By: Justin Boone
jboone@ticats.ca
For the first time in the six-year history of the East West Bowl, the East squad overcame the domination from their West opponents, and came out with a win.
The East, led by St. Mary’s head coach Steve Sumarah, got out in front early, and refused to relinquish their stranglehold on the game. Burlington native Dan Brannagan, started at quarterback for the East. The Queen’s pivot looked solid behind centre, despite not having played competitive football since the fall.
Brannagan hit Mount Allison receiver Gary Ross, for a deep 50-yard bomb, getting the East inside the 10-yard line in the final moments of the first quarter. After switching ends they opened up the second with a touchdown strike from Brannagan to wideout Jonathan Masse-Simard, out of Sherbrooke to extend their lead to 12-0.
As the game wore on, the West improved their pass rush, and got pressure on the East’s quarterbacks leading to a series of sacks. However, the West offence was unable to capitalize.
Elliot Richardson, a defensive back out of Acadia, looked like a true ballhawk on the day, bringing down an interception and coming close on several other passes. Turnovers plagued the West side, giving the East a short field to work with on more than one occasion throughout the afternoon.
With only one touchdown in the first half, the East held the lead, 15-6 going into the locker room, another part of the brand new Ron Joyce Stadium at McMaster University. The debut of the facilities had everyone talking and made for an incredible venue for this year’s CIS all-star game.
In the second half, Guelph’s quarterback Justin Dunk made some spectacular athletic plays for the West, but couldn’t establish any sort of consistency within their offence.
The second half began with another turnover, Western QB Michael Faulds not quite completing the handoff, and the East recovered. On the very next play RB Cedric Ferdinand, out of Concordia, took a draw play up the gut for a big 24-yard gain, getting the East back inside the 10-yard line. Two plays later they punched the ball into the endzone, increasing their lead to 22-6, and providing a sufficient cushion.
The West did reach paydirt late in the fourth quarter, but it was a too-little-too-late scenario and on the subsequent two-point conversion, they were promptly stuffed.
There were concerns that the new stadium wouldn’t be ready for gameday, but all worries were put to rest on Saturday afternoon. McMaster now has, if not the best facility in the CIS, certainly one of the top five, and made a phenomenal host for the 2008 East West Bowl.
Final Notes
-There might have a been a few glitches figuring out the new stadium’s announcing system, but when the anthem was delayed, the patriotic fans took it upon themselves to begin signing O Canada, until the system was fixed about 30 seconds later.
-Many of the players showcased in the game, will have their names called in next year’s CFL draft. Of the 33 CIS players selected in the 2008 CFL Canadian Draft on April 30, 24 suited up in last year’s East West Bowl held in Quebec City, while another was an East West Bowl participant in 2006. Seventeen of the first 18 CIS student-athletes who heard their name called by CFL teams a week ago played in last year’s CIS all-star showcase.
-The East squad is comprised of student-athletes representing institutions from the Atlantic and Quebec conferences in addition to Ottawa, Queen’s, York and Toronto, while the West squad is made up of players from universities west of the GTA. Each school is represented by a minimum of three and a maximum of four players.
