September 1, 2008
OUA FOOTBALL ROUNDUP
LONDON, Ont. - One part resilience. Add a never-give-up attitude. And you have the recipe for a 22-point fourth quarter with three touchdowns in just over four minutes.
It's what the Western Mustangs (1-0) cooked up in a thrilling comeback as the Mustangs defeated the Ottawa Gee-Gees 35-31 at TD Waterhouse Stadium on Sept. 1 in front of 10,206 fans.
Ryan Tremblay (pictured) from London, Ont. ran 19 times for 136 yards and one touchdown - most coming in relief of starting running back Ben Roberts who tweaked his knee early in the second quarter. He also added 24 yards in kickoff returns on two attempts.
Roberts, who looked good when he was carrying, added 30 yards. Michael Faulds (Eden Mills, Ont.) ran 11 times for 54 yards and a touchdown and was 16 of 25 for 170 yards and one touchdown, a 46-yard bomb to Jesse Bellamy.
Bellamy (Guelph, Ont.) caught three passes for 66 yards and the touchdown.
Gee-Gees (0-1) receivers Justin Wood-Roy (Morin-Heights, Que.), with three catches for 122 yards and two touchdowns, and Acadia transfer Ivan Birungi (Pickering, Ont.) were major factors in Ottawa registering 628 yards of total offence. Both starting quarterback Brad Sinopoli (Peterborough, Ont.) and Joshua Sacobie (Fredericton, N.B.) were effective, combining for 458
yards in the air.
But over 100 yards in Gee-Gees penalties and some key mistakes - Ottawa committed three very costly turnovers - were the difference.
The Mustangs defence, although giving up major yardage, made big plays when they had to.
Sophomore linebacker John Surla (Niagara Falls, Ont.) was second on his team with 6.5 tackles (4 solo), adding a sack, a forced fumble and a breakup. Corey McNair (London, Ont.) had 10.5 tackles and one breakup.
WINDSOR 40, YORK 7
Windsor Lancers running back Darryl Stephenson is 100 yards closer to setting the all-time CIS record for career rushing yards in a 40-7 win over the York Lions (0-1) in the OUA season opener for both teams at York Stadium.
The Lancers (1-0) spoiled the CIS head coaching debut of York's Mike McLean, the defensive co-ordinator for the Saint Mary's Huskies the past two seasons.
Rookie Windsor quarterback Sam Malian, of LaSalle, Ont., threw touchdown passes to Mike Harrington, Glenn MacKay and Phil Mancini. Malian's seven-yard touchdown run to open the second quarter put the Lancers up 9-0, giving Windsor some much-needed momentum after the Lions stayed close for 15 minutes.
Stephenson had 14 carries for 100 yards, including a two-yard touchdown run. Stephenson now has 4,502 rushing yards for his career, putting him just 236 yards behind Dominic Zagari of Manitoba for the CIS record.
Lions starting quarterback Bart Zemanek, returning to the team after taking a year off to play in Finland, had a rough game, completing just three of 13 passes for 23 yards with an interception.
Running back Jason Marshall was one of the lone bright spots for York as he rumbled for 164 yards on 20 carries, including a 40-yard major with less than two minutes that broke the shutout.
QUEEN’S 35, MCMASTER 11
Mike Giffin of Kingston, Ont. had two touchdowns in a 35-11 victory over the McMaster Marauders (0-1) as the Queen's Gaels (1-0) opened up the 2008 regular season at home in Richardson Stadium.
Giffin recorded 143-yards while caring the ball 18 times in his return to the Gaels after attending training camp with the CFL's Hamilton Tiger-Cats earlier this summer. Giffin maintains his regular season streak of consecutive showings over 100-yards rushing. The 11-game streak dates back
to October 17, 2006 verses York University.
On the other side of the ball defensive back and Queen's main punt returner Jim Allin of Belleville, Ont. played a pivotal role in the victory by intercepting a pass and returning the ball for 129-yards on the punt return unit. His longest return came in the second quarter when he sprung loose for 75-yards.
Defensively the Gaels held the Marauders scoreless until the 11-minute mark of the fourth quarter when they conceded a safety to make the score 28-2. Overall Queen's defence forced two fumbles, and recorded four sacks which put Queen's in prime field position on numerous occasions.
Gaels Quarterback Danny Brannagan of Burlington, Ont. tossed two touchdown passes for 288-yards, averaging over nine-yards per pass. Brannagan's first touchdown pass came in the third quarter with the game well in hand connecting with Scott Stinson of North Bay, Ont. for a 13-yard score. His second came on a 30-yard yard pass to Scott Valberg of Kingston which made
the score 35-2.
After Queen's conceded its second safety of the game, McMaster closed the game on a positive note by putting together a solid drive of 10-plays and 68-yards in just over two minutes. The drive was capped when Steven Sparks of Hamilton threw a three-yard pass to find Sean Fahey of Mississauga, Ont. in the end-zone.
LAURIER 15, GUELPH 13
The Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks (1-0) opened the 2008 football campaign with a 15-13 win over the Guelph Gryphons (0-1) in front of a crowd of 2,697 at Knight-Newbrough Field.
Late in the fourth quarter, Guelph kicker Rob Maver had an opportunity to take the victory but was wide to the left on a 28-yard field goal picking up only a single instead. Maver put the only points on the board for the Gryphons nailing three of five field goals including a 36-yarder.
Third year receiver Jeff Emberley’s (Oakville, Ont.) third quarter 42-yard touchdown catch from quarterback Ian Noble (West Vancouver, B.C.) was the game winner in the contest. The touchdown was his first in the purple and gold uniform. Laurier’s other touchdown came early on as rookie linebacker Mitchell Bosch (Langley, B.C.) picked off Justin Dunk and carried the ball back 57 yards for the major.
The game was riddled with nine turnovers including three interceptions thrown by Noble and two fumbles by the Hawks.
Dunk completed 14 of 29 pass attempts on the day including one for 39 yards. Guelph’s offence netted 355 yards in the contest, more than the Hawks’ 299. Gryphon running back Nick Fitzgibbon was the only person to carry for over 100 yards for either team netting 111 over 23 grabs. Laurier back Ryan Lynch put up 50 yards.
The Golden Hawk defence stopped Guelph in the red zone all four times. Giancarlo Rapanaro (Niagara Falls, Ont.) and Luke Pinder (Kitchener, Ont.) each picked up six tackles on the day. Adam Dunk led the Gryphons with five.
Chima Ihekwoaba (Burlington, Ont.) was the only one to bring a quarterback down, sacking Dunk and moving the ball back nine yards.
Source: Mustangs, Lions, Gaels, Golden Hawks Athletics
Photo Credit: Craig Glover
It's what the Western Mustangs (1-0) cooked up in a thrilling comeback as the Mustangs defeated the Ottawa Gee-Gees 35-31 at TD Waterhouse Stadium on Sept. 1 in front of 10,206 fans.
Ryan Tremblay (pictured) from London, Ont. ran 19 times for 136 yards and one touchdown - most coming in relief of starting running back Ben Roberts who tweaked his knee early in the second quarter. He also added 24 yards in kickoff returns on two attempts.
Roberts, who looked good when he was carrying, added 30 yards. Michael Faulds (Eden Mills, Ont.) ran 11 times for 54 yards and a touchdown and was 16 of 25 for 170 yards and one touchdown, a 46-yard bomb to Jesse Bellamy.
Bellamy (Guelph, Ont.) caught three passes for 66 yards and the touchdown.
Gee-Gees (0-1) receivers Justin Wood-Roy (Morin-Heights, Que.), with three catches for 122 yards and two touchdowns, and Acadia transfer Ivan Birungi (Pickering, Ont.) were major factors in Ottawa registering 628 yards of total offence. Both starting quarterback Brad Sinopoli (Peterborough, Ont.) and Joshua Sacobie (Fredericton, N.B.) were effective, combining for 458
yards in the air.
But over 100 yards in Gee-Gees penalties and some key mistakes - Ottawa committed three very costly turnovers - were the difference.
The Mustangs defence, although giving up major yardage, made big plays when they had to.
Sophomore linebacker John Surla (Niagara Falls, Ont.) was second on his team with 6.5 tackles (4 solo), adding a sack, a forced fumble and a breakup. Corey McNair (London, Ont.) had 10.5 tackles and one breakup.
WINDSOR 40, YORK 7
Windsor Lancers running back Darryl Stephenson is 100 yards closer to setting the all-time CIS record for career rushing yards in a 40-7 win over the York Lions (0-1) in the OUA season opener for both teams at York Stadium.
The Lancers (1-0) spoiled the CIS head coaching debut of York's Mike McLean, the defensive co-ordinator for the Saint Mary's Huskies the past two seasons.
Rookie Windsor quarterback Sam Malian, of LaSalle, Ont., threw touchdown passes to Mike Harrington, Glenn MacKay and Phil Mancini. Malian's seven-yard touchdown run to open the second quarter put the Lancers up 9-0, giving Windsor some much-needed momentum after the Lions stayed close for 15 minutes.
Stephenson had 14 carries for 100 yards, including a two-yard touchdown run. Stephenson now has 4,502 rushing yards for his career, putting him just 236 yards behind Dominic Zagari of Manitoba for the CIS record.
Lions starting quarterback Bart Zemanek, returning to the team after taking a year off to play in Finland, had a rough game, completing just three of 13 passes for 23 yards with an interception.
Running back Jason Marshall was one of the lone bright spots for York as he rumbled for 164 yards on 20 carries, including a 40-yard major with less than two minutes that broke the shutout.
QUEEN’S 35, MCMASTER 11
Mike Giffin of Kingston, Ont. had two touchdowns in a 35-11 victory over the McMaster Marauders (0-1) as the Queen's Gaels (1-0) opened up the 2008 regular season at home in Richardson Stadium.
Giffin recorded 143-yards while caring the ball 18 times in his return to the Gaels after attending training camp with the CFL's Hamilton Tiger-Cats earlier this summer. Giffin maintains his regular season streak of consecutive showings over 100-yards rushing. The 11-game streak dates back
to October 17, 2006 verses York University.
On the other side of the ball defensive back and Queen's main punt returner Jim Allin of Belleville, Ont. played a pivotal role in the victory by intercepting a pass and returning the ball for 129-yards on the punt return unit. His longest return came in the second quarter when he sprung loose for 75-yards.
Defensively the Gaels held the Marauders scoreless until the 11-minute mark of the fourth quarter when they conceded a safety to make the score 28-2. Overall Queen's defence forced two fumbles, and recorded four sacks which put Queen's in prime field position on numerous occasions.
Gaels Quarterback Danny Brannagan of Burlington, Ont. tossed two touchdown passes for 288-yards, averaging over nine-yards per pass. Brannagan's first touchdown pass came in the third quarter with the game well in hand connecting with Scott Stinson of North Bay, Ont. for a 13-yard score. His second came on a 30-yard yard pass to Scott Valberg of Kingston which made
the score 35-2.
After Queen's conceded its second safety of the game, McMaster closed the game on a positive note by putting together a solid drive of 10-plays and 68-yards in just over two minutes. The drive was capped when Steven Sparks of Hamilton threw a three-yard pass to find Sean Fahey of Mississauga, Ont. in the end-zone.
LAURIER 15, GUELPH 13
The Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks (1-0) opened the 2008 football campaign with a 15-13 win over the Guelph Gryphons (0-1) in front of a crowd of 2,697 at Knight-Newbrough Field.
Late in the fourth quarter, Guelph kicker Rob Maver had an opportunity to take the victory but was wide to the left on a 28-yard field goal picking up only a single instead. Maver put the only points on the board for the Gryphons nailing three of five field goals including a 36-yarder.
Third year receiver Jeff Emberley’s (Oakville, Ont.) third quarter 42-yard touchdown catch from quarterback Ian Noble (West Vancouver, B.C.) was the game winner in the contest. The touchdown was his first in the purple and gold uniform. Laurier’s other touchdown came early on as rookie linebacker Mitchell Bosch (Langley, B.C.) picked off Justin Dunk and carried the ball back 57 yards for the major.
The game was riddled with nine turnovers including three interceptions thrown by Noble and two fumbles by the Hawks.
Dunk completed 14 of 29 pass attempts on the day including one for 39 yards. Guelph’s offence netted 355 yards in the contest, more than the Hawks’ 299. Gryphon running back Nick Fitzgibbon was the only person to carry for over 100 yards for either team netting 111 over 23 grabs. Laurier back Ryan Lynch put up 50 yards.
The Golden Hawk defence stopped Guelph in the red zone all four times. Giancarlo Rapanaro (Niagara Falls, Ont.) and Luke Pinder (Kitchener, Ont.) each picked up six tackles on the day. Adam Dunk led the Gryphons with five.
Chima Ihekwoaba (Burlington, Ont.) was the only one to bring a quarterback down, sacking Dunk and moving the ball back nine yards.
Source: Mustangs, Lions, Gaels, Golden Hawks Athletics
Photo Credit: Craig Glover
