October 9, 2007
OTTAWA AND WESTERN NARROWLY ESCAPE DEFEAT
Ottawa 13, Queen's 12
It was a valiant effort but in the end the No.9 Queen's Golden Gaels (4-2) were dealt a heartbreaking loss to the No. 2 ranked Ottawa Gee Gee's (6-0) in CIS Football action on Saturday in Ottawa.
The Gaels led much of the game and were up 12-7 with just 2:07 remaining when Ottawa's Joshua Sacobie (Fredericton, N.B) hit a streaking Cyril Adjeity (Ottawa, Ont.) with a 60-yard pass putting the Gee Gee's up 13-12.
On the ensuing drive, the Gaels quickly moved down the field and looked poised to score but an unfortunate fumble by Mike Giffin (Kingston, Ont.) turned the ball over in Ottawa territory handed the Gee Gee's their six straight victory in the 2007 campaign.
"It was tough loss for us," said Coach Pat Sheahan after the game. "We played hard and poised for 58 minutes and often when two good teams come together it is decided by just a few key plays; that certainly was the case today."
The Gaels defence held Sacobie, the nation's leading passer, to 252-yards in the air, far below his 311-yard per game average. Sacobie completed just 16 of 30 passes and threw one interception to Queen's defensive back Jimmy Allin (Corbyville, Ont.). To go along with his interception, Allin had five solo tackles and broke up three additional passing plays to lead the Gaels defensively.
On the offensive side, the Gaels were competitive with Giffin collecting 163-yards on the ground and marking his sixth 100-plus yard rushing of the season. Giffin, the CIS leader in touchdowns, also converted his 10th of the year on a 1-yard run in the second quarter.
Quarterback Dan Brannagan (Burlington, Ont.) completing 16 of 24 passes for 207 yards. Punter Dan Village of Vancouver, B.C. also got into passing game completing an 11-yard pass on a fake-punt which earned the Gaels a key-third down conversion early in the game.
McMaster 39, Waterloo 23
McMaster's Rob Serviss (Waterloo, Ont.) scored a 77 yard touchdown with 3:08 in the fourth quarter to quell the Waterloo Warriors come-back and give McMaster a eventual 39-23 victory at University stadium in Waterloo, Ontario.
McMaster started the game strong taking a 28-3 lead into the half.
In the second half, Waterloo employed a \"hurry-up\" offense using a combination of short passes and quarterback running plays to close the gap to 30-23 in the fourth quarter.
With the momentum in the Warriors favour, McMaster quarterback, Adam Archibald (Kingston, Ont), returning from injury that sidelined him for the past two games, threw a perfect pass to Rob Serviss in full stride to put the game out of reach.
Archibald completed 20 of 32 passes for 366 yards, four touchdowns versus one interception.
Waterloo quarterback, Luke Balch (London, Ont) put in an excellent performance completing 26 of 43 passes for 353 yards, 2 touchdowns and 3 interceptions. Balch also led the Warriors rushing attack with carries for 41 yards.
The game was billed as the battle of the receivers, and McMaster's receiving corp delivered.
Rob Serviss, playing in his last conference game in his hometown of Waterloo, Ontario had a career high 132 yards receiving on 6 passes including a touchdown. Serviss has a career high 482 yards receiving on the season on 31 receptions ranking him fourth in the OUA in receiving yardage.
McMaster's Mike Bradwell (Toronto, Ont), who came into the game leading the CIS in receiving had six receptions for 124 yards and a touchdown. Bradwell has 39 receptions for 680 yards and 7 touchdowns on the season. He is on pace to set the McMaster record for single season receptions currently held by Mike Linton (48 - Set in 2000).
McMaster limited the impact of Waterloo receiver Sean Cowie (Burlington, Ont), who came into the game as the second leading receiver in the CIS. Cowie finished the day with 3 receptions for 31 yards.
Waterloo teammate Joshua Svec (Blenheim, Ont) picked up the slack with 6 receptions for 180 yards including a 90 yard touchdown reception.
Laurier 37, Guelph 27
Fifth year defensive back Brent Hickey led the Hawks in what was a sloppy game as the No.4 nationally ranked Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks came back from a ten-point deficit to defeat the Guelph Gryphons 37-27 this past weekend.
Hickey, a veteran from Burlington, Ont., blocked two punts, returning one for his first touchdown as a Golden Hawk in a game which had two thunderstorm delays which halted play for nearly 40-minutes and saw six fumbles and five interceptions between both teams.
Laurier continued to control what was a penalty problem earlier in the season, only losing 37 yards on four infractions today while the Gryphons were hindered by 13 penalties for 106 yards.
Laurier picked up a defensive touchdown in the contest with a 43-yard interception return by Anthony Maggiacomo (Cambridge, Ont.).
The defensive touchdown triggered a 20-point run to the end of the game which saw an offensive major as well as Hickey's second blocked punt which was returned to the end zone. He also had an interception for six yards later in the game.
The Gryphons defence had showed a strong performance holding the Hawks to a total offence of 263 yards - the lowest this year. Running back Ryan Lynch (Waterloo, Ont.) was held to 28 yards with quarterback Ian Noble (West Vancouver, B.C.) surpassing him with 52 yards on the ground.
After a 7-7 opening quarter, Guelph led 18-17 at the half setting up for Laurier's stunning fourth quarter finish.
Noble completed only 13 of 23 on the day for 189 yards and three touchdowns and two interceptions. His top receiver was Lynch, who had three receptions for 94 yards including a 76 yard catch for a touchdown. Dante Luciani (Oakville, Ont.) had five grabs for 53 yards including two touchdowns, one of them being the game winner.
Former OUA rookie of the year, Nick Fitzgibbon rushed for 106 yards over 14 carries and caught nine passes for 151 yards including scoring three touchdowns throughout the game. Alongside Gryphon quarterback Justin Dunk, the two caused a lot of problems for the Golden Hawk defence.
Western 11, York 9
The Lions (1-5) lost their 27th game in a row against the Mustangs (2-4) this past Saturday (Oct. 6) at York Stadium, falling 11-9 in a contest that was much closer than many previous battles between the two teams.
The teams were tied entering the fourth quarter of play in a game that featured a 55-minute lightning delay in the first half. Unfortunately for the Lions, Mustangs kicker Derek Schiavone nailed a 35-yard field goal to break the tie and York kicker Stephen Grochot (Hamilton) was wide on an ensuing 46-yard field goal attempt. Grochot, who hit a last-minute, game-winning 36-yard field goal against the University of Toronto Varsity Blues last week, settled for a single and the Lions could not make up the difference down the stretch.
The Lions defence was outstanding, forcing nine turnovers and scoring a touchdown on an 80-yard fumble return by Adrian Ferenc (Mississauga), who also had two interceptions. The Lions picked off Western quarterback Mike Faulds five times. David Mills (Abbotsford) had two of the interceptions, while Mike Boyd (Hamilton) had one.
Running back Randy McCauley set a Western record with his 35th career rushing touchdown early in the second quarter. It was the game's only touchdown on offence. McCauley finished the day with 140 rushing yards.
Lions quarterback Michael Hyatt (Montreal) passed for 110 yards and also found Jason Marshall (Innisfil) for a two-point convert to tie it at 8-8.
(Photo Credit: Sean Burges)
It was a valiant effort but in the end the No.9 Queen's Golden Gaels (4-2) were dealt a heartbreaking loss to the No. 2 ranked Ottawa Gee Gee's (6-0) in CIS Football action on Saturday in Ottawa.
The Gaels led much of the game and were up 12-7 with just 2:07 remaining when Ottawa's Joshua Sacobie (Fredericton, N.B) hit a streaking Cyril Adjeity (Ottawa, Ont.) with a 60-yard pass putting the Gee Gee's up 13-12.
On the ensuing drive, the Gaels quickly moved down the field and looked poised to score but an unfortunate fumble by Mike Giffin (Kingston, Ont.) turned the ball over in Ottawa territory handed the Gee Gee's their six straight victory in the 2007 campaign.
"It was tough loss for us," said Coach Pat Sheahan after the game. "We played hard and poised for 58 minutes and often when two good teams come together it is decided by just a few key plays; that certainly was the case today."
The Gaels defence held Sacobie, the nation's leading passer, to 252-yards in the air, far below his 311-yard per game average. Sacobie completed just 16 of 30 passes and threw one interception to Queen's defensive back Jimmy Allin (Corbyville, Ont.). To go along with his interception, Allin had five solo tackles and broke up three additional passing plays to lead the Gaels defensively.
On the offensive side, the Gaels were competitive with Giffin collecting 163-yards on the ground and marking his sixth 100-plus yard rushing of the season. Giffin, the CIS leader in touchdowns, also converted his 10th of the year on a 1-yard run in the second quarter.
Quarterback Dan Brannagan (Burlington, Ont.) completing 16 of 24 passes for 207 yards. Punter Dan Village of Vancouver, B.C. also got into passing game completing an 11-yard pass on a fake-punt which earned the Gaels a key-third down conversion early in the game.
McMaster 39, Waterloo 23
McMaster's Rob Serviss (Waterloo, Ont.) scored a 77 yard touchdown with 3:08 in the fourth quarter to quell the Waterloo Warriors come-back and give McMaster a eventual 39-23 victory at University stadium in Waterloo, Ontario.
McMaster started the game strong taking a 28-3 lead into the half.
In the second half, Waterloo employed a \"hurry-up\" offense using a combination of short passes and quarterback running plays to close the gap to 30-23 in the fourth quarter.
With the momentum in the Warriors favour, McMaster quarterback, Adam Archibald (Kingston, Ont), returning from injury that sidelined him for the past two games, threw a perfect pass to Rob Serviss in full stride to put the game out of reach.
Archibald completed 20 of 32 passes for 366 yards, four touchdowns versus one interception.
Waterloo quarterback, Luke Balch (London, Ont) put in an excellent performance completing 26 of 43 passes for 353 yards, 2 touchdowns and 3 interceptions. Balch also led the Warriors rushing attack with carries for 41 yards.
The game was billed as the battle of the receivers, and McMaster's receiving corp delivered.
Rob Serviss, playing in his last conference game in his hometown of Waterloo, Ontario had a career high 132 yards receiving on 6 passes including a touchdown. Serviss has a career high 482 yards receiving on the season on 31 receptions ranking him fourth in the OUA in receiving yardage.
McMaster's Mike Bradwell (Toronto, Ont), who came into the game leading the CIS in receiving had six receptions for 124 yards and a touchdown. Bradwell has 39 receptions for 680 yards and 7 touchdowns on the season. He is on pace to set the McMaster record for single season receptions currently held by Mike Linton (48 - Set in 2000).
McMaster limited the impact of Waterloo receiver Sean Cowie (Burlington, Ont), who came into the game as the second leading receiver in the CIS. Cowie finished the day with 3 receptions for 31 yards.
Waterloo teammate Joshua Svec (Blenheim, Ont) picked up the slack with 6 receptions for 180 yards including a 90 yard touchdown reception.
Laurier 37, Guelph 27
Fifth year defensive back Brent Hickey led the Hawks in what was a sloppy game as the No.4 nationally ranked Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks came back from a ten-point deficit to defeat the Guelph Gryphons 37-27 this past weekend.
Hickey, a veteran from Burlington, Ont., blocked two punts, returning one for his first touchdown as a Golden Hawk in a game which had two thunderstorm delays which halted play for nearly 40-minutes and saw six fumbles and five interceptions between both teams.
Laurier continued to control what was a penalty problem earlier in the season, only losing 37 yards on four infractions today while the Gryphons were hindered by 13 penalties for 106 yards.
Laurier picked up a defensive touchdown in the contest with a 43-yard interception return by Anthony Maggiacomo (Cambridge, Ont.).
The defensive touchdown triggered a 20-point run to the end of the game which saw an offensive major as well as Hickey's second blocked punt which was returned to the end zone. He also had an interception for six yards later in the game.
The Gryphons defence had showed a strong performance holding the Hawks to a total offence of 263 yards - the lowest this year. Running back Ryan Lynch (Waterloo, Ont.) was held to 28 yards with quarterback Ian Noble (West Vancouver, B.C.) surpassing him with 52 yards on the ground.
After a 7-7 opening quarter, Guelph led 18-17 at the half setting up for Laurier's stunning fourth quarter finish.
Noble completed only 13 of 23 on the day for 189 yards and three touchdowns and two interceptions. His top receiver was Lynch, who had three receptions for 94 yards including a 76 yard catch for a touchdown. Dante Luciani (Oakville, Ont.) had five grabs for 53 yards including two touchdowns, one of them being the game winner.
Former OUA rookie of the year, Nick Fitzgibbon rushed for 106 yards over 14 carries and caught nine passes for 151 yards including scoring three touchdowns throughout the game. Alongside Gryphon quarterback Justin Dunk, the two caused a lot of problems for the Golden Hawk defence.
Western 11, York 9
The Lions (1-5) lost their 27th game in a row against the Mustangs (2-4) this past Saturday (Oct. 6) at York Stadium, falling 11-9 in a contest that was much closer than many previous battles between the two teams.
The teams were tied entering the fourth quarter of play in a game that featured a 55-minute lightning delay in the first half. Unfortunately for the Lions, Mustangs kicker Derek Schiavone nailed a 35-yard field goal to break the tie and York kicker Stephen Grochot (Hamilton) was wide on an ensuing 46-yard field goal attempt. Grochot, who hit a last-minute, game-winning 36-yard field goal against the University of Toronto Varsity Blues last week, settled for a single and the Lions could not make up the difference down the stretch.
The Lions defence was outstanding, forcing nine turnovers and scoring a touchdown on an 80-yard fumble return by Adrian Ferenc (Mississauga), who also had two interceptions. The Lions picked off Western quarterback Mike Faulds five times. David Mills (Abbotsford) had two of the interceptions, while Mike Boyd (Hamilton) had one.
Running back Randy McCauley set a Western record with his 35th career rushing touchdown early in the second quarter. It was the game's only touchdown on offence. McCauley finished the day with 140 rushing yards.
Lions quarterback Michael Hyatt (Montreal) passed for 110 yards and also found Jason Marshall (Innisfil) for a two-point convert to tie it at 8-8.
(Photo Credit: Sean Burges)
