THE CANADIAN PRESS
GUELPH, Ont. — Saturday’s matchup between the top two offences in Ontario university football predictably came down to the final possession – and thankfully for the Western Ontario Mustangs, they had it.
Darryl Wheeler booted a 16-yard field goal with one second left as the No. 2-ranked Mustangs remained unbeaten – barely – with a thrilling 41-39 win over the 10th-ranked Guelph Gryphons.
The OUA’s two biggest offensive juggernauts slugged it out for the entire 60 minutes, with the teams combining for more than 1,000 yards from scrimmage. The win helped the Mustangs (4-0) keep pace with Queen’s (4-0) atop the OUA standings, after the Golden Gaels whipped York 67-0.
Quarterback Michael Faulds was the star for Western, completing 34 of 55 passes for 415 yards and four touchdowns. Josh Svec was Faulds’s favourite target, catching seven passes for 121 yards.
Nathan Riva had 21 carries for 117 yards in the win, and added eight catches for 86 yards and two touchdowns in front of a sold-out homecoming crowd of 8,750 at Alumni Stadium.
Quarterback Justin Dunk was a one-man show for the Gryphons, tossing a touchdown pass and running in three more scores himself. The Guelph native went 22-for-39 for 335 yards, and added 16 carries for a game-high 123 yards.
Western led the see-saw matchup 24-22 at halftime, and padded its lead on an eight-yard scoring pass from Faulds to Jesse Bellamy early in the third quarter. Junk led the Gryphons into the lead, finding David Harrison on an 18-yard touchdown pass and then running in a 22-yard score with 21 seconds left in the quarter.
Faulds put Western back in front with a one-yard run early in the fourth before Rod Maver booted a 10-yard field goal to give Guelph a 39-38 lead, setting the stage for Wheeler’s heroics.
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No. 1 Rouge et Or 55 Gaiters 7
At Quebec, the Laval Rouge et Or showed Sunday why they’re in no danger of losing their No. 1 ranking.
Benoit Groulx finished with 192 passing yards and three touchdowns as the Rouge et Or rode a dominant first half to a 55-7 win over the Bishop’s Gaiters in Canadian university football action.
Groulx connected with Mathieu Picard from 12 yards out in the first quarter, and added second-quarter TD strikes to Patrick Lavoie and Maxime Beland as Laval (4-0) jumped out to a 43-0 lead at the halfway mark. Backup quarterback Cesar Hernandez-Sanches also had a touchdown pass in the win, while Babacar Seye added a five-yard TD run in the fourth quarter.
The defending Vanier Cup-champion Rouge et Or have outscored opponents 181-21 in four games this season, and will retain top spot in the CIS after the No. 2 Western Mustangs needed a last-second field goal to escape with a 41-39 win over Guelph on Saturday.
Jordan Heather’s 73-yard touchdown pass to Shawn Gore with 8:16 remaining in the game provided the lone offence for the Gaiters (1-3).
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Golden Bears 27 No. 3 Huskies 7
At Edmonton, Tendayi Jozzy, with two, and Mike Wasylyniuk had touchdowns for the Alberta Golden Bears (2-2). Laurence Nixon completed 24 of 41 passes for 303 yards for the Saskatchewan Huskies (2-1), but was picked off three times by Jason Hetherington.
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No. 4 Dinos 49 Clan 22
At Calgary, the Dinos racked up more than 350 yards offence in the first half and cruised to a win over Simon Fraser.
Nathan Coehoorn hauled in five passes for a season-best 149 yards and two touchdowns for Calgary (4-0), which moved into sole possession of top spot in the Canada West conference.
“We talked this week about how this was going to be a defining game, not only for Simon Fraser, but also for us,” said Calgary head coach Blake Nill, “I was worried that they (Simon Fraser) would come out with fire and brimstone this week, but I was very pleased with how our players prepared.”
Mathis Baumbach led the way with 74 receiving yards for the Clan (2-2).
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No. 5 Golden Gaels 67 York 0
At Kingston, Ont., Danny Brannagan erupted for 543 passing yards and five touchdowns in the Golden Gaels’ rout of York.
Three different receivers surpassed 100 yards for Queen’s (4-0), led by Scott Valberg (147). He, Blaise Morrison (137) and Christopher Ioannides (110) combined to haul in three touchdown passes, while Mark Surya and Thomas Howes also had receiving scores.
Brannagan, Howes and Ryan Granberg added touchdowns on the ground.
Johnny Peyton caught four passes for 83 yards in defeat for the Lions (0-4), who have allowed 199 points in their first four games.
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No. 6 Carabins 34 Axemen 13
At Montreal, Kevin Rivet and Frank Bruno had receiving touchdowns for the Carabins in their victory over Acadia.
Rivet finished with eight catches for 86 yards, both team highs for Montreal (3-1). Bruno added five receptions for 81 yards.
Pierre-Paul Gelinas also helped the Carabins’ cause, going perfect on four field-goal attempts.
Keith Lockwood’s 46-yard pass to Josh Pearsall late in the second quarter provided the lone touchdown for the Axemen (1-2).
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No. 7 X-Men 19 Stingers 17
At Montreal, Steve Snyder threw for 396 yards and a touchdown as St. Francis Xavier held on to beat Concordia.
Snyder found Peter Giannikipolous on a 52-yard touchdown pass and James Green added a one-yard TD run as St. FX (3-0) opened up a 19-3 halftime lead.
But Concordia made a game of it in the second half, scoring 14 unanswered points on a one-yard TD run from Cedric Ferdinand and a two-yard plunge by quarterback Rob Mackay.
Arian Francois led the way with 154 receiving yards for the Stingers (0-4), while Mackay finished 29-of-44 for 360 yards with a pair of interceptions.
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No. 8 Golden Hawks 30 Marauders 14
At Hamilton, Ont., Evan Pawliuk’s 88-yard touchdown pass to Shamawd Chambers early in the third quarter propelled Laurier past McMaster.
Pawliuk completed just 12 of 17 passes but finished with 276 yards and a pair of touchdowns while running in another. Dillon Heap had an 84-yard catch to wind up with 130 receiving yards, while Alex Anthony had the other touchdown for the Golden Hawks (3-1).
Kyle Quinlan was dreadful under centre for the Marauders (2-2), going just 13-for-36 for 136 yards and two interceptions.
Cody Lynch’s 27-yard interception return provided McMaster’s first touchdown, while Michae Dicroce added a 75-yard punt-return touchdown midway through the fourth quarter.
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No. 9 Huskies 26 Vert et Or 23
At Halifax, quarterback Jack Creighton scored on a one-yard run with six seconds left as the Huskies escaped with a win over Sherbrooke.
Trailing 16-3 at halftime, Saint Mary’s (2-1) dominated the second half, cutting the deficit in the third quarter on a Devon Jones one-yard touchdown run. Creighton put the Huskies ahead midway through the fourth, finding Joe Doherty on a three-yard strike.
Creighton went 18-of-27 for 198 yards in the win.
Pascal Fils had 210 rushing yards and a pair of touchdowns to pace the Vert et Or (2-2).
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Redmen 49 Mounties 27
At Sackville, N.B., running back Andrew Hamilton finished with 349 all-purpose yards and three touchdowns as McGill trounced the Mounties.
Hamilton ran 28 times for 254 yards and a pair of TDs, including a 53-yard scamper on the fifth offensive play of the game for the Redmen (2-2).
Jonathan Collin finished 16-of-31 for 272 yards as McGill posted 632 yards of net offence.
Mount Allison (0-3) commit
ted a season-high six turnovers, five of them coming on interceptions.
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Warriors 49 Lancers 0
At Waterloo, Ont., Luke Balch threw three touchdown passes as the Warriors routed Windsor.
Balch ran in the first touchdown of the game for Waterloo (1-3) from 15 yards out early in the first quarter, and added TD strikes to Sean Cowie, Dustin Zender and Steve Legace.
Matt Socholotiuk led Waterloo with 21 carries for 134 yards.
The passing game was a disaster for the Lancers (2-2), who threw for just 86 yards with three interceptions. They also surrendered three safeties.
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Rams 28 Thunderbirds 17
At Vancouver, Perri Scarcelli booted four field goals as Regina got past the Thunderbirds.
Scarcelli hit field goals from 16, 28, 29 and 38 yards – all in the first half – to propel the Rams (2-2) to a 21-7 first-half lead.
Marc Mueller was 17-of-36 for 202 yards and a touchdown for Regina, while Cale Inglis led the rushing attack with 90 yards and a score.
Billy Greene connected on a pair of TD passes to Spencer Betts to pace UBC (1-3).
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Gee-Gees 35 Varsity Blues 15
At Toronto, Cyril Adjeitey had 162 receiving yards and two fourth-quarter touchdowns to lead the Ottawa Gee-Gees to a 35-15 victory over the University of Toronto Varsity Blues on Friday in Canadian Interuniversity Sport football action.
Adjeitey scored two touchdowns on 71-and 66-yard receptions in the first four minutes of the fourth quarter to put the game away for the Gee-Gees. Blues kicker Andrew Lomasney opened up the scoring with a 15-yard field goal. Ottawa replied with two field goals of their own to take the lead midway through the second quarter.
With two minutes remaining in the half, fourth-year Ottawa running back Matt Todd scored the first touchdown of the game on a one-yard carry.
Toronto answered in the dying seconds of the first half as quarterback Andrew Gillis connected with first-year slotback Paul de Pass for a 30-yard touchdown reception.
Ottawa held a 15-9 lead going into halftime.
Gee-Gees kicker Matthew Falvo added his third and fourth field goals in the third quarter to help Ottawa build a 21-9 lead heading into the final quarter.
Toronto’s second touchdown came when Ben Sharpe made an 83-yard reception with 2:20 remaining in the game.
Ottawa (2-2) faces the No. 8 Laurier Golden Hawks in Waterloo, Ont., on Oct. 3, while the Blues (0-4) travel across Toronto for the 38th annual Red and Blue bowl against the York Lions (0-3).
