INSTANT CLASSIC ON UNIVERSITY RUSH
HAMILTON, Ont. – Ontario University Athletics (OUA) is back on The Score Television Network this Saturday at 1 p.m. ET as the No. 4 nationally-ranked Queen's Gaels (6-0) play host to the No. 5 Western Mustangs (5-1) in a battle of firsts.
First place. First loss. First to 10,000.
This Saturday, there's more than just a game on the line for the Gaels and Mustangs. The two nationally-ranked teams are fighting for first place in OUA and overall dominance in
Last year in the lone match-up of these teams, Queen's came away with the 43-16 win. The Gaels also defeated the Mustangs in 2007 regular season action (26-20, overtime) and 2006 (28-9).
There's some things we need to learn from that game," Western head coach Greg Marshall said. "You may play well but it's not reflected in the score... we weren't in the game in the fourth quarter."
"In order for us to be competitive, we've got to stay with them. We got to make sure that when it comes to the fourth, it's a close football game and we have a chance to win."
In the last 10 meetings between Queen's and Western, the Gaels have pulled down seven wins, five of which were at home at Richardson Stadium. Western, however, knocked Queen's out of the first round of OUA playoffs in 2007, and competed against No.1 Laval Rouge et Or in the 2008 Desjardins Vanier Cup.
"You're talking about playing a team that's the two-time conference defending champions," said Queen's head coach Pat Sheahan. "Regardless of what the win-loss record is in the regular season, [Western] is the team that's come out of the OUA the last two years. There's still lots here that needs to be proved and our guys know it."
So despite the strong regular season effort from the Gaels, if Western brings with it the same intensity they do in the playoffs, they could give the Gaels' undefeated record a swift kick to the curb, sending both teams to a tie for first in the OUA, with the Mustangs holding the tiebreaker.
But even deeper in this key match-up lies a personal battle between two stellar quarterbacks. Queen's Danny Brannagan (Burlington, Ont.) has already broken the OUA career passing yards record with a total of 9,989, but not far behind him is Western's Michael Faulds (Eden Mills, Ont.) at 9,877. With a difference of just 112 yards, it's anyone's game on Saturday as far as the 10,000-yard mark is concerned.
"[Branangan has] developed into the kind of threat we envisioned when we recruited him all those years ago," praised Sheahan. "Great passer makes the receivers better; it makes your offence more functional. He's having that kind of season that he's making everybody around him better, which is what a great player is supposed to do."
During the last encounter between Brannagan and Faulds on
"We all know that there are records on the line and it means a lot but we talked about this," said
Needless to say, the Western defence will be out for Brannagan this time around. After holding him to such low numbers last year and with the potential to overtake the first place slot in
Surla's three sacks this season is among the top in the OUA, making Brannagan a prime target. He completed a total of 10 tackles against the York Lions on Oct. 8 (eight solo, two assisted), bringing his six-game total to 43 (31 solos, 24 assisted), one fumble return and two interceptions.
Queen's defence can take solace in the fact that they have David Rooney (
Scott Valberg (
But Western has a not-so-secret offensive weapon of their own by the name of Nathan Riva (LaSalle, Ont.). This stick of Western dynamite leads the country and OUA in scoring with 78 points and 13 touchdowns. Holding the top spot in the league as a running back is quite a feat, as the second, third and fourth place scorers are all kickers.
So, could these teams be any more alike? They both have the 2008 OUA football all-star quarterbacks (Brannagan on first team, Faulds on second), they both have solid men on defence and a well-built offensive unit.
""Keeping [the Western] offence off the field is number one. They can come at you from a lot of different directions so we'd like Faulds to watch a lot of this football game, rather than be playing in it," Sheahan said.
While the past could be a strong indicator of what's to come, with home-field playoff advantage on the line, Faulds and his Mustangs have the determination to prove history wrong.
WESTERN LEADERS
Passing
Michael Faulds (
138 completions, 218 attempts, 2,099 yards, 12 touchdowns, 6 interceptions
Rushing
Nathan Riva (LaSalle, Ont.)
79 attempts, 499 yards, 9 touchdowns
Receiving
Nick Trevail
24 receptions, 426 yards, 1 touchdown
Defence
John Surla (
28 solo tackles, 2 sacks, 2 interceptions, 1 fumble recovery
Craig Butler
22 solo tackles, 2 interceptions, 2 break-ups
Aaron Handsor
22 solo tackles, 2 interceptions, 1 break-up, 1 fumble recovery
QUEEN'S LEADERS
Passing
Danny Brannagan (
114 completions, 182 attempts, 1,855 yards, 13 touchdowns, 3 interceptions
Rushing
Jimmy Therrien (
99 attempts, 508 yards, 1 touchdown
Receiving
Scott Valberg
33 receptions, 600 yards, 3 touchdowns
Defence
David Rooney (
27 solo tackles, 3 interceptions
T.J. Leeper
20 solo tackles, 5 tackles for loss, 1 sack
Jimmy Allin
16 solo tackles, 3 interceptions, 4 break-ups
– OUA –
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