October 26, 2007
OUA PLAYOFFS BEGIN ON UNIVERSITY RUSH
HAMILTON, Ont. –Last week saw the McMaster Marauders take a 37-36 victory over the Guelph Gryphons in the dying seconds of football game to clinch home field advantage for the first round of playoffs. This week the Guelph Gryphons (4-4) will travel to Hamilton, Saturday to take on the McMaster (5-3) in the first round of the OUA football playoffs on University Rush presented by Wilson. The road to the 100th Yates Cup will kick-off at 1:00 pm on The Score Television Network.
In a rematch of last week, both teams will be trying to out wit their opponents to continue their 2007 OUA football playoff run. "I suspect both defenses will make some adjustments and will be more familiar with the respective offensive systems. I am anticipating a lower scoring game and the team that makes the fewest mistakes will be going on to the semi finals," said McMaster Head Coach Stefan Ptaszek.
Guelph will look to running back Nick Fitzgibbon (Puslinch, Ont.) to have another big game for the Gryphons. Fitzgibbon finished last week with 130 yards and one touchdown running, while accumulating 65 yards and one touchdown receiving.
“We will need Nick to have a big day rushing the ball in order to take some pressure off Justin and the receivers,” commented Gryphon’s Head Coach Kyle Walters.
Gryphon’s quarterback Justin Dunk will also be a player McMaster will need to restrain. Last week Dunk finished with 18 completions on 32 attempts for 201 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions. "Justin is the most exciting player to watch in our conference. He breaks every rule in high percentage offensive football and flat out makes plays on a regular basis. We cannot stop him. Our only hope is to contain him and limit the number of opportunities he gets to make a difference," said Ptaszek.
On defense Guelph will rely on Chris Decker (Guelph, Ont.) and Taggart Russell (Burlington, Ont.). Decker finished the regular season with 37 solo tackles, 22 assisted tackles, and one sack, while Russell had 35 solo tackles, 15 assisted, one sack and one interception. “We gave up far to many big plays last week through the air, a lot of which occurred after the receivers had caught the ball. If we have any chance to win, we must contain their passing attack,” commented Walters when asked about his defense. “Defensively we need to tackle their receivers after the ball has been caught.”
McMaster will need another strong outing from their veteran quarterback Adam Archibald (Kingston, Ont.) this weekend. "Adam's single point on the last play of the game was a fitting end to the best performance I have seen from a CIS QB," stated coach Ptaszek. Archibald finished last week’s game with 27 completions on 41 attempts for 542 yards, four touchdowns and one interception.
Mike Bradwell (Toronto, Ont.) will also be a go-to guy for the Marauders. "Mike is a big play receiver and deserves serious consideration for OUA All Star and CIS All Canadian. However, given the other talent at receiver I am not sure Guelph can afford to double team him or give him special attention," says Ptaszek. Bradwell finished last week with 12 catches, for 256 yards and two touchdowns.
On defense the Marauders will look to contain Dunk and Fitzgibbon with the help of first year Ryan Chmielewski (St.Catharines, Ont.) and fourth year veteran Simon Binder (Almonte, Ont.). Chmielewski leads the McMaster defense with 34 solo tackles, 10 assisted tackles and three sacks on the season. “If McMaster puts more defenders in the box to stop Nick we will need to do a better job stretching their defense vertically than we did last week,” said Gryphon’s coach Walters. “Their defensive backs did a very good job covering our receivers and their defensive line was able to get a push up the middle of our line.”
Tickets are available at the Business Office in the David Braley Athletic Centre, as well as online at www.ticketmaster.ca, Ticketmaster by phone at (905) 481-4444, and all Ticketmaster locations. Tickets can also be purchased at the Ivor Wynne Stadium Box Office beginning two hours prior to game time.
Guelph Leaders
Passing
Justin Dunk – 133 completions, 251 attempts, 1811 yards, 17 touchdowns, 10 interceptions
Rushing
Nick Fitzgibbon – 129 rushes, 794 yards, 5 touchdowns
Receiving
David Harrison – 25 catches,421 yards, 3 touchdowns
Nick Fitzgibbon- 32 catches, 376 yards, 8 touchdowns
Defence
Chris Decker – 37 solo tackles, 22 assisted tackles, 1 sack
Taggart Russell – 35 solo tackles, 15 assisted tackles, 1 sacks, 1 interceptions
McMaster Leaders
Passing
Adam Archibald – 123 completions, 196 attempts, 1950 yards, 17 touchdowns, 5 interceptions
Rushing
Joey Nemet – 92 rushes, 382 yards, 3 touchdowns
Receiving
Mike Bradwell – 53 catches, 958 yards, 9 touchdowns
Rob Serviss- 34 catches, 562 yards, 4 touchdowns
Defence
Ryan Chmielewski – 34 solo tackles, 10 assisted tackles, 3 sacks
Jason Arakgi – 32 solo tackles, 11 assisted tackles, 1 sack, 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
In a rematch of last week, both teams will be trying to out wit their opponents to continue their 2007 OUA football playoff run. "I suspect both defenses will make some adjustments and will be more familiar with the respective offensive systems. I am anticipating a lower scoring game and the team that makes the fewest mistakes will be going on to the semi finals," said McMaster Head Coach Stefan Ptaszek.
Guelph will look to running back Nick Fitzgibbon (Puslinch, Ont.) to have another big game for the Gryphons. Fitzgibbon finished last week with 130 yards and one touchdown running, while accumulating 65 yards and one touchdown receiving.
“We will need Nick to have a big day rushing the ball in order to take some pressure off Justin and the receivers,” commented Gryphon’s Head Coach Kyle Walters.
Gryphon’s quarterback Justin Dunk will also be a player McMaster will need to restrain. Last week Dunk finished with 18 completions on 32 attempts for 201 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions. "Justin is the most exciting player to watch in our conference. He breaks every rule in high percentage offensive football and flat out makes plays on a regular basis. We cannot stop him. Our only hope is to contain him and limit the number of opportunities he gets to make a difference," said Ptaszek.
On defense Guelph will rely on Chris Decker (Guelph, Ont.) and Taggart Russell (Burlington, Ont.). Decker finished the regular season with 37 solo tackles, 22 assisted tackles, and one sack, while Russell had 35 solo tackles, 15 assisted, one sack and one interception. “We gave up far to many big plays last week through the air, a lot of which occurred after the receivers had caught the ball. If we have any chance to win, we must contain their passing attack,” commented Walters when asked about his defense. “Defensively we need to tackle their receivers after the ball has been caught.”
McMaster will need another strong outing from their veteran quarterback Adam Archibald (Kingston, Ont.) this weekend. "Adam's single point on the last play of the game was a fitting end to the best performance I have seen from a CIS QB," stated coach Ptaszek. Archibald finished last week’s game with 27 completions on 41 attempts for 542 yards, four touchdowns and one interception.
Mike Bradwell (Toronto, Ont.) will also be a go-to guy for the Marauders. "Mike is a big play receiver and deserves serious consideration for OUA All Star and CIS All Canadian. However, given the other talent at receiver I am not sure Guelph can afford to double team him or give him special attention," says Ptaszek. Bradwell finished last week with 12 catches, for 256 yards and two touchdowns.
On defense the Marauders will look to contain Dunk and Fitzgibbon with the help of first year Ryan Chmielewski (St.Catharines, Ont.) and fourth year veteran Simon Binder (Almonte, Ont.). Chmielewski leads the McMaster defense with 34 solo tackles, 10 assisted tackles and three sacks on the season. “If McMaster puts more defenders in the box to stop Nick we will need to do a better job stretching their defense vertically than we did last week,” said Gryphon’s coach Walters. “Their defensive backs did a very good job covering our receivers and their defensive line was able to get a push up the middle of our line.”
Tickets are available at the Business Office in the David Braley Athletic Centre, as well as online at www.ticketmaster.ca, Ticketmaster by phone at (905) 481-4444, and all Ticketmaster locations. Tickets can also be purchased at the Ivor Wynne Stadium Box Office beginning two hours prior to game time.
Guelph Leaders
Passing
Justin Dunk – 133 completions, 251 attempts, 1811 yards, 17 touchdowns, 10 interceptions
Rushing
Nick Fitzgibbon – 129 rushes, 794 yards, 5 touchdowns
Receiving
David Harrison – 25 catches,421 yards, 3 touchdowns
Nick Fitzgibbon- 32 catches, 376 yards, 8 touchdowns
Defence
Chris Decker – 37 solo tackles, 22 assisted tackles, 1 sack
Taggart Russell – 35 solo tackles, 15 assisted tackles, 1 sacks, 1 interceptions
McMaster Leaders
Passing
Adam Archibald – 123 completions, 196 attempts, 1950 yards, 17 touchdowns, 5 interceptions
Rushing
Joey Nemet – 92 rushes, 382 yards, 3 touchdowns
Receiving
Mike Bradwell – 53 catches, 958 yards, 9 touchdowns
Rob Serviss- 34 catches, 562 yards, 4 touchdowns
Defence
Ryan Chmielewski – 34 solo tackles, 10 assisted tackles, 3 sacks
Jason Arakgi – 32 solo tackles, 11 assisted tackles, 1 sack, 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
