By the Numbers: Top tier offence, defence, and timing lead to memorable results

Photo by Guelph Gryphons
Photo by Guelph Gryphons
September 25, 2019

2013 – Defence was the name of the game in the OUA Marquee Matchup; a stark difference from the combined 77 points scored in their previous encounter in the 111th Yates Cup. In fact, the only scoring that was achieved in Western’s slim victory was via the field goal, with Marc Liegghio notching three for the Mustangs and Eric Stranz hitting one for Guelph. While Western did come away with the win, it came against one of the best defensive performances they’ve faced in quite some time, as the Gryphons held the purple ponies without a touchdown for the first time since 2013 (44-3 Mitchell Bowl loss to Calgary).  

314 – McMaster’s defence was tough for the Windsor Lancers to overcome on Saturday, but one player who managed to thrive for the blue and gold was Carson Ouellette. The fifth-year receiver amassed a total of 314 all-purpose yards on the day, while also adding a pair of majors. Ouellette hauled in 127 of those yards in the passing game – along with one touchdown – while also taking three punt returns back for 111 yards. One of those returns, in fact, came in the form of an impressive 99-yard run all the way to the house. Ouellette rounded out his day with another 71 yards on three kickoff returns and five yards from one carry.

77 – Not many teams have been able to find the edge against Carleton, let alone secure the victory against the perennially-ranked Ravens, but Ontario Tech can add their names to the list. Kicking off the weekend in fine fashion was a closely-contested tilt between the Ridgebacks and one of the top teams across Canada, and they found themselves knotted up at zeros until late in the second half. In fact, it wasn’t until Christopher Campoli stepped up for a penalty kick in the 77th minute and found the back of the net for the game’s first goal that either side found an advantage. But it was an advantage that the Oshawa squad would parlay into the win, ultimately handing the black birds their first loss of the season.

70+ – The Marauders did a lot of things right in their win against the Windsor Lancers and one of the game’s brightest stars was under centre for Mac. For the game, QB Andreas Dueck finished with 389 yards on 21-for-33 passing, but a pair of those connections stood out above the others. Demonstrating a new level of vertical threat in the passing game, Dueck twice eclipsed the 70-yard mark, hitting Tyson Middlemost for a 72-yard touchdown strike and Tommy Nield for a game-high 73-yard reception.

25 – The Varsity Blues field hockey team remains the lone unbeaten squad in the conference this season after taking down the York Lions by a score of 3-1. Rachel Spouge led the way for first-place Toronto, as the two-time OUA all-star and U SPORTS all-Canadian controlled the midfield with precision in the win. It wasn’t just a big win for this season’s standings; however, as the loss snapped the 25-match unbeaten streak that the Lions had amassed, dating back to the 2017 campaign.

21:47 - At just 18-years-old and with just two official collegiate competitions under her belt, first-year standout Cameron Ormond is already making a name for herself in cross country. The highly touted rookie turned in an impressive performance in London this past weekend at the Bill Salter Invitational. In a field of 133 runners representing 15 different universities and colleges, Ormond was the first to cross the finish line, completing the 6km race in a time of 21:47.

6 – The offensively-powered Gee-Gees have been tough to stop this season, but in what ended as a 1-1 draw with Queen’s on Sunday, Gaels goalkeeper Alanna Richardson did as good a job as any. The fourth-year turned away six shots from the top-ranked team in the country, helping Queen’s become just the second team to earn a point against Ottawa this season. If that wasn’t impressive enough, she also picked up the clean sheet the day prior, which included shutting the door on a second-half penalty shot in their win against Carleton.

5 – Lizzy Laurie ran quite a race for the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks at the Western Invitational, putting her in a league of her own in the school’s history books. By finishing fifth, Laurie secured the best finish by a Golden Hawks women’s runner at the event based on available school records. Laurie was just 17 seconds shy of finishing on the podium and her impressive result helped the purple and gold to seventh place overall.

3 – There were a number of impressive offensive performances from teams on the gridiron this weekend, but these lofty totals wouldn’t have been possible without the touchdown trifecta provided by a pair of standouts. Waterloo’s Gordon Lam got the festivities started with three touchdowns in the receiving game, including a 68-yard score that contributed to his 158 yards on the day. The other trio came on the ground, as Ottawa’s Jordan Burgher rumbled his way to 71 yards and three rushing touchdowns – the first three of his career – on 11 carries.