October 17, 2015

No. 10 ranked Gaels survive a scare, sneak past Lions 33-32

TORONTO (October 17, 2015) - The No.10 Queen's Gaels traveled to Toronto to take on the York Lions in OUA football action on Saturday afternoon and were able to hang on until the bitter end coming away with a 33-32 win to secure a playoff spot.

Queen's 5-2

York 1-7

Final

Queen's (5-2)

York (1-7)

TORONTO (October 17, 2015) - The No.10 Queen's Gaels traveled to Toronto to take on the York Lions in OUA football action on Saturday afternoon and were able to hang on until the bitter end coming away with a 33-32 win to secure a playoff spot.

GAME FLOW

In the first quarter the Lions were the first to put points on the board. Jesse Amankwaa finished off a nine play 80-yard drive with a five yard run to give the Lions an early 7-0 lead over Queen's. Lions quarterback Brett Hunchak completed all five passing attempts on the drive to set up an easy punch in for Amankwaa.

It didn't take the Gaels long to answer as they gave the ball to running back Jonah Pataki (Wallaceburg, Ont.). He took his first carry of the game for five yards then followed up on the Gaels second play of the game with a 48-yard run to hit the endzone for a touchdown. The Gaels fumbled their extra point attempt and were down 7-6 early in the game with the offense looking good. The Lions once again pushed Queen's down the field and on a second and goal it was Jason Shamatutu (Port Coquitlam, B.C.) who intercepted Hunchak giving the Gaels the ball at their own one yard line. After Pataki tacked on a five-yard rush it was déjà vu for Queen's as quarterback Nate Hobbs (Mississauga, Ont.) threw a deep pass to Doug Corby (Burlington, Ont.) who took it to the house for a 104-yard touchdown. The play was similar to the Queen's record setting 108-yard play in their previous game on Oct. 3 against Guelph, the 104-yard score ties with two others for the second longest in program history.

With a 13-10 lead in the second quarter Pataki finished off another strong offensive drive from the Gaels for a two yard score giving the Gaels a 20-13 lead as they looked in control.

York kept themselves in the game thanks to their strong defensive play. They tacked on a pair of field goals, one right after a Hobbs interception, and closed the gap to 20-16 late in the second quarter. With only 1:15 left before the half it was Brett Colangelo who got the Lions another interception this one he returned 50 yards for a touchdown to give the Lions a 22-20 lead at the half.

After Queen's hit a 18-yard field goal and York tacked on a single point the two teams entered the final quarter all tied at 23-23. Queen's once again took a lead on the day thanks to a 40-yard punt return for a touchdown by rookie Chris Osei-Kusi (Brampton, Ont.), the first of his CIS career. The Lions responded with a 10 play 80 yard drive capped off by Amankwaa pushing in a one yard score to even the game at 30-30.

The Gaels took seven play to go 68 yards and were able to take the lead once more thanks to a 21-yard field goal from Dillon Wamsley (London, Ont.) with just 1:42 left in the game. The Lions had a chance to tie the game on the following drive but after lining up on a third down for a field goal they used a trick play to attempt to gain the first down but the pass was incomplete and Queen's declined a penalty to take over. From there they simply ran out the clock and conceded a safety to finish the game with a 33-32 victory.

BY THE NUMBERS
10 - Gaels ranking in Canada heading into this game
104 - Yard touchdown pass and catch from Hobbs to Corby
50 - Yard interception return for a touchdown by Colangelo with the Lions

UP NEXT
The Gaels will close out their OUA regular season next Saturday at Richardson Stadium for homecoming against the Laurier Golden Hawks. For tickets visit www.gogaelsgo.com/tickets only Gaels club and limited assigned seating remains. Student tickets will be available for pickup on October 20 starting at 6am at the ARC.