October 11, 2007
YATES CUP REMATCH ON UNIVERSITY RUSH
HAMILTON, Ont. - The Laurier Golden Hawks stood on the field November 11, 2006 as they watched the Ottawa Gee-Gees hoist the Yates Cup as the new Ontario University Athletics (OUA) football champions and will be looking to regain the title in 2007. The defending Yates Cup champion No.2 Ottawa Gee-Gees (6-0) will travel to Kitchener/Waterloo this Saturday to take on the No.4 Laurier Golden Hawks (6-0) in week six of University Rush football presented by RCA. The battle of the un-beatens will kick-off at 1:00pm on The Score Television Network.
Both teams come into this match-up very different from the last time they faced each other in the 2006 Yates Cup championship. \"Comparing this year's team to last years - we've got a lot younger. We've deployed a lot of new people and maybe the most significant change is at quarterback with Ian Noble. We're extremely excited at where we are with that position," said Golden Hawks head coach Gary Jefferies.
In Ottawa they have put last year's championship in the past and are looking towards this year's banner. "The game was played in 2006"¦it is now 2007! We have changed a lot maturity wise, and demographic (graduation, CFL). Having both been there before against each other, both teams know each other really well," commented Denis Piché, Head Coach of the Otttawa Gee-Gees. "It is another football game we have to win, regardless of anyone's record, it is the task at hand, which we feel is the case every weekend."
The Gee-Gees, led by quarterback Joshua Sacobie (Fredericton, N.B) narrowly escaped the Queen's Golden Gaels in last weeks match-up, taking the victory in the final minutes of play 13-12. Sacobie threw 16 completions on 33 attempts for 252 yards on the day, with one touchdown and one interception. Ottawa currently sits second in the OUA on offence, averaging 447 yards per game. "We feel equally good about our ability to run or pass depending on the situation. Josh Sacobie has matured a lot and we have great leaders on all three sides of the ball (Tchobanian, Crane, El-Far, Sheridan). We are very happy about where we are at this point of the season, but we still have lots of work ahead, starting this coming Saturday," said Piché. "We are pleased to see we have been spreading the ball around a lot all year with this new group of receivers."
On defence Ottawa will look for a repeat performance from OUA Male Athlete of the Week, Mike Sheridan (Mississauga, Ont.) who finished with 10 solo tackles against Queen's last weekend. \"Ottawa has got tremendous team speed on both on their offense and defense, it is a huge strength to their program,\" commented Jefferies.
Laurier enters this weekend with the leading offence in the OUA averaging 459.5 yards per game, while limiting their opponents to only 87 points on the year to lead the conference. "Laurier has big play capability on both sides of the ball, and they are the most athletic team we will face in the OUA, they have great team speed," says Piché.
The Golden Hawks play with a balanced offence. Quarterback, Ian Noble (West Vancouver, B.C.) is coming off one of his tougher games against the Guelph Gryphons in a 37-27 victory. Noble threw 13 completions on 23 attempts for 185 yards, with three touchdowns and two interceptions. \"We don't have a lot of go-to guys. We spread our game around through the entire roster. We'd like to develop to a little more go-to with guys like Andy Baechler (Ayr, Ont.) and Dante Luciani (Oakville, Ont.) and that's probably one of the focuses this week. We obviously still want to run the football and guys like Ryan Lynch (Waterloo, Ont.) and Peter Quinney (Belleville, Ont.) are significant to our game,\" commented Jefferies.
"Regardless of the result of the game, chances are we will probably have to play each other again in a bigger match or we will both have to play bigger games down the road. For us in Ottawa, every week of the regular season is a chance to get better in preparing for the play offs. There is no comparison between a Yates Cup championship match and a regular season game in the first place," stated Piché. "It will be an exciting game for the fans and a tough battle for the kids on the field, although it is a regular season game, a lot is at stakes and it will surely feel like a play off game."
Tickets are available online at https://www.laurierathletics.com/ecommerce/index.php?CatID=2. Ticket prices are: Adults $12.00, Students and Seniors (With valid ID) $8.00, WLU Student, Free with ONE Card, and Children under-12, Free.
Ottawa Leaders
Passing
Joshua Sacobie - 111 completions, 181 attempts, 1808 yards, 15 touchdowns, 4 interceptions
Rushing
Davie Mason - 78 rushes, 446 yards, 1 touchdown
Receiving
Dave Crane - 35 catches, 610yards, 4 touchdown
Defence
Mike Sheridan - 25 solo tackles, 6 assisted tackles, 2 sacks, 1 interception
Mike Cornell - 25 solo tackles, 3 assisted tackles, 0 sacks, 2 interceptions
Laurier Leaders
Passing
Ian Noble - 94 completions, 133 attempts, 1230 yards, 9 touchdowns, 4 interceptions
Rushing
Ryan Lynch - 135 rushes, 804 yards, 8 touchdowns
Receiving
Andy Baechler - 21 catches, 244 yards, 0 touchdowns
Dante Luciani - 21 catches, 211 yards, 6 touchdowns
Defence
Anthony Maggiacomo - 32 solo tackles, 11 assisted tackles, 1 sack, 1 interception
Luke Pinder - 23 solo tackles, 9 assisted tackles
- 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
Both teams come into this match-up very different from the last time they faced each other in the 2006 Yates Cup championship. \"Comparing this year's team to last years - we've got a lot younger. We've deployed a lot of new people and maybe the most significant change is at quarterback with Ian Noble. We're extremely excited at where we are with that position," said Golden Hawks head coach Gary Jefferies.
In Ottawa they have put last year's championship in the past and are looking towards this year's banner. "The game was played in 2006"¦it is now 2007! We have changed a lot maturity wise, and demographic (graduation, CFL). Having both been there before against each other, both teams know each other really well," commented Denis Piché, Head Coach of the Otttawa Gee-Gees. "It is another football game we have to win, regardless of anyone's record, it is the task at hand, which we feel is the case every weekend."
The Gee-Gees, led by quarterback Joshua Sacobie (Fredericton, N.B) narrowly escaped the Queen's Golden Gaels in last weeks match-up, taking the victory in the final minutes of play 13-12. Sacobie threw 16 completions on 33 attempts for 252 yards on the day, with one touchdown and one interception. Ottawa currently sits second in the OUA on offence, averaging 447 yards per game. "We feel equally good about our ability to run or pass depending on the situation. Josh Sacobie has matured a lot and we have great leaders on all three sides of the ball (Tchobanian, Crane, El-Far, Sheridan). We are very happy about where we are at this point of the season, but we still have lots of work ahead, starting this coming Saturday," said Piché. "We are pleased to see we have been spreading the ball around a lot all year with this new group of receivers."
On defence Ottawa will look for a repeat performance from OUA Male Athlete of the Week, Mike Sheridan (Mississauga, Ont.) who finished with 10 solo tackles against Queen's last weekend. \"Ottawa has got tremendous team speed on both on their offense and defense, it is a huge strength to their program,\" commented Jefferies.
Laurier enters this weekend with the leading offence in the OUA averaging 459.5 yards per game, while limiting their opponents to only 87 points on the year to lead the conference. "Laurier has big play capability on both sides of the ball, and they are the most athletic team we will face in the OUA, they have great team speed," says Piché.
The Golden Hawks play with a balanced offence. Quarterback, Ian Noble (West Vancouver, B.C.) is coming off one of his tougher games against the Guelph Gryphons in a 37-27 victory. Noble threw 13 completions on 23 attempts for 185 yards, with three touchdowns and two interceptions. \"We don't have a lot of go-to guys. We spread our game around through the entire roster. We'd like to develop to a little more go-to with guys like Andy Baechler (Ayr, Ont.) and Dante Luciani (Oakville, Ont.) and that's probably one of the focuses this week. We obviously still want to run the football and guys like Ryan Lynch (Waterloo, Ont.) and Peter Quinney (Belleville, Ont.) are significant to our game,\" commented Jefferies.
"Regardless of the result of the game, chances are we will probably have to play each other again in a bigger match or we will both have to play bigger games down the road. For us in Ottawa, every week of the regular season is a chance to get better in preparing for the play offs. There is no comparison between a Yates Cup championship match and a regular season game in the first place," stated Piché. "It will be an exciting game for the fans and a tough battle for the kids on the field, although it is a regular season game, a lot is at stakes and it will surely feel like a play off game."
Tickets are available online at https://www.laurierathletics.com/ecommerce/index.php?CatID=2. Ticket prices are: Adults $12.00, Students and Seniors (With valid ID) $8.00, WLU Student, Free with ONE Card, and Children under-12, Free.
Ottawa Leaders
Passing
Joshua Sacobie - 111 completions, 181 attempts, 1808 yards, 15 touchdowns, 4 interceptions
Rushing
Davie Mason - 78 rushes, 446 yards, 1 touchdown
Receiving
Dave Crane - 35 catches, 610yards, 4 touchdown
Defence
Mike Sheridan - 25 solo tackles, 6 assisted tackles, 2 sacks, 1 interception
Mike Cornell - 25 solo tackles, 3 assisted tackles, 0 sacks, 2 interceptions
Laurier Leaders
Passing
Ian Noble - 94 completions, 133 attempts, 1230 yards, 9 touchdowns, 4 interceptions
Rushing
Ryan Lynch - 135 rushes, 804 yards, 8 touchdowns
Receiving
Andy Baechler - 21 catches, 244 yards, 0 touchdowns
Dante Luciani - 21 catches, 211 yards, 6 touchdowns
Defence
Anthony Maggiacomo - 32 solo tackles, 11 assisted tackles, 1 sack, 1 interception
Luke Pinder - 23 solo tackles, 9 assisted tackles
- 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
