October 19, 2007
THE BATTLE FOR THE PLAYOFFS ON UNIVERSITY RUSH
HAMILTON, Ont. - When the final whistle blows on Saturday, only one team will continue their season into the playoffs, for the other, the 2007 Ontario University Athletics (OUA) football season will be over. The Western Mustangs (3-4) will travel to Waterloo (3-4) this Saturday to take on the Waterloo Warriors in week seven of University Rush football presented by Pizza Pizza. The fight for the final playoff position will kick-off at 1:00 pm on The Score Television Network.
First year OUA coaches, Greg Marshall (Western Mustangs) and Dennis McPhee (Waterloo Warriors) have found themselves together in different capacities since 1982 in Edmonton with the Eskimos. It will be an intense game on the field and on the side lines that will add to the history between these two coaches. \"Both (McPhee and Paopao) are very good coaches. I know their work ethic. They are burning it at both ends right now. They'll make sure the kids are prepared," said Mustang's head coach Greg Marshall. \"They certainly know me,\" Marshall told the London Free Press. \"I'm going to have to change some things. But I'm also familiar with Paopao's offence. I've also taken some things from him and incorporated it here."
Western comes into this weekend's match up after a strong showing against the University of Toronto taking the 44-1 victory. On offense, quarterback Michael Faulds (Eden Mills, Ont.) threw for 18 completions on 29 attempts for 270 yards, with one interception. Runningback Randy McAuley (London, Ont.) ran for 70 yards on 13 attempts for two touchdowns. "Western is a very good group of football players and with a lot of seniors on the team they have a lot of different players who will be difficult to play against. Most notably is quarterback Michael Faulds and running back Randy McAuley will be tough to defend against," commented Dennis McPhee.
On defense Waterloo will need to watch out for defensive back Nick Kordic (Toronto, Ont.). Kordic is coming off a stellar performance against the Varsity Blues, where he had two interceptions for 125 yards, including an 88 yard run for a touchdown. "The Mustangs are fast, strong, and agile. They are the total package and we will need to be on high alert this week in order to be successful on either side of the ball," said McPhee.
On the other side of the ball, the Warriors are coming off a tough 45-0 loss to the Queen's Golden Gaels. Offensively the Warriors were held to just 37 yards rushing and 76 yards passing for a total of 113 yards. When asked about his preparation coming into this weekend's match-up coach McPhee said he will be looking to his go-to players. "We need the kids that have been doing it for us all season to continue to come up big when we need it most. The starting quarterback will have to make good decisions and make plays that are available to him," said McPhee. "On defence we need our guys to make tackles and make the right reads. In the end we need our guys to understand the magnitude of the game and give a maximum effort for 60 minutes," added the coach.
"This season has been a lot about injuries that have led to potential missed opportunities. The Warriors have had a lot of set backs when it comes to injuries and that has exposed the lack of depth on the team right now. As a result the team has maybe not been able to field their most talented line-up every game and in turn miss chances to compete," commented McPhee.
When game time comes Saturday, both teams will be looking to out smart the other, as they fight for that final playoff position. \"With Paopao, we'd better have all the bases covered because he'll find some cracks,\" Marshall said. "He probably looked at the films and said, 'Hey, that's something I use.' That's part of coaching. You borrow or steal it from other people when they have good ideas and incorporate it here.\" Both coaches have experienced similar situations, and will be relying on their players execution of the plays to take them into the playoffs next week, to face the OUA third place Queen's Golden Gaels.
Western Leaders
Passing
Michael Faulds - 155 completions, 259 attempts, 2038 yards, 5 touchdowns, 15 interceptions
Rushing
Randy McAuley - 141 rushes, 831 yards, 11 touchdown
Receiving
Jesse Bellamy - 31 catches, 541 yards, 1 touchdown
Defence
Corey McNair - 36 solo tackles, 9 assisted tackles, 1 interception
John Surla - 31 solo tackles, 10 assisted tackles, 1 sacks, 1 interceptions
Waterloo Leaders
Passing
Luke Balch - 62 completions, 115 attempts,783 yards,5 touchdowns, 6 interceptions
Rushing
Tanner Forsyth - 42 rushes, 161 yards, 2 touchdowns
Receiving
Sean Cowie - 38 catches, 553 yards, 3 touchdowns
Defence
Stephen Campbell - 31 solo tackles, 16 assisted tackles
Patrick McGarry - 36 solo tackles, 7 assisted tackles, 1 interception
- 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
First year OUA coaches, Greg Marshall (Western Mustangs) and Dennis McPhee (Waterloo Warriors) have found themselves together in different capacities since 1982 in Edmonton with the Eskimos. It will be an intense game on the field and on the side lines that will add to the history between these two coaches. \"Both (McPhee and Paopao) are very good coaches. I know their work ethic. They are burning it at both ends right now. They'll make sure the kids are prepared," said Mustang's head coach Greg Marshall. \"They certainly know me,\" Marshall told the London Free Press. \"I'm going to have to change some things. But I'm also familiar with Paopao's offence. I've also taken some things from him and incorporated it here."
Western comes into this weekend's match up after a strong showing against the University of Toronto taking the 44-1 victory. On offense, quarterback Michael Faulds (Eden Mills, Ont.) threw for 18 completions on 29 attempts for 270 yards, with one interception. Runningback Randy McAuley (London, Ont.) ran for 70 yards on 13 attempts for two touchdowns. "Western is a very good group of football players and with a lot of seniors on the team they have a lot of different players who will be difficult to play against. Most notably is quarterback Michael Faulds and running back Randy McAuley will be tough to defend against," commented Dennis McPhee.
On defense Waterloo will need to watch out for defensive back Nick Kordic (Toronto, Ont.). Kordic is coming off a stellar performance against the Varsity Blues, where he had two interceptions for 125 yards, including an 88 yard run for a touchdown. "The Mustangs are fast, strong, and agile. They are the total package and we will need to be on high alert this week in order to be successful on either side of the ball," said McPhee.
On the other side of the ball, the Warriors are coming off a tough 45-0 loss to the Queen's Golden Gaels. Offensively the Warriors were held to just 37 yards rushing and 76 yards passing for a total of 113 yards. When asked about his preparation coming into this weekend's match-up coach McPhee said he will be looking to his go-to players. "We need the kids that have been doing it for us all season to continue to come up big when we need it most. The starting quarterback will have to make good decisions and make plays that are available to him," said McPhee. "On defence we need our guys to make tackles and make the right reads. In the end we need our guys to understand the magnitude of the game and give a maximum effort for 60 minutes," added the coach.
"This season has been a lot about injuries that have led to potential missed opportunities. The Warriors have had a lot of set backs when it comes to injuries and that has exposed the lack of depth on the team right now. As a result the team has maybe not been able to field their most talented line-up every game and in turn miss chances to compete," commented McPhee.
When game time comes Saturday, both teams will be looking to out smart the other, as they fight for that final playoff position. \"With Paopao, we'd better have all the bases covered because he'll find some cracks,\" Marshall said. "He probably looked at the films and said, 'Hey, that's something I use.' That's part of coaching. You borrow or steal it from other people when they have good ideas and incorporate it here.\" Both coaches have experienced similar situations, and will be relying on their players execution of the plays to take them into the playoffs next week, to face the OUA third place Queen's Golden Gaels.
Western Leaders
Passing
Michael Faulds - 155 completions, 259 attempts, 2038 yards, 5 touchdowns, 15 interceptions
Rushing
Randy McAuley - 141 rushes, 831 yards, 11 touchdown
Receiving
Jesse Bellamy - 31 catches, 541 yards, 1 touchdown
Defence
Corey McNair - 36 solo tackles, 9 assisted tackles, 1 interception
John Surla - 31 solo tackles, 10 assisted tackles, 1 sacks, 1 interceptions
Waterloo Leaders
Passing
Luke Balch - 62 completions, 115 attempts,783 yards,5 touchdowns, 6 interceptions
Rushing
Tanner Forsyth - 42 rushes, 161 yards, 2 touchdowns
Receiving
Sean Cowie - 38 catches, 553 yards, 3 touchdowns
Defence
Stephen Campbell - 31 solo tackles, 16 assisted tackles
Patrick McGarry - 36 solo tackles, 7 assisted tackles, 1 interception
- 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
