CFL.ca Staff
HAMILTON, Ont. -– University Rush will head back to TD Waterhouse Stadium to see last year’s Yates Cup finalists battle it out in London. The Queen’s Gaels have had a slow start this season and look to put a damper on the Western Mustangs’ 4-1 record live on The Score this Saturday, October 2 at 1:00 p.m. ET, presented by Wilson Sports Equipment.
In week five, Queen’s suffered a heartbreaking overtime loss to OUA’s top ranked team while Western prevailed in Guelph in front of a sold-out homecoming crowd.
The Gaels lost at home in the regular season for the first time since 2007, conceding to the undefeated Ottawa Gee-Gees. After being down 14-0 in the first quarter second-year quarterback Justin Chapdelaine (Abbotsford, B.C.) put together a 12 play, 97 yard drive to get within seven at the half. Giovanni Aprile (Toronto) scored in the third to even the game at 14. After both teams traded a touchdown and a field goal, the score would be tied at 24 at the end of regulation. Dan Village (Abbotsford, B.C.) recorded a single on the first drive of overtime but it wouldn’t be enough for the Gaels as Matt Falvo (Welland, Ont.) kicked a field goal to win it for the Gee-Gees.
In Guelph, the Mustangs started out by silencing a rowdy Gryphons crowd with a touchdown with less than five minutes remaining in the first quarter. Jerimy Hipperson (St. Catharine’s, Ont.), named Player of the Game by The Score, had a 23 yard run before capping off the Western drive with a 10 yard touchdown. Guelph responded with a pick off Donnie Marshall (London, Ont.) and used the momentum to score a touchdown off a fake field goal play with four minutes left in the half. The third quarter saw no scoring and in the fourth Western put together a quick scoring drive. After a 20 yard reception by Nick Trevail (London, Ont.), Hipperson rushed 27 yards for his second touchdown of the game. Western would go on to win it 15-8.
This week’s University Rush game brings up memories of last year’s Yates Cup final. In 2009, Queen’s defeated Western twice in their march to win the Vanier Cup. The records for these teams are looking a little different this season. The Mustangs have a winning record of 4-1 while the Gaels struggle after two straight tough losses to fall to 1-3. Coach Pat Sheahan believes that a record isn’t all you need to succeed.
“Our record could be better but as a team we are more or less on schedule. We expected the growing pains and by the end we wanted to be tough to beat,” said Sheahan. “We’re pretty much on track and the guys have proved to be quite resilient. They’re hungry and practice hard and I think their attitude and the way they have responded has been appropriate.”
This season, Queen’s has had young standouts on offence. Aprile, OUA Offensive Football Player of the Week, leads the team in receptions with 21 for 317 yards. Last week alone the rookie receiver finished the day with seven receptions for a career-best 179 yards and one touchdown.
Two more young players making the difference for the Gaels are quarterbacks Chapdelaine and Billy McPhee (Burlington, Ont.). Although Chapdelaine has taken most of the reps, McPhee has made some significant contributions in his first year. Two weeks ago in Guelph, Chapdelaine was off to a rough start, giving McPhee a chance to shine. The rookie went 10-for-18 for 119 yards and a touchdown in his best performance of the season. How will these less experienced players deal with a rival homecoming crowd this weekend?
“It’ll be an interesting challenge and you need to have experiences like this for the development of the team,” said Sheahan. “There could be times when it’s hard to hear a play but the best way to fight it is to play well early and take the crowd out of the game.”
To play well early Queen’s needs to find a way to stop Western’s rushing offence. The Mustangs lead the league in rushing with an average of 221 yards a game for a total of 12 touchdowns. The next closest team in rushing touchdowns sits at seven, the same total as Hipperson has alone. Hipperson and Marshall have an average of over 90 yards per game each and have combined for 10 of the teams 12 rushing touchdowns.
Another addition to the Western running game is star running back Nathan Riva (LaSalle, Ont.) who is set to return for the Mustangs. Riva’s numbers were impressive last year, averaging six yards per carry for 606 yards and added another 400 yards on 25 catches and a total of 15 touchdowns. After sitting out for the first half of the season with a hamstring injury suffered in training camp, Riva will return to the turf this weekend to jack up the Western offence, now an even bigger threat for the Gaels on Saturday.
“Our offensive line is playing pretty well and it’s what we wanted to do this year,” said Western head coach Greg Marshall. “Nathan’s injury put a bit of a wrench in the plans and we had to modify our offence.
“Having him back and Hipperson playing well will give us the ability to do different things and bring Nathan back gradually. He’ll play; we’re just not sure how much right now.”
This weekend also marks Western homecoming, where over 15,000 alumni flock to the Western campus. With less than 600 tickets available, Coach Marshall’s Mustangs hope to play in front of a sold-out purple crowd at TD Waterhouse Stadium. To secure one of the last few tickets, fans can call the Western box office at 519-661-3090.
The outcome is still unknown, but one thing is for sure both teams will be hungry for this win.
“Our guys are going to be up for the challenge and I’m sure Queen’s is as well,” said coach Marshall. “Queen’s controlled the game against Ottawa last week and our guys only have to watch film to see how well they are playing. It’s going to be a heck of a football game here on Saturday and I would expect nothing less when we play Queen’s.”
-With files from the OUA
