August 27, 2018
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U Sports RECAP (1): Western with thrilling OT win, MTA starts off strong, RSEQ status quo

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Sunday, Aug. 26

Western (1-0) 26, Carleton (0-1) 23

by: Brandi Awad, Carleton Ravens

OTTAWA, Ontario – The Carleton Ravens kicked off their 2018 OUA football season on August 26 with a heartbreaking loss to the defending Vanier Cup Champion Western Mustangs.

In a hard fought battle from start to finish, the Ravens fell in 26-23 in overtime.

GAME FLOW

The Carleton Ravens opened the scoring early in the first with a 20-yard field goal from veteran kicker Michael Domagala (St. Catherine’s, ON) to take an early 3-0 lead over the Mustangs.

Western wasn’t able to respond until the second quarter, where they put up a field goal of their own with a kick from the 31-yard line from Marc Liegghio to make it a tie game.

Carleton was quick to answer the Mustangs on their next drive with a 42-yard field goal from Domagala.

Carleton’s defense did a solid job of shutting down Western’s powerful offense and kept them from consistently putting up points on the board.

With just under five minutes left before half, quarterback Michael Arruda (Gatineau, QC) connected with third-year Mitchell Raper (Oshawa, ON) in the end zone with a 69-yard touchdown pass to extend their lead. Domagala was able to snag the extra point to make the game 13-3.

Arruda brought that magic again four minutes later, meeting Phil Iloki (Montreal, QC) this time, with a 44-yard bomb to the end zone. Another kick from Domagala, with just 56 seconds left, left the Mustangs trailing 20-3 by halftime in front of a boisterous hometown crowd.

Unfortunately, the second half of the game didn’t tell the same story.

A scoreless third quarter for the Ravens gave the Mustangs an opportunity to catch up. And they didn’t hold back.

Trailing by 17-points in the third, Western’s Liegghio was able to cut the deficit by three with a 12-yard field goal. Then, with just five minutes to go in the third, QB Chris Merchant met Harry McMaster with a 22-yard pass to inch closer at 13-20.

On the first play of the fourth, the Mustangs’ Phillippe Dion forced a fumble from Arruda at the 37-yard line, recovered it and rushed it to the end zone to tie the game.

The two teams battled back and forth as Merchant worked to bring the Mustangs closer to the red zone. Carleton’s defense worked endlessly to hold them back, but Western was able to bring themselves from their nine-yard line to Carleton’s 22. From there, Liegghio nailed another field goal to give Western the lead for the first time in the game.

It seemed like that was the end of it until Arruda found Illoki at Western’s 42-yard line. With just 0.2 seconds left, the Ravens brought out Domagala in hopes that he would tie the game. The fifth-year kicker answered that call with a 50-yard field goal to send the game into overtime.

Starting at Carleton’s 45 yard line, the Ravens held the Mustangs to just 16 yards to stop them from getting to the end zone. However, they weren’t able to stop Liegghio from another solid field goal attempt to give Western a 26-23 lead.

In a do or die moment for the Ravens, Arruda tried to find a small window with a pass along the sidelines, but an interception from Western’s Bleska Kambamba put that to an end. Game over. Western beats the Ravens 26-23 in a heartbreaking fashion.

However, in spite of the loss, the Ravens have a lot to be proud of. This 2018 squad shows a lot of promise and has the potential to be a force to be reckoned with in the OUA. A 3-point loss to the reigning Vanier Cup Champions is nothing to pout about.

“We proved that we can compete with them,” head coach Steve Sumarah said post-game. “We’re definitely taking strides to take us to where we need to be.”

Heading into their next game against the Windsor Lancers at Alumni Field on September 3, Sumarah says they need to focus on eliminating “little mistakes” that were made this game: “We really need to tighten up on some of our plays and what we’re doing and make it even better.”

While the Ravens are entering the season as underdogs after finishing with a 3-5 record in 2017, Sumarah hopes this first game sent a message across the OUA.

“Hopefully, the message is that they’re going to get 60 minutes of hard nosed football,” he said. “And if we can do that, we’ll see what happens.”

BY THE NUMBERS:

The Ravens put up some big numbers in Sunday’s contest at MNP Park. On offense, Michael Arruda threw an impressive 297 yards, Phil Illoki rushed 115 yards and Quinton Soares (London, ON) followed close behind with a respectable 92.

As for defence, Jack Cassar (Mississauga, ON) led the team in tackles with 10.5 takedowns. Third-year Josh Walsh (Ottawa, ON) also came out strong with 9.5 tackles against the Mustangs.

RAVENS PLAYER OF THE GAME: 

DEFENCE: #46 Josh Walsh –Linebacker – 3rd year – Mississauga, ON

UP NEXT:
Carleton vs. Windsor
Monday, September 3 – 3:00pm
Windsor, ON

Box Score

 

Ottawa (0-1) 21, Wilfrid Laurier (1-0) 39

Source: Jamie Howieson, Laurier Athletics
WATERLOO, Ont. (August 26, 2018) – The Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks men’s football team got two first-half touchdowns from running back Levondre Gordon as they rolled to a 39-21 victory over the Ottawa Gee-Gees in their home opener on Sunday afternoon at University Stadium.

The victory is Laurier’s (1-0) fourth in a row over the Gee-Gees (0-1) in a streak that dates back to the 2011 season.

Gordon, a native of Mississauga, Ont., found the endzone with the game’s opening score and then ran in a 21-yard major late in the first half to give Laurier a 23-7 lead at the break.

Reigning OUA MVP Kurleigh Gittens Jr. of Ottawa, had a strong game against his hometown team as he racked up 188 all-purpose yards, including 129 yards on eight receptions.

As a team, the Hawks’ attack was balanced across the board, putting up 218 yards of offence through the air while adding 219 yards on the ground.

Tristan Park of Oshawa, Ont., and Dylan St. Pierre of Ottawa, both found the endzone for the Gee-Gees in the second half but were unable to overcome the 16-point deficit they faced at halftime.

TOP PERFORMERS
Laurier
– Gordon finished the game with 109 yards on the ground while his two rushing touchdowns gives him 16 for his Golden Hawks career, moving him into a tie for fifth on Laurier’s all-time list with Bryon Hickey, Randy Rybansky and Ryan Lynch
– Gittens Jr. became just the fourth Golden Hawk to surpass 2000 career yards with his performance Sunday as he now sits at 2004 for his career, 258 yards behind Andy Baechler for third on Laurier’s all-time list
– quarterback Tristan Arndt of London, Ont., making his third career start, finished the game 17-of-26 through the air for 218 yards and one touchdown along with one interception
– defensive back Will Amoah of Kitchener, Ont., led Laurier’s defensive effort as he recorded 3.5 tackles while recording his first career interception late in the third quarter

Ottawa
–  linebacker Abed Hamidi of Ottawa, led Ottawa’s defensive effort posting a game-high eight total tackles along with a pass breakup
– quarterback Alex Lavric of Mississauga, Ont., finished the game 15-of-34 for 250 yards and two touchdowns along with one interceptionCOACH’S QUOTES – Michael Faulds
On performance in opening game of the regular season
“Yeah, first games are always tough, especially when you play a team for only the second time in six years so we weren’t familiar with them at all. Admittedly, there’s a lot to clean up which is okay because you never expect to play perfect football week one. We have a lot to improve before our game next week against Queen’s.”On the play of playmakers Gordon and Gittens Jr.
“For Levondre, I thought his speed was back to where it was two years ago. Last year, he was hampered by a hamstring and he didn’t quite have that burst. Today he did and you saw that in the first half as he rushed for over 100 yards. I think they [Ottawa] did a good bracketing Kurleigh but his first big play was a long punt return that set up a touchdown and then he found a way to make some big catches after that.”
On the defence’s play against an unfamiliar opponent
“Ottawa has a lot of speed at receiver and their QB can throw it pretty far. We were pretty fortunate on a couple of throws that the wind took it away from the receivers. Overall, I’m happy with the D. They hung in there and made a lot of good plays as our offence settled for field goals. The D-line put pressure on their offence and Will Amoah had a big-time interception.”UP NEXT 
Laurier hits the road for the first time in the 2018 season next Sunday, September 2, as they face the Queen’s Gaels (1-0) at Richardson Stadium in Kingston.

Box Score

 

Queen’s (1-0) 42, York (0-1) 21

Source: York Lions

The York Lions started the 2018 football season with a strong first half but were unable to pick up an opening day victory as they lost to the Queen’s Gaels by a score of 42-21 on Sunday afternoon at Alumni Field.

Lions quarterback Brett Hunchak had a solid 2018 debut as he threw for 370 yards on the day along with two touchdowns and one interception. The Lions outpaced the Gaels in total offense netting 454 yards to Queen’s 439 and held the lead late in the first half. A late Queen’s touchdown gave them a 17-12 lead at the half, and a big fourth quarter that saw them score 22 points ended up being the difference

“I thought we were the better football team in the first half,” said head coach Warren Craney. “I thought we dominated with the exception of the last 45 seconds of the second quarter where we made some poor decisions and instead of going into the half up 12-10 we were down 17-12. That said I still thought we were the better team and we just need to build off the way we played in the first half.”

The Lions controlled the play in the first quarter holding Queen’s to three and outs on their first three possessions. After a Daniel Amoako interception found the Lions on the Queen’s 19 yard line, York got on the board first with a 32-yard field goal by Lions kicker Dante Mastrogiuseppe with 4:03 left in the first quarter. Queen’s then bounced back with a 40-yard field goal of their own from Nick Liberatore before the end the of the quarter.

York pulled out in front at the 10:45 mark of the second quarter when Hunchak found wide receiver Luther Hakunavanhu at the right side of the end zone for a 13-yard touchdown pass. Hakunavanhu stretched out and kept both feet in bounds to make a highlight reel catch for the first touchdown of his OUA career.

After a blocked extra point held the Lions to a 9-3 lead, Queen’s pulled ahead on a touchdown pass from quarterback Nate Hobbs to receiver Matteo Del Brocco. Mastrogiuseppe put the Lions back out in front 12-10 with his second field goal of the game, before a late touchdown pass by Hobbs to Rudy Uhl gave the Gaels a 17-12 lead going into halftime.

After the teams traded field goals in the third quarter, the Queen’s offense broke through for 22 points in the fourth quarter to take control of the game. Hobbs hit Jeremy Pendergast for 23-yard touchdown pass at the 9:52 mark to give the Gaels a 27-15 lead. A Jake Puskas 5-yard touchdown run followed by a rouge and a Hobbs one-yard quarterback sneak for a touchdown gave Queen’s 22 points in just under seven minutes of action to put the game out of reach.

A late touchdown pass by Hunchak to younger brother Colton Hunchak capped off the scoring for the day for a final score of 42-21 for the Gaels. Fourth-year receiver Hunchak had a solid afternoon for the Lions catching 12 passes for 102 yards while Alex Daley chipped in with six catches for 66 yards. Defensive back Jacob Janke paced the Lions defense with seven tackles and broke up one pass, while fellow defensive back Desi Dixon had five tackles including a thundering hit in the second half that had the Lions crowd on its feet.

The Lions next game will take place on Monday Sept. 3 when they travel to Guelph to take on the Gryphons. Kick-off is set for 1pm.

Box Score

 

Guelph (01) 15, McMaster (1-0) 16

Game Recap: Michael Grobe, McMaster Athletics

HAMILTON (August, 26, 2018) – Jackson White of Cambridge, Ont., connected with Michael Bazzo of King City, Ont., on a three-yard pass in the fourth quarter, while the McMaster Marauder defence shut the door the rest of the way to squeeze past the Guelph Gryphons 16-15 in the OUA football season opener on Sunday.

“We found out that we’ve got some grit and some perseverance,” said Head Coach Greg Knox following the game. “The kids have really come together over the course of this game, one that had all kinds of adversity in it. A young team can easily struggle, but I think we responded in the second half and did what we needed to do.”

After giving up 10 points in the opening quarter, McMaster’s defence was rock solid when it needed to be, especially in the closing moments of the game.

“Coach (Scott) Brady did a fantastic job getting a very young group to carry the play,” said Knox in crediting his new defensive coordinator. “In the first game of the season, you never know what you’re going to get, so you’re defending everything. I can’t say enough for what he did in getting the kids ready.”

The McMaster defence returned only three defensive starters from last season, having lost a number of veterans to graduation and the CFL.

Once McMaster scored the game winning touchdown, which came with White tossing to Bazzio on a short crossing route at 8:53 of the final quarter, the Marauder secondary did not allow a Guelph passing first down.

Overall, Guelph was only able to carry the ball 34 yards and their offence failed to complete a pass on six attempts in the final frame. Ultimately the only blemish for the defence was a roughing the passer penalty on the Gryphon’s final series, which set up a few nervous moments for the Marauders.

Knox was pleased the entire team responded with a lock down mindset to close the game.

“The kids might need something to happen before they can hit their stride, and maybe when we’re older and more experienced, we don’t need that spark and we can play at a high level with more consistency,” said Knox. “But that was a tough football game, and they played us very tough.”

Guelph built an 11-0 lead before an Adam Preocanin of Burlington, Ont., hit a 21-yard field goal to get McMaster on the board midway through the second quarter. Preocanin added two more with another coming before the half and one in the third to set up a 12-9 fourth quarter comeback for McMaster.

White finished the day tossing 241 yards with 21 completions on 34 attempts with the Bazzio touchdown pass.The sophomore quarterback had just one interception in the win.

For Bazzo the touchdown was not only the first of his career but his first catch in his very first OUA football game.

“First game, first catch, first everything. It was pretty surreal. It’s hard to put into words. Mac and Guelph are such a huge rivalry, and I couldn’t have asked for anything better,” said Bazzo.

Jordan Lyons of Burlington, Ont., registered 132 all-purpose yards with 77 on the ground, and brought down 58 in the air. Tyson Middlemost of Dundas, Ont., was the game’s top reciever posting in 94 yards on seven attempts.

For the Gryphons, Gabe Ferraro of Mississauga, Ont., knocked in a 37 and a 34-yard field goal, adding two singles in the game, while Theo Landers of Burnaby, Ont. punched in a one-yard run for Guelph’s only touchdown score of the game.

McMaster will travel to Ottawa next week to meet the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees on September 2, with kickoff at 1:00pm. The Gee-Gees lost their opening game 39-21 to the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks in Waterloo, Ont.

Box Score

 

Windsor (0-1) 37, Waterloo (1-0) 53

Source: Waterloo Warriors

If there were fears that the Waterloo Warriors’ high-powered offence might have been a one-year wonder, Tre Ford (Niagara Falls/) and Tyler Ternowski (Hamilton/) did a pretty decent job to alleviate them.

Ford threw six touchdown passes – including an OUA record-tying four to Ternowski – as the Warriors topped the Windsor Lancers 53-37 in their OUA regular season opener at Warrior Field on Sunday night.

“I think we jumped out to a good start,” said Waterloo head coach Chris Bertoia. “Tre was going through his read progressions really well, he was lights out. And Tyler Ternowski is a special athlete. I was very proud of the guys for the offensive effort.”

After platooning with Lucas McConnell (Waterford/) a season ago, Ford, the reigning OUA and U SPORTS rookie of the year, was electric in his first career start at quarterback: the second-year pivot finished 25-28, with 463 yards and 6 TDs, while adding 58 yards and a touchdown on five rushes. Ternowski hauled in 11 passes for 289 yards and four scores, joining ten other players atop the record books for most receiving touchdowns in a single game.

“It was a team effort, it always is,” said Ternowski. “We have weapons all across the board on offence, as well as our quarterback making plays with his feet and his arm. He’s phenomenal.”

Mitch Kernick (Elmira/) made his only catch of the night count, scoring on a 74-yarder in the second quarter, as the Warriors raced out to a 32-0 lead. Gordon Lam (Kitchener/) hauled in 7 balls for 57 yards and a touchdown as well.

Meanwhile, the Lancers clawed back into the game behind a pretty impressive quarterback-receiver duo of their own: pivot Sam Girard tossed for 478 yards and 5 TDs, while Alex Bornais grabbed 6 passes for 172 yards and a touchdown. Kaeden Walls had 5 receptions for 116 yards and a score, while Brandon Speller also added a receiving touchdown.

The majority of the opening 15 minutes was a feeling-out process, but the Warriors mounted a late drive and Ternowski scored an 8-yard touchdown on the last play of the first quarter. That seemed to ignite the Warriors, who exploded for points in each of their following five drives: First, Kernick hauled in a Ford bomb and beat a pursuant tackler to the end zone. Then, Ford scampered on a 20-yard designed QB run, before a turnover on downs set up a 26-yard field goal from Caleb Girard (Waterford/). And finally, Ternowski capped off two very different possessions: a two-play drive with an 83-yard catch and run, followed by a 7-play, 97-yard march that ended with a perfectly placed ball settling into Ternowski’s hands through the middle of the field.

The Lancers pushed back with a pair of TD drives of their own late in the quarter – first, an 84-yarder to Bornais, and then, a 31-yard highlight-reel catch from Walls – to narrow the gap to 39-14 at the half.

The momentum continued to tip Windsor’s way early in the third, as the Lancers drew to within 16 points. But Ford hit Ternowski for a 10-yard score and Lam for a 9-yard touchdown hookup on back-to-back possessions to re-establish the big lead. The Lancers showed more fight later in the fourth when Bornais scored on two straight drives – sandwiched around a successful onside kick recovery – to bring the deficit back to 16, but it’s the closest Windsor would get.

All told, the game featured 1120 total yards of offence, but the contest wasn’t without it’s impact defenders: OUA all-star Kurtis Gray (Waterloo/) had 9.5 tackles, as well as a sack that was called back due to offsetting penalties away from the play. And rookie linebacker Jack Hinsperger (Waterloo/) made his presence known in his first game, collecting 6 solo tackles and a sack.

“Defensively, we showed great resilience at the end of the game,” said Bertoia. “We had a couple big sacks, and some critical coverage plays when things truly mattered. It was very important for us to step up and close that game out.”

Meanwhile, Windsor’s Daniel Metcalfe led all players with 9 solo tackles, including two for a loss. Zack Taylor and Tayo Adeyeye each added a sack for the Lancers.

The Warriors will now turn their attention to their first road game of the young season, as they have a date with the Toronto Varsity Blues on Saturday, Sept 1. Kickoff is slated for 7pm from Varsity Stadium.

Box Score

 

Saturday, Aug. 25

Bishop’s (0-1) 22, Mount Allison (1-0) 36

Source: Mount Allison Football

The Mount Allison Mounties kicked off the 2018 AUS regular season with a 36-22 win over the visiting Bishop’s Gaiters at Alumni Field on Saturday afternoon.

After a tentative start to the game that saw the visiting Gaiters leading 2-0 late into the first half, the Mounties delighted the energetic hometown crowd with the game’s first touchdown just before half time. Starting from their own 20 yard line, the Mounties took 5 minutes to drive the field as senior quarterback Troy Downton marched his offense down the field. With 8 seconds remaining in the first half Downton found senior Chris Reid who made a dramatic one handed catch before scampering to the end zone from 15 yards out to give the Mounties a 7-2 lead.

Bishop’s responded quickly in the 3rd quarter, drive 72 yards for their first touchdown of the day. The Gaiters used a little trickery as Stephen Casey hit Roberto Jimenez for a 32 yard strike. The Gaiters missed on the 2-point covert but took the lead 8-7.

The hometown Mounties would retake the lead before the end of the 3rd quarter, as Reid found the end zone for the 2nd time. After the Mounties converted on a fake punt where punter Graham Kelly hit Nate Rostek for a 9 yard completion, the Mounties kept moving with a 32 yard completion from Downton to Josh Hicks at the Bishop’s 1 yard line. From there Reid capped off the drive with a 1 yard score to give the Mounties a 14-8 lead.

On the 2nd play of the 4th quarter receiver Malik Richards took a reverse 30 yards to find the end zone and to extend the Mounties lead. After freshman kicker James Parker converted the extra point and then kicked the ensuing kickoff through the end zone, the Mounties found themselves in front 22-8.

Bishop’s responded quickly, as they marched 75 yards on their next possession. The Gaiters found the end zone when Mathieu Demers hit Dashaun Smelie from 17 yards out to bring the score to 22-15.

But the visiting Gaiters would get no closer. With 5 minutes remaining in the game Downton threw his 2nd touchdown pass of the day when he hooked up with Malik Richards for a 23 yard score. Mounties defensive back Skylar LeBlanc then extended the Mounties lead when he ran back a 52 yard interception for another Mounties touchdown.

With the score 36-15, Demers found Nathan Walker from 35 yards out on the 2nd last play of the game to put another touchdown on the board for Bishop’s but it wasn’t enough as the game ended 36-22.

Subway AUS Player of the Game Chris Reid who scored the game’s first two touchdowns led the Mounties offensively. With 109 rushing yards on the day, Reid now passes 2,500 yards for his career and moves into 8th place on the AUS career rush yards leaders list.

Mounties quarterback Troy Downton was 17 for 25 for 175 yards with 2 touchdowns and 1 interception. Malik Richards had 6 catches for 78 yards and another 39 yards on the ground. Richards also had 2 touchdowns. On defense, Skylar Leblanc had the interception touchdown return to go along with 4.5 tackles. Junior Dylan Cormier had 6 tackles, 1.5 sacks and 2.5 tackles for loss while AUS All-Star Damian Halstead had 5 tackles, 1 sack and 2 tackles for loss.

For the Gaiters quarterback Mathieu Demers was 23-33 for 267 yards with 2 touchdowns and one interception. Receiver Nathan Walker led the way with 100 yards on 6 catches and 1 touchdown for Bishop’s.

The Mounties (1-0) will now enjoy a bye week before returning to action when they host the Saint Mary’s Huskies on Saturday, September 8th at Alumni Field. Bishop’s will host Saint Mary’s this coming Saturday, September 1st.

Box Score

 

Friday, Aug. 24

StFX (0-1) 13, Saint Mary’s (1-0) 20

Source: Saint Mary’s Huskies

Halifax, NS – The Saint Mary’s Huskies picked up the first victory of the AUS football season with a 20-13 win over the StFX X-Men Friday night at Huskies Stadium on a balmy summer evening in front of over 1300 fans.

The turning point in the victory came late in the fourth quarter when Huskies quarterback Kaleb Scott (Mount Albert, ON) punched in a one-yard touchdown to give them a 17-13 edge. The play came after a Brian Hope (Port Coquitlan, BC) field goal was negated due to a StFX illegal substitution call. Had the field goal stood the game would have been knotted at 13-13.

With the momentum, the Huskies added a late field goal for the 20-13 win.

Scott was 18 for 28 with 208 total offensive yards, despite throwing three interceptions in the game.

Freshman running back Jonathan Cimankinda (Ottawa, ON), the Subway Player of the Game, picked up 105 rushing yards on 21 carries for Saint Mary’s.

The home team opened the scoring on their first drive of the game off a 36-yard field goal from Brian Hope (Port Coquitlan, BC) in what was the only scoring in the first quarter. Scott connected with Cimankinda on several carries to move the ball up field.

The X-Men had a chance to even the score early in the second quarter but Kieran Burnham’s (Cambridge, ON) 42-yard field goal attempt went wide.

Hope added a second field goal with just over four minutes left in the opening half, this time from 33 yards out.

The X-Men got on the board at 13:14 of the second quarter to cut the SMU lead to 6-3 when Burnham connected from 15 yards out. StFX quarterback Bailey Wasdal (Calgary, AB) found receiver Greg McDonald (Halifax, NS) for a 31-yard pass to gain field position.

The first half scoring rounded out with a Huskies rouge off a missed 26-yard field goal attempt from Hope with under a minute to play as SMU took a 7-3 lead into the locker room at halftime.

Wasdal found McDonald again in the third quarter for a 29-yard catch that set the X-Men up for 1stand goal from the one-yard line. Running back Jordan Socholotiuk (Waterford, ON) punched it in for StFX’s first major score of the season. An Ethan Mastin (Chilliwack, BC) interception kicked off the drive for the X-Men.

The Huskies evened the score with just over a minute left in the third quarter as Hope booted his third field goal of the night, a 25 yarder that tied the game at 10-10.

StFX regained the lead three minutes into the fourth quarter on a 35-yard Burnham field goal.

The Scott touchdown with 6:42 left on the clock was the Huskies only one of the game. He scored after the X-Men strung together three consecutive penalties that set up Saint Mary’s at 1stand goal.

Hope’s fourth field goal of the game gave the Huskies the 20-13 edge with 1:31 left in the game. This one came from 10 yards out after a long Huskies possession wasted a lot of time off the game clock.

Saint Mary’s had 383 total offensive yards to the X-Men’s 213. Penalties also cost the X-Men in the game as they had 15 for 110 penalized yards to the Huskies 9 for 60.

Rick LeMoignan (Edmonton, AB) had 5 catches for 68 yards for the Huskies, while Liam O’Brien (Parksville, BC) was 5 for 68.

For the X-Men, Greg McDonald (4-91) and Kaion Julien-Grant (4-45) were the favorite targets for Wasdal who ended up going 15 for 23 for 181 total yards in his first AUS regular season game. Socholotiuk was held to 39 yards on the ground on 16 carries.

On the defensive side of the ball, Gordon Whyte (Toronto, ON) led all X-Men with 9.5 tackles, while defensive back Cole Virtanen (Nanaimo, BC) had two interceptions in the game.

Brad Herbst (Ottawa, ON) led the Huskies defense with 5.5 tackles as the SMU defense sacked Wasdal three times in the game for a total loss of 25 yards.

Both teams are back in action next weekend. The Huskies travel to Lennoxville, QC to face Bishops on Saturday, while the X-Men will host Acadia on Friday night in their home opener.

Box Score

 

McGill (0-1) 0, Montreal (1-0) 33

With files from: Montreal Carabins

Montreal, August 24, 2018 – Friday night at the CEPSUM Stadium of the University of Montreal, the Carabins football team of the University of Montreal won the day in great style, triumphing through a laundering 33-0 against the McGill Redmen. The Blues’ defense got up at the first whistle of the game and set the pace by preventing opponents from initiating any major offensive move, who would have only 69 yards total during the game.

“It’s good to win the opening game, that’s for sure,” said Carabins head coach Danny Maciocia. The defense plays good football early in the season. It was very inspiring to see them go tonight, it seemed like they had a synchronism that we can see mid-season. ”

Defensive back Marc-Antoine Dequoy (Computing) was the first to shine. Well positioned in the tertiary, the third-year player intercepted quarterback Jacob Samuels then brought the ball 70 yards farther into the end zone. After seeing goaltender Louis-Philippe Simoneau (Occupational Health and Safety) score a long 48-yard pitch at the very end of the first quarter, the Montreal defense again created spikes a few minutes later by collecting a ball left free in the opposing goal zone, the work of Jean-Philippe Lévesque (Physical Education and Health).

Obviously still hungry, the defense has never lifted the foot of the accelerator. Twice in the first 30 minutes of play, the Redmen found themselves handcuffed deep in their area so they were forced to allocate the safety touch. After two quarters of play, the Carabins held the lead by 21 points.

After the break, quarterback Gabriel Archambault (Medicine), replacing Dimitri Morand (Communication), led his team close to the opposing zone. Simoneau came back with his second placement of the game, this time 27 yards. The ball changed direction several times but no team managed to add a single point on the board until the fourth quarter.

With a little less than nine minutes remaining in the game, quarterback Archambault made the short pass-trap for Asnnel Robo (Supply Chain Optimization, HEC Montreal). The latter, having quickly accelerated, broke away from the opposing squad and concluded with a 69-yard touchdown. The Redmen finally failed to score a point on the board.

Robo distinguished himself for the Carabins by accumulating 147 total yards including 105 by air. Louis-Mathieu Normandin (CPA Accountancy, HEC Montréal) also managed to make his mark by catching six passes for 62 yards.

“We had a bit of trouble figuring out how to add points to the board,” Robo said after the game. We worked very hard from start to finish so I was happy to offer the spark we missed with this long race. It gave us a lot of momentum. ”

On the defensive, Redha Kramdi (Arts and Sciences) was an imposing figure in the Montreal tertiary sector thanks to 4.5 tackles. Defensive lineman Benoit Marion (Industrial Relations) also kicked off his 2018 campaign by joining the opposing quarter twice behind the line of scrimmage.

“As we always say, when everyone does their job, it’s going to be good for us,” said Marc-Antoine Dequoy, author of the first points of the duel. I was lucky to find myself in the right place to intercept this pass. We performed very well tonight at the defensive level and it seemed throughout the match. ”

Separating the game, Morand and Archambault finished 13 and eight assists for 103 and 142 yards respectively. On the McGill side, Jacob Samuels ended the match with five offerings completed in 11 attempts for a total of 29 yards. The Montreal offensive finally collected 342 yards in the opening game.

“With this victory, we can now attack our week off in the right way,” said Maciocia. The reality is that we had a short training camp, so this break will allow us to work on our shortcomings and continue to grow. ”

The Carabins will have the chance to play again in front of their fans in two weeks while Laval’s Rouge et Or will be in town for the win, who won their first 14-1 game against Sherbrooke’s Vert et Or. The duel of titans will be held on Saturday, September 8 at 2pm at CEPSUM.

Box Score

 

Laval (1-0) 14, Sherbrooke (0-1) 1

With files from: Sherbrooke Vert et Or

The first victory in 16 years of the Vert & Or against the footballers of Laval University will have to wait, even if the men of Mathieu Lecompte can retain many positive points of the first game of their season 2018 lost to the account of 14-1, in front of 6149 spectators, Friday night at the outdoor stadium of the Université de Sherbrooke.

In a rhythmless match, which saw both teams score no points in the last two quarters of play, the Vert & Or had a slight advantage over their opponent in all offensive stats, as well as the possession time of the ball. A few scoring chances, including two attempts to score, ultimately made the difference against a rival who did not score any offensive shots. This is the best result against the Quebec players since the match of October 29, 2016 which ended with the same score.

In the first quarter, the Vert & Or had demonstrated beautiful things and dominated even the opponent, obtaining more than twice the first game and a hundred yards of profit, against a meager harvest of first two tries and less than 60 yards for the Rouge et Or. It was 2-1 for the visitors on the scoreboard after 15 minutes of play.

Two sequences, however, turned the wind in the middle of the second quarter, while a hard tack on the quarterback starting from the Vert & Or Xavier Owens, who has moved away from the action for the rest of the match, as well as a 72-yard kick return from the opponent converted to major cut the legs of UdeS colors. The Rouge et Or could then retreat to the locker room with a 14-1 advantage at half-time, far from suspecting that this would be the final score.

In turn to his teammate Owens, Vert & Or rookie rookie Joe Hudon overcame his nerves and was able to continue the work started in attack. The combined efforts of the two quarterbacks of the UdeS allowed the Vert & Or to amass 235 yards and make 17 first games.

Gabriel Polan led the Vert & Or ground game with 69 yards on 13 carries, while his partner in the backcourt Samuel Gareau was 47 yards in 8 races.

On the defensive, first-year player Alexandre Gravel-Vermet was solid with 4.5 tackles, including four solo, a quarterback, two tackles for losses, a forced fumble and a flip pass. A whole evening for his baptism of university football! Veteran linebacker Charles Brousseau added 6.5 tackles; a summit for his team.

The only major of the match was the work of Vincent Breton-Robert. The Rouge et Or added two safety touchdowns and one placement from David Côté (40 yards) to complete his points total, while Vert & Or were content with a single on their first offensive sequence.

The next two games for Mathieu Lecompte’s men will take place outside Sherbrooke, including Saturday, September 1st at 2 pm at Percival Molson Stadium, against the McGill Redmen.

Box Score

 

 

Source: Box Scores, U Sports

 

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