FOOTBALL PRESEASON ROUNDUP
The last time these two teams met it was considered one of the best games in CIS football history. The exhibition rematch of the 2011 Vanier Cup game between McMaster and Laval wasn't historic, but it was a close back an forth contest that saw the Rouge et Or come out ahead, 28-22, in front of 9991 at Telus Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
Kyle Quinlan (South Woodslee, Ont.) directed the offence for the majority of the first half for McMaster finishing 8 of 12 for 114 yards and a touchdown. He also ran the ball seven times for 45 yards. Jimmy Hill (Hamilton, Ont.) was the top rusher for the Marauders with 43 yards on six carries.
The Rouge et Or opened the scoring with a Boris Bede (Toulon, France) 38-yard field goal with 8:46 remaining in the first quarter to take a 3-0 lead. The Marauders responded on their next drive. Quinlan had a 33 yard rush to move the Marauders into field goal range. Tyler Crapigna (Nepean, Ont.) capped off the drive by connecting on a 17-yard field goal to even the score.
On their next drive Quinlan connected with rookie Andrew Sinclair (Denfield, Ont.) for a 34-yard completion setting up a 47 yard field goal attempt by Crapigna. The field goal attempt missed and it was returned by Maximilian Ducap Kamara (L'Islet, Quebec) 33 yards to avoid the rouge for the single point.
At the end of the first quarter, pinned deep in their own zone the Rouge et Or conceded a safety to give the Marauders a 5-3 lead.
In the second quarter, Crapigna added another field goal, this time from 30 yards, and then the Marauders scored their first touchdown of the game. Quinlan connected with Robert Babic (Oakville, Ont.) for a 23 yard reception to move McMaster ahead 15-3.
Laval responded on their next position with 42 yard Bede field goal. Bede connected on his third field goal of the half stretching his long for the game to 50 yards to make it 15-9 for McMaster at half-time.
The Marauders had 14 first downs to Laval's seven for a combined 242 yards of total offence compared to Laval's 138 in the opening half.
In the second half both teams looked to their respective benches. A McMaster penalty for a substitution infraction on a Laval punt extended the Rouge et Or's first drive of the second half and they subsequently marched down the field. The Laval drive was extended again on a roughing the kicker call on a field goal attempt. Pascal Lochard (Montreal, Que.) took the ball on the next play and ran it in for Laval's first touchdown of the game. Laval also took their first lead of the game at 16-15.
It didn't take long for the Marauders to respond. On the second play of the ensuing drive Marshall Ferguson (Kingston, Ont.) connected with Mathew Kit (Stoney Creek, Ont.) for a 99 yard touchdown reception. Crapigna made the extra point to give the Marauders back the lead at 22-16.
Ferguson finished 5 of 18 for 141 yards with the one touchdown and an interception in relief of Quinlan.
After a few changes of possession, the Marauders had the ball, but a bad snap resulted in a 20 yard loss deep in their own zone and the Marauders conceded the safety on the next play to end the quarter ahead only 22-18.
Laval regained the lead with 6:26 remaining in the fourth quarter concluding a six play 33 yard drive with another Lochard run for touchdown to regain the lead at 25-22. Laval added a rouge at 2:47 to move ahead 26-22 with just under three minutes to play in the game.
The Marauders had the ball on their one yard line with 40 seconds to go in the game, but Brandon Tennant (Lachine, Que.) sacked Ferguson in the end zone for a safety to lock up the 28-22 win for the home side.
Tristan Grenon (Quebec City, Que.) was 11 of 20 for 92 yards starting at quarterback for Laval. Maxime Boutin (Quebec City, Que.) was the top rusher with 77 yards on 13 carries.
Post-game comments from assistant head coach and offensive coordinator Jon Behie indicate the Marauders achieved what they wanted from the trip to Laval. “I would have to say it was mission accomplished,” said Behie. “We played well head to head against their starters, held the lead at halftime, and had a chance to win the game in the fourth quarter. “
“We got to try some things and evaluate some players, and we came out of the game relatively injury-free which was important. You’d like to win but it was a good way to prepare for the season opener”
McMaster will now open their conference season at home on Monday, September 3 against the Guelph Gryphons at Ron Joyce Stadium. Kick is at 1:00 pm.
A shutout in the third quarter powered the University of Guelph Gryphons past the University of Saskatchewan Huskies 26-21 Friday night (Aug. 24) in a non-conference football game at Griffiths Stadium in PotashCorp Park, in Saskatchewan.
Gryphon quarterback Matthew Carney led the his team down the field on a six play, 27-yard drive to the end zone at 13:12 in the third quarter. Guelph then added a two-point convert on the drive and managed to keep the Huskies off the scoreboard in the quarter. The touchdown provided the final lead change of the game.
The Gryphons continued to play strong in the second half winning the battle on the ground. The Huskies managed just 30 rushing yards in the second half, while Guelph’s tailbacks Corey Davidson and Marc Rutledge combined for 111 yards in the game.
Saskatchewan opened the scoring in the game with a Cole Samson 45-yard field goal at 6:05. The Gryphons answered back on the next drive with Robert Farquharson finding the end zone at 9:26 on a one-yard run.
The two teams traded touchdowns in the second frame. Drew Burko connected with Kit Hillis on a 63-yard touchdown at the end of the quarter, while Lucas Nangle found A’dre Fraser on a 23-yard play at 7:01. The Huskies added a rouge in the second to lead 15-14 at halftime.
Guelph added a rouge and a field goal in the fourth, while Samson hit another field goal, this time from 28-yards out, and Chase Bradshaw added a touchdown in the dying seconds of the game for Saskatchewan.
Three different quarterbacks played at pivot for the Huskies including rookies Drew Burko and Matthew Bonaca, as well as CJFL transfer Chase Bradshaw. The three combined to complete 24-of-43 passes for 348 yards. Guelph also played three at pivot with Nangle playing the majority of the game completing 10-of-14 passes for 142 yards.
Hillis had a strong performance pulling in eight catches for 117 yards and one touchdown, while Garrett Burgess added another three snags for 66 yards for the Huskies. Guelph spread the ball around the receiving corps with nine different players making a catch in the game. Carl Trivieri led the way with 77 yards on three catches.
Jake Reinhart led the way on defence for the Gryphons recording five tackles and one sack, while Jacques Geyer led the way for the Huskies with 7.5 tackles.
Guelph opens their OUA season September 3, against the reigning Vanier Cup champion McMaster University Marauders at Ron Joyce Stadium. Kick off is set for 1:00 p.m. and tickets are available online at www.marauders.ca.
Source: Guelph Gryphons
LIONS FALL TO GAITERS IN PRESEASON ACTION
The York University Lions football team dropped its only pre-season game of the season by a score of 35-2 to the Bishop's University Gaiters in Lennoxville, Que., on Saturday afternoon (Aug. 25) at Coulter Field.
Both teams took some time to get into the swing of game action in this contest, as the Gaiters held a 1-0 lead after the first quarter of play on a missed field goal.
The purple and white got the offence moving as they switched ends of the field for the second period. A 28-yard Mathieu Paquette (Magog, Que.) field goal was followed shortly after by a Jordan Heather (Oromocto, N.B.) to David Haddrall (Kingston, Ont.) 11-yard touchdown strike.
The first big play of the game would happen later in the frame as the Gaiters starting pivot, Heather connected with Kevin Wojcik (Orleans, Ont.) for a 53-yard touchdown. The hosts would take an 18-0 halftime lead.
Early in the third quarter the Gaiters got their special teams rolling as Ryon McCalla (Brampton, Ont.) returned a punt 80 yards to pay dirt. Paquette extend the lead and got redemption from an earlier miss as he was successful on a 44 yard field goal.
The Lions only points of the game came when the Gaiters conceded a safety as they were deep in their own territory, making the score 28-2 heading into the final frame.
Rookie kicker Kevin Kitamura (Richmond Hill, Ont.) boomed a 55-yard punt early in the fourth quarter. The Lions mishandled it. It was picked up by the Gaiters Jerome Mercier (Quebec City, Que.) and run 15 yards for the last major of the game.
The final whistle sounded with the Gaiters on top 35-2, giving head coach Kevin Mackey his first win at the helm.
The Lions will return home from Lennoxville on Sunday and return to practice at York on Monday afternoon. They have one more week of training camp before their first game of the season, on the road in Kingston, Ont., against the Queen's Gaels. Kick-off is set for 2pm at Richardson Stadium.
Source: York Lions
BLUES MISSED IT BY THAT MUCH
A strong second half would not be enough as the University of Toronto Varsity Blues football team fell 31-24 to the Concordia Stingers in exhibition action on Friday, August 24 at Concordia Stadium.
Down 14-0 at the half, the Blues exploded for 17 points in the third quarter, thanks in large part to rookie running back Ashton Nelson. The Brampton, Ont., native amassed 72 of his game-high 94 rushing yards to set up two one-yard Stephan Boroniec (Mississauga, Ont.) rushing touchdowns and a 25-yard field goal by veteran kicker and Toronto native Andrew Lomasney.
Toronto’s rookie quarterback Chris Jugovic of Burlington, Ont., had a solid showing in his first game in the Blue and White, going 8-of-16 for 160 yards and one touchdown on the day. Third-year veterans Paul de Pass (Ajax, Ont.) and Alex Pierzchalski (London, Ont.) led the team with 78 and 90 receiving yards, respectively.
Everton Williams led U of T’s defence with 4.5 tackles and a sack, while Larry Broni and Dylan Howes eached added 3.5 tackles in the loss.
With Toronto leading 17-14 heading into the final quarter, the home team mounted a rally as Stingers quarterback Troy McCusker connected on a 58-yard strike to Matthew Harrington for the major.
Jugovic put the Blues back on top, capping off a five-play, 56-yard drive with a 17-yard touchdown pass to de Pass. Toronto led 24-21 with 2:36 remaining.
Concordia would regain the lead good when Stingers Mikael Charland forced a fumble and Taylor Cook ran it 11 yards into the end zone. The Stingers added a 31-yard field goal with 14 seconds remaining to round out the scoring.
Source: Toronto Varsity Blues
GAELS CRUISE PAST MCGILL TO PICK UP NON-CONFERENCE FOOTBALL WIN
KINGSTON, Ont. - Touchdown catches by Giovanni Aprile (Toronto, Ont.) and Tim Godber (Montreal, Que.) led the Queen's Gaels to a 23-9 win over the McGill Redmen in non-conference football action at Richardson Stadium, Sunday afternoon. Aprile opened the scoring on a 56-yard catch-and-run at 8:07 of the first quarter, while Godber found the end zone in the fourth quarter on a 32-yard pass from fellow freshman Austin Geddes (London, Ont.)
After Aprile's score, the Gaels extended their lead to 12-0 after the first quarter on a safety touch and a 47-yard field goal from Dillon Wamsley (London, Ont.). The rookie followed up his field goal with an 85-yard kickoff single.
The only scoring in the second quarter came at 13:07, when the Gaels conceded a safety touch, leaving their halftime lead at 12-2. In the second half, the Gaels got a pair of singles from Aaron Gazendam, both on missed field goal attempts, and another safety touch, to stretch the margin to 23-2. McGill scored their only touchdown of the game with five minutes left, as Mathieu Lepage scored on a 19-yard pass from Dallon Kuprowski.
Gaels starting quarterback Billy McPhee (Burlington, Ont.) played most of the first half and the first series of the second half, and went 12-for-21 for 187 yards. Ryan Mitchell (Toronto, Ont.), Max Townsend (Toronto, Ont.), and Austin Geddes (London, Ont.) all had stints in relief, with Geddes having the most success, going 3-for-3 for 34 yards and a touchdown.
Ryan Granberg (Sherwood Park, Alta.) finished with nine carries for 43 yards, as the Gaels totaled 104 rushing yards in the game. Aprile led the Gaels with four carries for 89 yards, while Justin Chapdelaine (Abbotsford, B.C.) made five catches for 59 yards.
McGill rotated three quarterbacks throughout the game, with Ryne Bondy throwing for 118 yards and Kuprowski going 10-for-18 for 97 yards. Luis-André Guimond-Mota led the Redmen rushers with 24 yards, while Shaquille Jonson caught six passes for 67 yards.
Defensively, 31 different players made tackles for Queen's, led by 4.5 from sophomore Yann Dika-Balotoken (Toronto, Ont.) and a pair of sacks from rookie linebacker Mike Leroux (Kingston, Ont.). The defensive highlight for Queen's came early in the fourth quarter when they stopped the Redmen when they had first and goal from the two-yard line. Until that drive, McGill had advanced no further than the Queen's 42.
Wamsley had a strong initial outing, averaging 44.5 yards on five punts, 68.5 yards on four kickoff attempts, and hitting his only field goal try. Two local products also saw time at kicker, with Holy Cross grad Aaron Gazendam making one punt for 51 yards, a 54-yard kickoff and going 0-for-2 on field goals, while Sydenham's Garnet Peters had a 60-yard kickoff, a 39-yard punt and converted the Gaels' final touchdown.
The Gaels outgained McGill 323 to 242, and made 20 first downs to 18 for the Redmen. McGill took 19 penalties for 148 yards, while Queen's was whistled six times for 65 yards. Each team committed four turnovers.
McGill opens their regular season in one week, as they visit the Laval Rouge et Or on Sunday, September 2. The Gaels kick off the regular season on Monday, September 3, as they host the York Lions. Kickoff at Richardson Stadium is set for 2 p.m.
Source: Queen's Gaels
