February 14, 2008
OUA RELEASES 2008 FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
HAMILTON, Ont. - Ontario University Athletics (OUA) is pleased to announce the football schedule for this upcoming fall season. With the excitement of last year, which included climactic record breakings, teams battling for playoff positioning and the crowning of a new OUA champion, the 2008 season should only build on the accomplishments of last season. As teams begin to prepare for the 101st anniversary of the Yates Cup season, the conference can be proud of the momentum it has made following a successful 2007 campaign, capped off with the hosting of the CIS Desjardins Vanier Cup.
Week one action gets underway Monday September 1, as the defending Yates Cup champions, Western will open the season at home hosting the Ottawa Gee-Gees in a rematch of the 2007 OUA semifinal under the lights at 7 pm. The Laurier Golden Hawks will look to avenge their premature knock out of the playoffs last year in week one as they host the Guelph Gryphons, who defeated the Golden Hawks 38-31 in last year's semifinal. The McMaster Marauders will travel down the 401 to Kingston to take on the Queen's Golden Gaels, and look to come up on the winning end in 2008, after a 24-20 defeat at the hands of the Gaels in week three of 2007.
The Windsor Lancers will hope that with the return of a healthy Daryl Stephenson (London, ON) will help lead them back into the playoffs this season as they host the Toronto Varsity Blues in week two. Despite playing injured for most of the season and only playing in six games, the 2006 Hec Crighton award winner still finished fifth in OUA rushing, tallying 764 yards on 125 attempts for four touchdowns on the season. McMaster for the second week will be on the road as they travel to Waterloo to take on the Warriors, and York will travel to Ottawa to face the Gee-Gees. Guelph will see the return of the powerhouse duo of Nick Fitzgibbon (Puslinch, ON) and Justin Dunk (Guelph, ON) as they open at home against the Golden Gaels. Fitzgibbon finished his 2008 campaign fourth in OUA rushing with 794 yards on 129 attempts and five touchdowns, while Dunk finished his season with 1784 passing yards with 133 completions and 17 touchdowns. The Mustangs who did not play Laurier at all in 2007, will travel to University Stadium this season to take on the Golden Hawks.
September 13th the McMaster Maruaders will christen their new stadium under the lights as they host the perennial powerhouse Ottawa Gee-Gees. The battle of Toronto is also a highlight in week three which will see the York Lions travel to Varsity Centre and take on the Blues. The Blues narrowly lost to the Lions in the dying seconds of the game in 2007, 21-20, and will strive to come out on the winning end this season. The Blues will look to the defense of Derek Batchelor (Mississauga, ON) who was a defensive force in the OUA last year where he accumulated 49 solo tackles, 11 assisted tackles and four interceptions for the Blues. Other action will see the Gryphons traveling to Windsor to take on the Lancers, Waterloo at Western and Laurier traveling to Kingston to take on the Golden Gaels.
Week four will see a rematch of last year's quarter-final match up between the McMaster Marauders and Guelph Gryphons, which saw the Gryphons steal a win 25-21. Laurier will play host to the Lancers in their homecoming, and Waterloo will see their second week on the road as they take on the Gee-Gees in Ottawa.
Friday September 26 sees the first Friday night match up of the season, which features the York Lions as they take on the McMaster Marauders under the lights at 7:00 pm. In a long standing tradition the Western Mustangs return to the Golden Gaels homecoming game. The Gaels will be looking for retribution after the Mustangs took a 27-19 victory in last year's second quarter-final match up. The battle of Waterloo will also take centre stage in week five as the Laurier Golden Hawks travel down the road to take on the Warriors in their homecoming game at 1:00 pm.
The premier match-up of week six will see Windsor traveling to Western for the second consecutive year to face the Western Mustangs at their homecoming. In a rematch of the 2006 Yates Cup Championship the Golden Hawks will travel to Ottawa, and Guelph will make the short drive to Waterloo to face the Warriors.
Thanksgiving weekend will see a rare Thursday night game as the Mustangs travel to Varsity Centre and take on the Blues at 7:00 pm. The number one offense of 2007 in the Ottawa Gee-gees will travel to the Golden Gaels. Ottawa finished last season averaging 460 yards per game. Thanksgiving weekend will also see Windsor hosting a Friday night battle against the Waterloo Warriors, and the Marauders will take on the Golden Hawks Saturday afternoon.
All five, week eight match-ups on October 18 could have potential playoff implications as teams will look to finish strong. In a rematch of the 2007 100th Yates Cup Championship the Guelph Gryphons will travel to London to take on the Mustangs, and hope to strike back against Western as they took the championships game 34-21. Windsor will travel to Hamilton to take on the Marauders at their home coming, and Queen's will travel to Waterloo to face the Warriors.
The two OUA quarter-finals are slated for Saturday, October 25, while the two semi-finals take place Saturday, November 1. The OUA season comes to a close when the two playoff survivors compete to have their names etched into the Yates Cup. The 101st edition of the provincial championship is set for Saturday, November 8, with the winner going on to host the AUS champion in the Mitchell Bowl one week later. The season will come to a close as the OUA hosts the CIS Desjardins Vanier Cup on November 22, at Ivor Wynne Stadium in Hamilton.
2008 OUA FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
WEEK 1
Sept 1 - Windsor @ York -1:00 pm
Sept 1 - McMaster @ Queen's - 1:00 pm
Sept 1 - Ottawa @ Western - 7:00 pm
Sept 1 - Guelph @ Laurier - 7:00 pm
Sept 1 - Waterloo @ Toronto 7:00 pm
WEEK 2
Sept 6 - York @ Ottawa - 1:00 pm
Sept 6 - Queen's @ Guelph - 1:00 pm
Sept 6 - Toronto @ Windsor - 1:00 pm
Sept 6 - McMaster @ Waterloo - 1:00 pm
Sept 6 - Western @ Laurier - 7:00 pm
WEEK 3
Sept 13 - York @ Toronto - 1:00 pm
Sept 13 - Waterloo @ Western - 1:00 pm
Sept 13 - Laurier @ Queen's - 1:00 pm
Sept 13 - Ottawa @ McMaster - 7:00 pm
Sept 13 - Guelph @ Windsor - 7:00 pm
WEEK 4
Sept 20 - Windsor @ Laurier - 1:00 pm
Sept 20 - Waterloo @ Ottawa - 1:00 pm
Sept 20 - Queen's @ Toronto - 1:00 pm
Sept 20 - Western @ York - 1:00 pm
Sept 20 - McMaster @ Guelph - 1:00 pm
WEEK 5
Sept 26 - York @ McMaster - 7:00 pm
Sept 27 - Ottawa @ Windsor - 1:00 pm
Sept 27 - Toronto @ Guelph - 1:00 pm
Sept 27 - Western @ Queen's - 1:00 pm
Sept 27 - Laurier @ Waterloo - 1:00 pm
WEEK 6
Oct 3 - Toronto @ McMaster - 7:00 pm
Oct 4 - Laurier @ Ottawa - 1:00 pm
Oct 4 - Guelph @ Waterloo - 1:00 pm
Oct 4 - Queen's @ York - 1:00 pm
Oct 4 - Windsor @ Western - 2:00 pm
WEEK 7
Oct 9 - Western @ Toronto - 7:00 pm
Oct 10 - Waterloo @ Windsor - 7:00 pm
Oct 11 - McMaster @ Laurier 1:00 pm
Oct 11 - York @ Guelph 1:00 pm
Oct 11 - Ottawa @ Queen's 1:00 pm
WEEK 8
Oct 18 - Windsor @ McMaster - 1:00 pm
Oct 18 - Laurier @ York - 1:00 pm
Oct 18 - Guelph @ Western 1:00 pm
Oct 18 - Toronto @ Ottawa 1:00 pm
Oct 18 - Queen's @ Waterloo 1:00 pm
OUA QUARTER-FINALS
Oct 25 - TBA vs TBA
Oct 25 - TBA vs TBA
OUA SEMIFINALS
Nov 1 - TBA vs TBA
Nov 1 - TBA vs TBA
101st YATES CUP - Presented by Pioneer Petroleums
Nov 8 - TBA vs TBA
CIS MITCHELL BOWL
Nov 15 - AUS Champion @ OUA Champion
CIS DESJARDINS VANIER CUP
Nov 22 - TBA vs TBA @ Ivor Wynne Stadium, Hamilton
- OUA -
Michelle Church
Communications & Media Relations Coordinator
Ontario University Athletics
Tel: (905) 540-5156
Fax: (905) 574-2840
E-mail: michelle.church@oua.ca
Web: www.oua.ca
Week one action gets underway Monday September 1, as the defending Yates Cup champions, Western will open the season at home hosting the Ottawa Gee-Gees in a rematch of the 2007 OUA semifinal under the lights at 7 pm. The Laurier Golden Hawks will look to avenge their premature knock out of the playoffs last year in week one as they host the Guelph Gryphons, who defeated the Golden Hawks 38-31 in last year's semifinal. The McMaster Marauders will travel down the 401 to Kingston to take on the Queen's Golden Gaels, and look to come up on the winning end in 2008, after a 24-20 defeat at the hands of the Gaels in week three of 2007.
The Windsor Lancers will hope that with the return of a healthy Daryl Stephenson (London, ON) will help lead them back into the playoffs this season as they host the Toronto Varsity Blues in week two. Despite playing injured for most of the season and only playing in six games, the 2006 Hec Crighton award winner still finished fifth in OUA rushing, tallying 764 yards on 125 attempts for four touchdowns on the season. McMaster for the second week will be on the road as they travel to Waterloo to take on the Warriors, and York will travel to Ottawa to face the Gee-Gees. Guelph will see the return of the powerhouse duo of Nick Fitzgibbon (Puslinch, ON) and Justin Dunk (Guelph, ON) as they open at home against the Golden Gaels. Fitzgibbon finished his 2008 campaign fourth in OUA rushing with 794 yards on 129 attempts and five touchdowns, while Dunk finished his season with 1784 passing yards with 133 completions and 17 touchdowns. The Mustangs who did not play Laurier at all in 2007, will travel to University Stadium this season to take on the Golden Hawks.
September 13th the McMaster Maruaders will christen their new stadium under the lights as they host the perennial powerhouse Ottawa Gee-Gees. The battle of Toronto is also a highlight in week three which will see the York Lions travel to Varsity Centre and take on the Blues. The Blues narrowly lost to the Lions in the dying seconds of the game in 2007, 21-20, and will strive to come out on the winning end this season. The Blues will look to the defense of Derek Batchelor (Mississauga, ON) who was a defensive force in the OUA last year where he accumulated 49 solo tackles, 11 assisted tackles and four interceptions for the Blues. Other action will see the Gryphons traveling to Windsor to take on the Lancers, Waterloo at Western and Laurier traveling to Kingston to take on the Golden Gaels.
Week four will see a rematch of last year's quarter-final match up between the McMaster Marauders and Guelph Gryphons, which saw the Gryphons steal a win 25-21. Laurier will play host to the Lancers in their homecoming, and Waterloo will see their second week on the road as they take on the Gee-Gees in Ottawa.
Friday September 26 sees the first Friday night match up of the season, which features the York Lions as they take on the McMaster Marauders under the lights at 7:00 pm. In a long standing tradition the Western Mustangs return to the Golden Gaels homecoming game. The Gaels will be looking for retribution after the Mustangs took a 27-19 victory in last year's second quarter-final match up. The battle of Waterloo will also take centre stage in week five as the Laurier Golden Hawks travel down the road to take on the Warriors in their homecoming game at 1:00 pm.
The premier match-up of week six will see Windsor traveling to Western for the second consecutive year to face the Western Mustangs at their homecoming. In a rematch of the 2006 Yates Cup Championship the Golden Hawks will travel to Ottawa, and Guelph will make the short drive to Waterloo to face the Warriors.
Thanksgiving weekend will see a rare Thursday night game as the Mustangs travel to Varsity Centre and take on the Blues at 7:00 pm. The number one offense of 2007 in the Ottawa Gee-gees will travel to the Golden Gaels. Ottawa finished last season averaging 460 yards per game. Thanksgiving weekend will also see Windsor hosting a Friday night battle against the Waterloo Warriors, and the Marauders will take on the Golden Hawks Saturday afternoon.
All five, week eight match-ups on October 18 could have potential playoff implications as teams will look to finish strong. In a rematch of the 2007 100th Yates Cup Championship the Guelph Gryphons will travel to London to take on the Mustangs, and hope to strike back against Western as they took the championships game 34-21. Windsor will travel to Hamilton to take on the Marauders at their home coming, and Queen's will travel to Waterloo to face the Warriors.
The two OUA quarter-finals are slated for Saturday, October 25, while the two semi-finals take place Saturday, November 1. The OUA season comes to a close when the two playoff survivors compete to have their names etched into the Yates Cup. The 101st edition of the provincial championship is set for Saturday, November 8, with the winner going on to host the AUS champion in the Mitchell Bowl one week later. The season will come to a close as the OUA hosts the CIS Desjardins Vanier Cup on November 22, at Ivor Wynne Stadium in Hamilton.
2008 OUA FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
WEEK 1
Sept 1 - Windsor @ York -1:00 pm
Sept 1 - McMaster @ Queen's - 1:00 pm
Sept 1 - Ottawa @ Western - 7:00 pm
Sept 1 - Guelph @ Laurier - 7:00 pm
Sept 1 - Waterloo @ Toronto 7:00 pm
WEEK 2
Sept 6 - York @ Ottawa - 1:00 pm
Sept 6 - Queen's @ Guelph - 1:00 pm
Sept 6 - Toronto @ Windsor - 1:00 pm
Sept 6 - McMaster @ Waterloo - 1:00 pm
Sept 6 - Western @ Laurier - 7:00 pm
WEEK 3
Sept 13 - York @ Toronto - 1:00 pm
Sept 13 - Waterloo @ Western - 1:00 pm
Sept 13 - Laurier @ Queen's - 1:00 pm
Sept 13 - Ottawa @ McMaster - 7:00 pm
Sept 13 - Guelph @ Windsor - 7:00 pm
WEEK 4
Sept 20 - Windsor @ Laurier - 1:00 pm
Sept 20 - Waterloo @ Ottawa - 1:00 pm
Sept 20 - Queen's @ Toronto - 1:00 pm
Sept 20 - Western @ York - 1:00 pm
Sept 20 - McMaster @ Guelph - 1:00 pm
WEEK 5
Sept 26 - York @ McMaster - 7:00 pm
Sept 27 - Ottawa @ Windsor - 1:00 pm
Sept 27 - Toronto @ Guelph - 1:00 pm
Sept 27 - Western @ Queen's - 1:00 pm
Sept 27 - Laurier @ Waterloo - 1:00 pm
WEEK 6
Oct 3 - Toronto @ McMaster - 7:00 pm
Oct 4 - Laurier @ Ottawa - 1:00 pm
Oct 4 - Guelph @ Waterloo - 1:00 pm
Oct 4 - Queen's @ York - 1:00 pm
Oct 4 - Windsor @ Western - 2:00 pm
WEEK 7
Oct 9 - Western @ Toronto - 7:00 pm
Oct 10 - Waterloo @ Windsor - 7:00 pm
Oct 11 - McMaster @ Laurier 1:00 pm
Oct 11 - York @ Guelph 1:00 pm
Oct 11 - Ottawa @ Queen's 1:00 pm
WEEK 8
Oct 18 - Windsor @ McMaster - 1:00 pm
Oct 18 - Laurier @ York - 1:00 pm
Oct 18 - Guelph @ Western 1:00 pm
Oct 18 - Toronto @ Ottawa 1:00 pm
Oct 18 - Queen's @ Waterloo 1:00 pm
OUA QUARTER-FINALS
Oct 25 - TBA vs TBA
Oct 25 - TBA vs TBA
OUA SEMIFINALS
Nov 1 - TBA vs TBA
Nov 1 - TBA vs TBA
101st YATES CUP - Presented by Pioneer Petroleums
Nov 8 - TBA vs TBA
CIS MITCHELL BOWL
Nov 15 - AUS Champion @ OUA Champion
CIS DESJARDINS VANIER CUP
Nov 22 - TBA vs TBA @ Ivor Wynne Stadium, Hamilton
- OUA -
Michelle Church
Communications & Media Relations Coordinator
Ontario University Athletics
Tel: (905) 540-5156
Fax: (905) 574-2840
E-mail: michelle.church@oua.ca
Web: www.oua.ca
