September 28, 2005
YORK AND WESTERN MEET ON UNIVERSITY RUSH ON THE SCORE
LONDON – One month into the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) football season, the York University Lions have already experienced significant highs and lows. The resilient Lions travel to London to face the #6 nationally-ranked University of Western Ontario Mustangs during homecoming weekend on Saturday, October 1 in week three of The Score Television Network’s University Rush schedule, presented by RCA. (Broadcast time is 2:00 pm.)
York has won three of its first four games for the first time since the 1997 season, despite not having the services of 1st Team CIS all-Canadian running back Andre Durie (Mississauga, ON) for much of 2005. Durie was second in the nation in rushing last year with 1,347 yards and he went right back to work in York’s 20-16 season-opening win over Waterloo, scampering for 184 yards. But Durie tore both his ACL and MCL in his left leg the following week and was lost for the season, leaving head coach Tom Gretes without his most valuable offensive weapon.
“A lot of our offence was based on Andre,” says Gretes. “We’ve challenged guys to pick up the slack. We knew we had some good players here and they’ve gotten the opportunity to show that.”
After losing 40-7 against Queen’s in the game that Durie was injured, York has rebounded with two wins, the first an emotional 40-33 overtime victory over the Toronto Varsity Blues in the annual Red and Blue Bowl and the second, a 22-15 decision over Guelph. The noticeable hole on offence has been plugged through the collective efforts of the team, including quarterback Bart Zemanek (Toronto, ON), who’s thrown for 792 yards and seven touchdown passes, four of which have gone to standout fourth-year receiver Ricardo Hudson Toronto, ON). Bryan Wheatle (Ajax, ON) has stepped into the feature running back role and has rushed for over five yards per carry, racking up 217 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Gretes’ defence has also produced, especially from the defensive end position with Sean Simms (Toronto, ON), second in Canadian Interuniversity Sport with four sacks and Ricky Foley (Courtice, ON), tied for sixth in the country with 25 total tackles, leading the way.
The match-up with Western is the first of four consecutive tough games on the schedule, as Windsor, #3 ranked Laurier and Ottawa all follow. Gretes had hoped his team could go 4-0 before the difficult stretch but the focus now is to try and deny the powerful Mustangs a win in their homecoming game.
“They’re dangerous on both sides,” says Gretes. “When they start running, it sets up their passing game. The big thing for us is holding the ball offensively. That’s the goal, to control the ball.”
Finding a crack in the Mustangs (4-0) has proved impossible for opponents so far, as Western leads the nation in offense with 611 yards per game and also tops the OUA in team defence (fourth in the CIS), allowing just over 289 yards per game. Head Coach Larry Haylor told media this week that the revamped defensive unit is the best he’s had since the mid 1990s. Offensively, the team didn’t seem to miss a beat last weekend when quarterback Mark Howard (London, ON) replaced injured starter Michael Faulds (Rockwood, ON) and threw for 299 yards and two touchdowns in a 64-4 route of Waterloo. Faulds hurt his hand in week two versus McMaster.
Western had four scores on the ground last Saturday, including two by Randy McCauley (London, ON), who leads the OUA in rushing touchdowns with seven. Jay Akindolire (London, ON) added another 121 rushing yards, with a touchdown. The deep unit runs behind one of the best offensive lines in the nation. All-Canadian Andy Fantuz (Chatham, ON) grabbed the 35th touchdown of his prolific career in that game, the most by any receiver in CIS history.
The Score Television Network Ltd. (“The Score”) is a national specialty television service which provides sports news, information, highlights and live event programming, available across Canada in over 5.5 million homes. The Score’s website www.thescore.ca provides up-to-the-minute sports news and information, as well as interactive contests and polls. The Score is a wholly owned subsidiary of Score Media Inc.
- O U A -
Enquires can be addressed to:
David DiCenzo
Communications and Media Relations Coordinator
Ontario University Athletics
Phone: 905-540-5156
Fax: 905-540-5149
Email: david.dicenzo@oua.ca
Web: www.oua.ca
(Photo: York's Sean Simms and Andrew Olechna converge on Guelph quarterback Justin Dunk. Photo taken by Andrew Craig.)
York has won three of its first four games for the first time since the 1997 season, despite not having the services of 1st Team CIS all-Canadian running back Andre Durie (Mississauga, ON) for much of 2005. Durie was second in the nation in rushing last year with 1,347 yards and he went right back to work in York’s 20-16 season-opening win over Waterloo, scampering for 184 yards. But Durie tore both his ACL and MCL in his left leg the following week and was lost for the season, leaving head coach Tom Gretes without his most valuable offensive weapon.
“A lot of our offence was based on Andre,” says Gretes. “We’ve challenged guys to pick up the slack. We knew we had some good players here and they’ve gotten the opportunity to show that.”
After losing 40-7 against Queen’s in the game that Durie was injured, York has rebounded with two wins, the first an emotional 40-33 overtime victory over the Toronto Varsity Blues in the annual Red and Blue Bowl and the second, a 22-15 decision over Guelph. The noticeable hole on offence has been plugged through the collective efforts of the team, including quarterback Bart Zemanek (Toronto, ON), who’s thrown for 792 yards and seven touchdown passes, four of which have gone to standout fourth-year receiver Ricardo Hudson Toronto, ON). Bryan Wheatle (Ajax, ON) has stepped into the feature running back role and has rushed for over five yards per carry, racking up 217 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Gretes’ defence has also produced, especially from the defensive end position with Sean Simms (Toronto, ON), second in Canadian Interuniversity Sport with four sacks and Ricky Foley (Courtice, ON), tied for sixth in the country with 25 total tackles, leading the way.
The match-up with Western is the first of four consecutive tough games on the schedule, as Windsor, #3 ranked Laurier and Ottawa all follow. Gretes had hoped his team could go 4-0 before the difficult stretch but the focus now is to try and deny the powerful Mustangs a win in their homecoming game.
“They’re dangerous on both sides,” says Gretes. “When they start running, it sets up their passing game. The big thing for us is holding the ball offensively. That’s the goal, to control the ball.”
Finding a crack in the Mustangs (4-0) has proved impossible for opponents so far, as Western leads the nation in offense with 611 yards per game and also tops the OUA in team defence (fourth in the CIS), allowing just over 289 yards per game. Head Coach Larry Haylor told media this week that the revamped defensive unit is the best he’s had since the mid 1990s. Offensively, the team didn’t seem to miss a beat last weekend when quarterback Mark Howard (London, ON) replaced injured starter Michael Faulds (Rockwood, ON) and threw for 299 yards and two touchdowns in a 64-4 route of Waterloo. Faulds hurt his hand in week two versus McMaster.
Western had four scores on the ground last Saturday, including two by Randy McCauley (London, ON), who leads the OUA in rushing touchdowns with seven. Jay Akindolire (London, ON) added another 121 rushing yards, with a touchdown. The deep unit runs behind one of the best offensive lines in the nation. All-Canadian Andy Fantuz (Chatham, ON) grabbed the 35th touchdown of his prolific career in that game, the most by any receiver in CIS history.
The Score Television Network Ltd. (“The Score”) is a national specialty television service which provides sports news, information, highlights and live event programming, available across Canada in over 5.5 million homes. The Score’s website www.thescore.ca provides up-to-the-minute sports news and information, as well as interactive contests and polls. The Score is a wholly owned subsidiary of Score Media Inc.
- O U A -
Enquires can be addressed to:
David DiCenzo
Communications and Media Relations Coordinator
Ontario University Athletics
Phone: 905-540-5156
Fax: 905-540-5149
Email: david.dicenzo@oua.ca
Web: www.oua.ca
(Photo: York's Sean Simms and Andrew Olechna converge on Guelph quarterback Justin Dunk. Photo taken by Andrew Craig.)
