Plethora of national records fall on final day of OUA regular season

OTTAWA (CIS) – McMaster quarterback Asher Hastings, Ottawa pivot Derek Wendel, Calgary kicker Johnny Mark and the high-scoring Western Mustangs all entered the CIS football record book, Saturday, on the final day of the OUA regular season and the penultimate weekend of Canada West league action.

INDIVIDUAL RECORD: Most touchdown passes in a season 

At Hamilton, despite a 46-24 loss to nationally second-ranked Western, Hastings shattered one of the most prestigious and longest-standing single-season records in CIS history. With two touchdown passes against the Mustangs, the Regina native finished the campaign with 31 in eight league games, one more than the previous standard set by three-time Hec Crighton Trophy winner Chris Flynn of Saint Mary's, who accomplished the feat in seven contests back in 1989. 

Hastings, who is in his second season with the Marauders but his first as the team's starting QB, tied Flynn's total three minutes and 18 seconds into the fourth quarter with a one-yard toss to Dan Petermann, and took sole possession of the record with 1:54 remaining when he connected on five yards with Dan Vandervoort. 

Thanks to his 71.5 completion percentage this fall (203 of 284), the 6-foot-4, 218-pound former CJFL national champion also set a new OUA single-season standard in that category. The previous conference mark of 69.7% had been set two years ago by Western's Will Finch. 

"He's had a whale of a regular season," said McMaster head coach Stefan Ptaszek. "Thirty-one touchdown passes, when you consider that it has rained in six of our eight weeks of this season, is something goofy. He is one of the very best pocket passers that the CIS has ever seen, and I hope that people talk about him in CIS corners for many years to come."  

TEAM RECORDS: Most points and touchdowns scored in a season

Finally, in the 46-24 road win over McMaster that allowed Western to clinch first place in the OUA standings, the Mustangs became the highest-scoring team in CIS football history. Western finished the regular season with 494 points, breaking the previous single-season mark of 481 set by Laval in 2003, and thanks to six touchdowns against the Marauders, wrapped up league play with 64 majors, two more than the old national standard shared by Laval (2003) and Saint Mary's (2001).

Also of note, Western's victory marked head coach Greg Marshall's 100th career regular season success, including 58 with the Mustangs and 42 with McMaster. With a 100-26-2 conference record, Marshall joins Saskatchewan's Brian Towriss (161-93-1), Queen's Pat Sheahan (127-82-1), Laval's Glen Constantin (103-18) and UBC's Blake Nill (107-36) as current CIS football head coaches with at least 100 wins in league play.

Source: CIS