OUA RELEASES 2007 FOOTBALL SCHEDULE

HAMILTON, Ont. – Ontario University Athletics (OUA) is pleased to announce the football schedule for this upcoming fall season. With the excitement of last year, which included climactic record breakings, teams battling for playoff positioning and the crowning of a new OUA champion, the 2007 season should only build on the accomplishments of last year. As teams begin to prepare for the 100th anniversary of the Yates Cup season, the conference can be proud of the momentum it has made following a successful 2006 campaign.

Week one action gets underway Monday September 3, as Dennis McPhee makes his coaching debut for the Waterloo Warriors against the Toronto Varsity Blues. Waterloo narrowly pushed past Toronto in 2006, as Toronto held the lead through the first half until second year wide receiver Sean Cowie (Burlington, Ontario) scored two second half touchdowns to give Waterloo the win 28-25. Hec Crighton Trophy winner Daryl Stephenson (London, Ontario) and the Lancers will start their season off at home as they take on the York Lions. Stephenson who led the nation in rushing for the second year in a row with 1,140 years and 11 touchdowns will be eager to get the 2007 campaign started as the Lancers will look to avenge their premature knock out of the playoffs last year. 2006 Yates Cup Champion Gee-Gees will see their first action of 2007 as they travel to Guelph to take on defending OUA passing leader (2452 yards) Justin Dunk (Guelph, Ontario) and the Gryphons.

Head Coach of the Western Mustangs, Greg Marshall, makes his return to McMaster in week two, as the Mauraders and Mustangs do battle. Windsor will travel to Laurier in the start of their difficult road schedule for the 2007 season, facing three of the top four teams from 2006 on the road. Other match ups see Toronto traveling east to Ottawa, Guelph at Queen’s, and York facing off against the Waterloo Warriors.

Week three of the schedule pits a rematch of last year’s quarter-final match up between the McMaster Marauders and the Queen’s Golden Gaels. The Marauders who finished last season in third place, made an early exit in the playoffs at the hands of the Golden Gaels in a 25-19 defeat. Western will be looking to take a win at home against the Yates Cup Champion Gee-Gees, as Ottawa took a 17-3 win in the first week of football action last season.. Other games on the schedule will see Waterloo traveling to Windsor, Guelph visiting York, and Laurier at Toronto for a Friday night match up.

Local rivalries highlight week four, beginning with an all-Waterloo meeting when the Laurier Golden Hawks play host to the Waterloo Warriors Saturday September 22. The day also features the University of Windsor home coming weekend which will see the Queen’s Golden Gaels battle the Lancers under the lights at the University of Windsor Stadium. Toronto travels to Hamilton to take on the Marauders, while Western will take on the Gryphons, and the York Lions battle the Ottawa Gee-Gees.

The battle of rivalries should draw attention to week five, beginning with the Windsor Lancers traveling to take on the Western Mustangs on September 29th. The meeting between the two rivals is always a hotly-contested battle. Last season Western took the win 28-18 at home over the visiting Lancer squad in the regular season, and again stole the victory as the Mustangs upset the Lancers at home in a quarter-final playoff match up 20-16. The day also features the Gee-Gees traveling to Hamilton to take on the Marauders, who were the only team to hand Ottawa a loss (29-19) in OUA play in 2006. The Varsity Blues will also travel across the city to take on the York Lions in a battle of Toronto. The remaining games see Laurier traveling to Queen’s, and Guelph at Waterloo.

Thanksgiving weekend will see the Gryphons hosting an eagerly anticipated game at home on October sixth, as the Laurier Golden Hawks make the short trek to Guelph. In 2006 the Gryphons took Laurier into overtime until the eventual Yates Cup finalists pulled away with a 24-17 victory. Windsor will see action at Toronto Friday night, Queen’s will face east rival Ottawa, while McMaster travels to Waterloo, and Western takes on the York Lions.

The premier match-up of week seven boasts a re-match of the Yates Cup final as Ottawa takes on the Laurier Golden Hawks in Kitchener/Waterloo. Laurier Head Coach Gary Jefferies will have a clear memory of his team’s 32-14 loss to the Gee-Gees in the 99th Yates Cup back on November 11, 2006, and will be looking to avenge that loss with a win. Prior to the 2006 season, Laurier had won the past three regular season match-ups against the Gee-Gees, and will battle to start a new winning streak against a dominating Ottawa team. Elsewhere on the weekend, Toronto is at Western, Guelph travels to Windsor, York makes the short drive to Hamilton to face McMaster, and Waterloo travels down the 401 to take on the Queen’s Golden Gaels.

All five, week eight match-ups on October 20 could have potential playoff implications as teams will look to finish strong. Windsor visits Ottawa, Queen’s is at Toronto, Western goes to Waterloo, Laurier travels to York, and McMaster for the second year will finish their season off against the Gryphons as they travel to Guelph.

2007 OUA FOOTBALL SCHEDULE

WEEK 1
September 3, 2007- 1:00 pm Ottawa @ Guelph
September 3, 2007- 1:00 pm Waterloo @ Toronto
September 3, 2007- 2:00 pm York @ Windsor
September 3, 2007- 6:00 pm McMaster @ Laurier
September 3, 2007- 7:30 pm Queen’s @ Western

WEEK 2
September 8, 2007- 1:00 pm Toronto @ Ottawa
September 8, 2007- 1:00 pm Western @ McMaster
September 8, 2007- 1:00 pm York @ Waterloo
September 8, 2007- 1:25 pm Guelph @ Queen’s
September 8, 2007- 7:30 pm Windsor @ Laurier

WEEK 3
September 14, 2007- 7:30 pm Laurier @ Toronto
September 15, 2007- 1:00 pm Guelph @ York
September 15, 2007- 1:25 pm McMaster @ Queen’s
September 15, 2007- 7:00 pm Waterloo @ Windsor
September 15, 2007- 7:00 pm Ottawa @ Western

WEEK 4
September 22, 2007- 1:00 pm Toronto @ McMaster
September 22, 2007- 1:00 pm Western @ Guelph
September 22, 2007- 1:00 pm York @ Ottawa
September 22, 2007- 1:00 pm Waterloo @ Laurier
September 22, 2007- 7:00 pm Queen’s @ Windsor

WEEK 5
September 29, 2007- 1:00 pm Toronto @ York
September 29, 2007- 1:00 pm Ottawa @ McMaster
September 29, 2007- 1:00 pm Windsor @ Western
September 29, 2007- 1:00 pm Guelph @ Waterloo
September 29, 2007- 1:25 pm Laurier @ Queen’s

WEEK 6
October 5, 2007- 7:00 pm Queen’s @ Ottawa
October 5, 2007- 7:30 pm Windsor @ Toronto
October 6, 2007- 1:00 pm McMaster @ Waterloo
October 6, 2007- 1:00 pm Western @ York
October 6, 2007- 1:00 pm Laurier @ Guelph

WEEK 7
October 13, 2007- 12:00 pm York @ McMaster
October 13, 2007- 1:00 pm Guelph @ Windsor
October 13, 2007- 1:00 pm Ottawa @ Laurier
October 13, 2007- 1:25 pm Waterloo @ Queen’s
October 13, 2007- 2:00 pm Toronto @ Western

WEEK 8
October 20, 2007- 1:00 pm Windsor @ Ottawa
October 20, 2007- 1:00 pm Queen’s @ Toronto
October 20, 2007- 1:00 pm Western @ Waterloo
October 20, 2007- 1:00 pm Laurier @ York
October 20, 2007- 1:00 pm McMaster @ Guelph

OUA Quarter-finals
October 27, 2007- 1:00 pm 6th place @ 3rd place (Quarter-final #1)
October 27, 2007- 1:00 pm 5th place @ 4th place (Quarter-final #2)

OUA Semi-finals
November 3, 2007- 1:00 pm Winner of Quarter-final #1 @ 2nd place (Semi-final #1)
November 3, 2007- 1:00 pm Winner of Quarter-final #2 @ 1st place (Semi-final #2)

100th Yates Cup
November 10, 2007- 1:00pm Winner of Semi-final #1 vs Winner of Semi-final #2 (At highest seed)

- OUA -

Michelle Church
Communications & Media Relations Coordinator
Ontario University Athletics

Tel: (905) 540-5156
Fax: (905) 574-2840
E-mail: michelle.church@oua.ca
Web: www.oua.ca