We’re still a ways away from being a great team, and unfortunately until we can put those mistakes away, we’re going to struggle against top teams,” said Coach Sumarah, whose team finished the regular season with a plus-64 point difference.

Guelph’s three-headed ground attack proved too much for the Ravens to handle, as the trio of Brandon Gordon, Johnny Augustine, and Daniel Palmer-Salmon combined for 187 yards on the ground.

In the air, Guelph QB James Roberts and his receiving corps carved up Carleton’s secondary for much of Saturday’s game. Roberts went 14-for-26, racking up 327 passing yards and throwing for four aerial touchdowns — two to his favourite target, Jacob Scarfone.

“At this point, we just have to move on (from this game),” said Coach Sumarah. “Learn what you can — there were some things we did well on defence, and our special teams were good again — but we just have to move on and go forward into the playoffs.”

On offence, Ravens QB Jesse Mills (Halifax, NS) threw for 170 yards, but was picked off twice and failed to find the endzone. RB Jahvari Bennett (Mississauga, ON) racked up a relatively quiet 142 yards on the ground, eclipsing the 1000-yard rushing milestone to cap a solid season.

Carleton was led defensively by Kene Onyeka (Brampton, ON) and Nate Hamlin (Ottawa, ON), who each registered a team-high nine tackles. Onyeka also picked up a sack in the loss.

Ravens return man Tunde Adeleke (Ottawa, ON) brought the house down in the third quarter with a 90-yard kickoff return touchdown — his third of the season.

The Ravens will now have one week to prepare for their first playoff game in modern program history, which will take place next Saturday — Halloween — in Kingston (kick-off TBD).

RAVENS PLAYER OF THE GAME:
#30 Jahvari Bennett

UP NEXT:
OUA Playoffs – First Round
Carleton at Queen’s – Saturday, October 31, 2015 – T.B.D. (Kingston, ON)

Source: Carleton Ravens Sports Information

Laurier vs. Queen’s Gaels at Kingston 10/24/2015 at 1:00 PM
Laurier 49	Queen’s 26

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