McMaster Marauders at Windsor Lancers
WINDSOR (CIS) — The battle for sole possession of first place in the Ontario University Athletics football loop takes place this Saturday as the nationally third-ranked McMaster Marauders (3-0) take on the Windsor Lancers (3-0).
Head coach Stefan Ptaszek and his Marauders have performed exceptionally well thus far in the 2006 season. After handily defeating York and Waterloo to begin the campaign, the Marauders defeated No. 5 Ottawa Gee Gees 24-19 in the nation’s capital this past Saturday. The Marauders withstood the loss of team captain Jon Behie to injury and scored 24 unanswered points against Ottawa after falling behind 10-0.
Quarterback Adam Archibald managed the game very well against the Gee Gees, who present one of – if not the – best defences Mac will see all year. He shook off some early mistakes, and was not afraid to tuck the ball away and take a sack, rather than force the ball into coverage. He finished the day completing 12 of 21 passes for 186 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.
For the season, Archibald ranks fourth in the country in completion percentage, making good on 62.2 per cent of his pass attempts. However, he still possesses perhaps the best deep ball in the country, as his 11.32 yards per pass attempt average ranks atop the CIS.
Andre Sadeghian and Jordan Kozina continued their outstanding backfield play against Ottawa. Sadeghian (22 att, 106 yds, TD) and Kozina (11 att, 50 yds) both had key runs to sustain drives against one of the best front sevens in the country. Sadeghian ranks seventh in the country with 306 rushing yards. He also has four touchdowns and averages 6.5 yards per carry. Kozina has rushed 27 times for 193 yards and a touchdown, averaging 7.2 yards per carry.
Behie sustained an upper body injury in the second quarter of last week’s game. His status for this weekend’s game is not yet known. However, slotback Jordan Charter has picked up the slack for Behie, catching three passes for 85 yards and a touchdown last week. For the season, Charter has caught seven passes for 173 yards and two scores.
Jason Arakgi leads McMaster with 16.5 tackles while Simon Binder has done a tremendous job replacing all-Canadian Jason Pottinger (now with the B.C. Lions) at middle linebacker. Binder has 14.5 tackles, 2.5 sacks and a pass breakup. However, it’s his leadership and intensity that has most impressed his new coaches Ben Zambiasi (LB), Greg Knox (DC) and Ptaszek.
Windsor returns home after defeating Queen’s 22-18 last weekend. Quarterback Dan Lumley and receiver Glenn MacKay (Burlington, ON) connected three times in the first quarter for touchdowns – Lumley’s first three completions of the day actually – as Windsor jumped out to a quick 21-0 lead. However, their offence stalled from there on in, as Lumley would complete only six of his remaining 16 passes.
Windsor enters this game with the most productive running attack in the country, averaging 312 yards per game. Daryl Stephenson, who won the CIS rushing crown last season and finished third in 2004, ranks second in the country thus far with 486 yards on 57 carries. He also has five touchdowns. Even more impressive is fullback Nick Romain, who has
accumulated 272 yards on only 10 carries, and has six touchdowns. MacKay ranks fourth in the country with 254 yards receiving on 10 catches.
Windsor’s defence has performed well this season. The unit features many veterans including fifth-year defensive tackle Alan Weekes and fifth-year defensive back Sasha Glavic. Glavic has 14.5 tackles, a sack and two pass breakups in 2006 after appearing at the Hamilton Tiger Cats training camp this past spring.
The game will be Broadcast live on Cable 14 in Hamilton and Cogeco 23 in Burlington. The game will be broadcast on radio on CFMU 93.3 FM and on the internet at cfmu.mcmaster.ca.
Courtesy of McMaster University
