OTTAWA (CFL.ca wire) -– The OUA quarter-final round was marked by two upsets, while teams in the other three CIS football conferences wrapped up regular-season play this weekend. Here’s a look at the 10 games played on Friday and Saturday.
OUA quarter-final: Western 27, No. 8 Queen’s 19
The Queen’s Golden Gaels football season came to an abrupt end on Saturday as they lost 27-19 to the Western Mustangs during the opening round of the OUA Playoffs.
Randy McAuely (London, Ont.) ran for two touchdowns and 161 yards while Mustangs quarterback Michael Faulds of Eden Mills, Ont. passed for 253 yards and threw for one touchdown leading Western over the Gaels and to the next round of the playoffs against the No. 2 ranked Ottawa Gee-Gees next week.
Time of possession was the biggest factor in the game with the Mustangs holding the ball for almost 36 minutes while Queen’s handled the ball for just 24. The third quarter was the turning point as Western held the ball well over 12 minutes and ran a daunting 26 offensive plays.
“We controlled the ball in the third quarter, that was the huge for us today,” said Western head coach Greg Marshall. “We thought the battle was going to be won on the offensive line and I think we accomplished that. The play of those lineman was the difference in my mind.”
For the Gaels, running back Mike Giffin (Kingston, Ont.) was held to just 49 yards and a single touchdown. Prior to the game, Giffin – the country’s second best rusher, had amassed 1,157-yards in 2007 and had collected 10 consecutive games over 100-yards rushing.
“Giffin is an outstanding back. I watched a lot of film this week and he can play,” said Marshall. “Our defensive line just didn’t let him get going. That was a challenging task for them this week and holding him back was key to our win.”
Gaels Quarterback Dan Brannagan of Burlington, Ont. finished the day with 285-yards passing on 16 completions and 32 attempts.
“They were the better team today. No excuses, the beat us,” said Gaels Head Coach Pat Sheahan. “I think we were two evenly matched teams, but today we couldn’t make the best of our opportunities.
The Gaels were facing a much different team then they saw in the opening week when they won 26-20 in overtime against Western in London. While the Gaels cruised to a 6-2 record, Western struggled out of the gate going 0-4 and then rattled off four impressive victories including a dominating effort against Waterloo last week to earn a playoff berth.
Today Western opened the scoring in the first quarter on two field goals by Derek Schiavone (Port Colburn, Ont.) making the score 6-0 in favour of the Mustangs.
It looked as if Western would add another field goal but Schiavone missed the uprights left setting up an improbable 115-yard return by defensive back and return specialist Jimmy Allin (Corbyville, Ont.) which put the Gaels up 7-6 at the end of the first.
Although stats are not kept in the CIS for returns on missed field goals, Allin’s return ranks as the second longest punt return in playoff history. The other return came in 1975 when John Kelly from the Guelph Gryphons returned a punt 130-yard’s against Laurier. His return if counted as a punt-return would rank as the 12th best all time in CIS history.
In the second, McAuley and Giffin traded 1-yard TD run scores while Western conceded a safety to make the score 16-13 for Queen’s at the half. The third quarter saw McAuley rush for a 3-yard touchdown and Faulds throw an 8-yard pass to tight-end Brad Barkauskas of London, Ont. Gaels kicker Dan Village of Vancouver closed the scoring with a field goal in the fourth.
“I know the guys are disappointed right now and it’s a disappointing end; it’s tough to swallow,” said Sheahan. “However, tomorrow I think they will wake up and realize they had a good season and lots to be proud of. This is a fine bunch of individuals who represented Queen’s well.”
Sheahan also added, “It’s going to be hard to see a lot of good athletes move on and that’s an unsettling thing about College sports. You have an intense relationship with so many good athletes and then they move on in a short period of time.”
NOTES: Senior Rob Bagg (Kingston) said following the game he will now turn his focus on trying to make the CFL Saskatchewan Roughriders for the 2008 season. Bagg earned a position on the Roughriders squad in June but chose to return to Queen’s for his fifth and final year of eligibility… Doug Jefferies, long-time public address announcer at Golden Gaels football games revealed prior to the game he would be retiring from duties after the completion of this season. Jefferies has been the stadium announcer with the Golden Gaels for 27 seasons.
OUA quarter-final: Guelph 25, McMaster 21
The University of Guelph earned their first playoff victory since 1996 (a win over Waterloo 23-13) with a 25-21 victory over McMaster at Ivor Wynne stadium in Hamilton, Ontario.
Guelph quarterback, Justin Dunk (Guelph, ON) scored a 10 yard rushing touchdown with 0:33 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter to take a 25-21 lead.
McMaster quarterback, Adam Archibald (Kingston, ON_ looking to repeat his week 8 heroics (game winning rouge), marched the Marauders 46 yards on 3 plays.
On the last play of the game, University of Guelph defensive back, Sean Riley (Burlington, ON) knocked down a hurried Archibald pass to secure the victory for the Gryphons.
Dunk finished the game completing 12 of 23 passes for 166 yards, 1 touchdown and 3 interceptions. He also led the Gryphons in rushing with 12 carries for 82 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Guelph receiver, Jeff Gardner (Niagara Falls, ON) had 2 receptions for 51 yards. Lorne Foster (Vineland, ON) added 4 receptions for 49 yards for the Gryphons.
Archibald, playing in his last career game, completed 26 of 41 passes for 328 yards, 2 touchdowns and 2 interceptions.
Andrew Ross (Burlington, ON) had 6 receptions for 97 yards for McMaster. Rob Serviss, also playing in his last game for the Marauders had 6 receptions for 64 yards and a touchdown.
McMaster Rookie, Joey Nemet (Burlington, ON) had 25 carries for 114 yards for the Marauders. He added 4 catches for 52 yards.
Defensively, Guelph was led by Adam Dunk (Guelph, ON), younger Brother of Justin, who had 8.5 tackles and 1 fumble recovery.
McMaster’s Ryan Chmielewski (St. Catharines, ON) had 6 tackles and a sack for the Marauders.
The University of Guelph advance to play Wilfrid Laurier in the OUA Semi-Finals next Saturday November 3 at 1:00 P.M. at University stadium in Waterloo, Ontario.
No. 1 Laval 26, No. 10 Concordia 21
At Montreal, the No. 1 Laval Rouge et Or completed the third 8-0 season of their 12-year history with a 26-21 win over the No. 10 Concordia Stingers.
Despite the loss, the Stingers, who made it close against Laval with two touchdowns in the final four minutes of play, clinched second place in the QUFL. Concordia and Bishop’s both finish with 5-3 record but the Stingers took the lone head-to-head meeting 20-18 back on Sept. 7.
Concordia and Bishop’s will face off in the first round of the Quebec playoffs next Saturday, while Laval will host Montreal (4-4) in the other QUFL semifinal.
Christopher Milo kicked four field goals and Laurent Lavigne-Masse had his CIS-leading ninth touchdown reception, a 34-yard toss from Cesar Sanchez Hernandez, as the Rouge et Or built a 19-0 halftime lead over the Stingers. Guillaume Allard-Caméus added a 12-yard TD run in the third quarter.
Rookie quarterback Liam Mahoney was dominant in the second half as Concordia mounted a comeback. The freshman, who finished with 106-yards on the ground, scored on 32 and 11-yard runs and threw a 15-yard TD strike to Cory Watson.
No. 3 Manitoba 22, Simon Fraser 0
At Coquitlam, B.C. the No. 3 Manitoba Bisons ran their undefeated record to 8-0 for the third time in five years and extended the Simon Fraser Clan’s winless streak to 25 games with a 22-0 win.
The Bisons, who led 19-0 at the half against SFU, will host the Calgary Dinos (4-4) next Saturday in a Canada West semifinal.
Manitoba quarterback John Makie was 15-for-24 for 235 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Running back Matt Henry and receiver Simon Blaszczak reached the end zone for the Bisons, while Scott Dixon added a pair of field goals.
The Bisons held Simon Fraser to 167 total yards, including 52 on the ground.
Clan pivot Jordan Scheltgen completed 14 of 28 passes for 106 yards.
No. 4 Saint Mary’s 55, Mount Allison 52
At Halifax, the No. 4 Saint Mary’s Huskies jumped to a 35-0 but had to survive a furious comeback by the Mount Allison Mounties to close out regular-season play with a 55-52 win, on Friday night.
The 7-1 Huskies will enjoy a break until Nov. 10 when they host the winners of the StFX-Acadia semifinal in the AUFC title match.
Saint Mary’s sophomore quarterback Erik Glavic racked up 353 yards and two touchdowns on 18-of-22 passing and scored himself on a four-yard run, while Jacques Lumbala added 100 rushing yards and a pair of majors on 20 carries.
Mount Allison first-year pivot Kelly Hughes went 11-for-27 with four touchdowns and three interceptions. Gary Ross scored on a 104-yard kickoff return and on an 89-yard reception, part of a 338-all-purpose-yard effort.
No. 7 Regina 34, No. 6 Saskatchewan 31
At Saskatoon, Teale Orban found Sheldon Tillotson in the end zone from 10 yards out with 2:40 left in the game as the No. 7 Rams clinched second place in Canada West and home-field advantage for the conference semifinals with a thrilling 34-31 win over the No. 6 Saskatchewan Huskies.
The Rams (6-2) will the Huskies (5-3) next Saturday in the first round of the playoffs. It will mark Regina’s third post-season home game in the team’s nine-year CIS history, all against its provincial rivals.
Orban was 19-of-33 for 185 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions for the Rams, who jumped out to a 17-0 lead. Derek Belvedere led all rushers in the match with 126 yards and one major on 22 carries.
Huskie pivot Lawrence Nixon racked up 418 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 31-of-47 passing but was intercepted four times. Scott McHenry had nine catches for 119 yards and one score.
Montreal 21, No. 9 Bishop’s 13
At Montreal, Frank Bruno scored on a 74-punt return one minute and 43 seconds into the game as the hometown Carabins clinched fourth place in Quebec and a playoff berth with a 21-13 win over the Bishop’s Gaiters.
The Carabins and the Sherbrooke Vert & Or both finish with 4-4 records but Montreal won the lone head-to-head meeting 31-28 in overtime two weeks ago.
Carabin quarterback Marc-Olivier Brouillette was held to 136 yards on 9-of-17 passing but his 44-yard TD pass to Kevin Rivet early in the third quarter proved the difference.
CIS leading rusher Jamall Lee of Bishop’s tallied 186 yards on 31 carries in the losing cause including a 75-yard touchdown run on the last play of the first quarter. He finishes the campaign with a Quebec-record 1464 rushing yards, the fifth best single-season total in CIS history.
Calgary 41, UBC 23
At Calgary, Anthony Woodson rushed for 245 yards and two touchdowns as the hometown Dinos secured the fourth and final Canada West playoff berth with a 41-23 win over the UBC Thunderbirds.
UBC jumped out to a 20-3 lead but Woodson brought the Dinos to within 10 points with a 13-yard major 4:29 before the half and it was all Calgary from then on.
The Dinos out-gained UBC 514 total yards to 299 and had the ball for over 35 minutes but had to survive four lost fumbles.
T-Bird quarterback Marc McVeigh was 16-of-33 for 170 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions.
Calgary (4-4) visits No. 3 Manitoba (8-0) next Saturday for a Canada West semifinal.
StFX 42, Acadia 20
At Wolfville, N.S. James Green rushed for 259 yards and two touchdowns as the StFX X-Men clinched second place in the AUFC and home-field advantage for the first round of the playoffs with a 42-20 road win over the Acadia Axemen.
StFX and Acadia finish with identical 3-5 records but the X-Men took both head-to-head duels this fall, including a 24-18 victory on Sept. 15.
Jonathan Hood had a 101-yard punt return touchdown early in the third quarter for StFX.
The rivals will square off again next Saturday at 1 p.m. Atlantic in Antigonish, N.S. in the AUFC semifinal.
Sherbrooke 28, McGill 10
At Montreal, a 28-10 win over McGill was not enough to clinch a playoff berth for the visiting Sherbrooke Vert & Or.
Sherbrooke and Montreal finish with identical 4-4 records but the Vert & Or suffered a 31-28 overtime loss to the Carabins two weeks ago.
Vert & Or quarterback Jean-Philippe Shoiry closed out the season tallying 269 yards and two touchdowns on 21-of-29 passing, both TD tosses going to Samuel Giguère who finished with 138 yards off eight receptions.
The 0-8 Redmen end the season without a win for the first time since posting an 0-6 mark in 1966.
McGill pivot Matt Connell, who was intercepted five times in his final game as a Redmen, led all CIS passers this fall with a Quebec-record 2,533 yards. He finishes the year with 197 completions and 334 passing attempts, both good for second on the all-time CIS single-season list.
Redmen wideout Charles-Antoine Sinotte had six catches against Sherbrooke to increase his CIS single-season record to 72.
