November 6, 2009
YATES CUP BERTH ON THE LINE ON UNIVERSITY RUSH
HAMILTON, Ont. - Ontario University Athletics (OUA) is back on The Score Television Network this Saturday at 4:30 p.m. ET as the No. 7 nationally-ranked Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks (6-2) play host to the two-time defending OUA champion and No. 5-ranked Western Mustangs (7-2) at University Stadium in Waterloo, Ont.
It is the second of two University Rush semifinal match-ups this weekend with a spot in the 2009 Yates Cup on the line. The OUA championship game presented by Pioneer Petroleums and will be played on Nov. 14.
Laurier was the beneficiary of an OUA tiebreaker which allowed the Golden Hawks to have a bye last week, while Western was battling the Guelph Gryphons in an OUA quarter-final.
"There are some advantages to playing [in the quarterfinals]. You stay sharp; beating Guelph is good confidence for our group," said Western head coach Greg Marshall. "Would we have wanted the bye and got our guys rested up? Absolutely, but it is what it is."
"If you're going to be a good football team at this time of year, you've got to be able to deal with all those things. Yeah, we're a little banged up but we're going to come out on Saturday and play some good football."
Laurier's victory over the No. 4 Queen's Gaels in the regular season finale was especially encouraging, having faced quarterback Danny Brannagan (Burlington, Ont.) and shutting down his passing game, holding him to 25 completions on 45 attempts and no touchdowns in a 25-13 win.
This weekend's game is a rematch of Week 2, when the Golden Hawks fell to the Mustangs, 30-7, but Laurier's young team has come a long way since then.
"We've come some distance since Week 2; we've made a number of personnel changes," said Laurier head coach Gary Jeffries. "One of the biggest challenges you have every year is really getting the right pieces in the right places and I think we're pretty close to that."
"The obvious change is at quarterback where the young left-hander (Evan Pawliuk) has done a pretty good job for us. I think he's come some distance in a short period of time; he's managing the offence pretty well. We're a better football team than we were in Week 2."
This week, they'll have Western quarterback Michael Faulds (Eden Mills, Ont.) staring them down from across the field, whose numbers alone are intimidating. For those of you that need a reminder, the fifth-year quarterback broke OUA and Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) records this season, becoming the league's career passing leader with 10,811 yards and most passing yards in a single season with 3,033.
At 3,033 yards, Faulds has more than doubled Pawliuk's (Kingston, Ont.) 1,457 passing yards for the regular season, although he got the starting job after a Week 3 season-ending injury to Luke Thompson (London, Ont.). Jeffries has complete faith in Pawliuk's abilities.
"What I've seen so far, I'm pretty confident in Evan," he said. "We said going into the Guelph and Queen's games, these are like playoff games. We'll use them as measuring sticks to see if we've got any shot of extending this season."
"I thought in both games, he played great. I'm not too concerned about him."
Marshall, on the other hand, is concerned about how his Mustangs will deal with a team that has made so much progress and evolved well beyond the point they were at in Week 2.
"They're pretty balanced offensively, they can run the ball, they're big up front, they've got lots of weapons at receiver, which gives Evan some opportunities," said Marshall. "He plays within himself, he's not going to go out there and try to take the game for himself. He plays under control and we've got to make plays on defence and control the ball."
Laurier's defence relies heavily on three men, including Courtney Stephen (Brampton, Ont.) and Mitchell Bosch (Langley, B.C.). Stephen, with 35 solo tackles, and Bosch, with 36, could be the answer to shutting Faulds down. Linebacker Giancarlo Rapanaro (Niagara Falls, Ont.) could be the critical element for Laurier in keeping Faulds' numbers to a minimum. He sits third on the team with 32.5 total tackles and 4.5 sacks, and has six four break ups and two interceptions.
But the star of the show as of late has been Scott McCahill (Kingston, Ont.). In the Hawks victory on Oct. 24, the sophomore free safety picked off a pass from Brannagan (one of three interceptions in the game from the Laurier defence) and returned it down the field for 110 yards and a touchdown.
Offensively, the Hawks still have to contend with John Surla (Niagara Falls, Ont.), who could rival the Hulk for size and he makes good use of it. The third-year linebacker has 36 solo hits to his name, the same as Bosch, but he also has three sacks and three interceptions, making him a threat to Pawliuk's recent success.
Conor Elliott (London, Ont.) and Scott Fournier (Ottawa) are two other defensive players aiming to stall Pawliuk's passing game. Elliott, a second-year linebacker made three interceptions in the regular season, while Fournier earned three sacks.
Looking to light up the scoreboard for the Hawks will be running back Mike Montoya (Burlington, Ont.) and special teams star Dillon Heap (Waterloo, Ont.).
Montoya had the best regular season of his career, leading OUA with 847 rushing yards and adding six touchdowns. Heap has also had an outstanding regular season, breaking the CIS punt return record with 912 yards. He finished the season with 493 kickoff return yards, making him a dominant presence on special teams.
As for Western's running attack, it's been business as usual for Nathan Riva (LaSalle, Ont.), who scored one touchdown against Guelph last weekend and had a season-high 171 yards on 25 attempts. The second-year running back was OUA's leading scorer in the regular season with 15 touchdowns.
Faulds has many weapons of choice when he goes to the air. Nick Trevail (London, Ont.), Nick Pasic (London, Ont.) and Zach Bull (Port Colborne, Ont.) gave Faulds a reason to rely on them in the playoffs, as they caught two, three and six passes, respectively, against Guelph on October 31. Trevail's two receptions were for 73 total yards, the longest a 65-yard gain, which was also Faulds' longest completion of the day.
In their quarter-final game against the Gryphons, Faulds connected with fourth-year receiver Jesse Bellamy (Guelph, Ont.) on two touchdown passes, making him another likely target for his throws this weekend.
So while the Mustangs have defeated the Golden Hawks once already, a lot has happened to Laurier over the course of the season. They've come together as a team and individual players have made great strides in their abilities and skills, making them a potential Yates Cup contender, if they can get past Faulds.
Play-by-play announcer Tim Micallef along with former McMaster Marauder and CFL star Mike Morreale will bring you all the action on The Score beginning at 4:30 p.m. The game will also be webcast via SSNCanada.ca, and heard on CHRW 94.9 FM in London, Ont.
LAURIER LEADERS (regular season)
Passing
Evan Pawliuk (Kingston, Ont.)
94 completions, 162 attempts, 1,457 yards, 8 touchdowns, 10 interceptions
Rushing
Mike Montoya (Burlington, Ont.)
131 attempts, 847 yards, 6 touchdowns
Receiving
Dillon Heap (Waterloo, Ont.)
28 receptions, 592 yards, 2 touchdowns
Defence
Courtney Stephen (Brampton, Ont.)
40 solo tackles, 2 sacks, 2 interceptions
Mitchell Bosch (Langley, B.C.)
35 solo tackles, 1 sack, 1 interception
Giancarlo Rapanaro (Niagara Falls, Ont.)
31 solo tackles, 4.5 sacks, 3 interceptions
WESTERN LEADERS
Passing
Michael Faulds (Eden Mills, Ont.)
201 completions, 310 attempts, 3,033 yards, 15 touchdowns, 9 interceptions
Rushing
Nathan Riva (LaSalle, Ont.)
98 attempts, 606 yards, 10 touchdowns
Receiving
Nick Trevail (London, Ont.)
33 receptions, 568 yards, 1 touchdown
Defence
John Surla (Niagara Falls, Ont.)
36 solo tackles, 3 interceptions, 2 sacks
Craig Butler (London, Ont.)
27 solo tackles, 2 interceptions, 3 break-ups
Conor Elliott (London, Ont.)
26 solo tackles, 3 interceptions
ABOUT ONTARIO UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS
Ontario University Athletics (OUA) and its 19 member institutions are developing Champions For Life. Giving 9,000 student-athletes the opportunity to excel academically and on the playing field, while preparing for life after university. For more information, visit OUA.ca.
It is the second of two University Rush semifinal match-ups this weekend with a spot in the 2009 Yates Cup on the line. The OUA championship game presented by Pioneer Petroleums and will be played on Nov. 14.
Laurier was the beneficiary of an OUA tiebreaker which allowed the Golden Hawks to have a bye last week, while Western was battling the Guelph Gryphons in an OUA quarter-final.
"There are some advantages to playing [in the quarterfinals]. You stay sharp; beating Guelph is good confidence for our group," said Western head coach Greg Marshall. "Would we have wanted the bye and got our guys rested up? Absolutely, but it is what it is."
"If you're going to be a good football team at this time of year, you've got to be able to deal with all those things. Yeah, we're a little banged up but we're going to come out on Saturday and play some good football."
Laurier's victory over the No. 4 Queen's Gaels in the regular season finale was especially encouraging, having faced quarterback Danny Brannagan (Burlington, Ont.) and shutting down his passing game, holding him to 25 completions on 45 attempts and no touchdowns in a 25-13 win.
This weekend's game is a rematch of Week 2, when the Golden Hawks fell to the Mustangs, 30-7, but Laurier's young team has come a long way since then.
"We've come some distance since Week 2; we've made a number of personnel changes," said Laurier head coach Gary Jeffries. "One of the biggest challenges you have every year is really getting the right pieces in the right places and I think we're pretty close to that."
"The obvious change is at quarterback where the young left-hander (Evan Pawliuk) has done a pretty good job for us. I think he's come some distance in a short period of time; he's managing the offence pretty well. We're a better football team than we were in Week 2."
This week, they'll have Western quarterback Michael Faulds (Eden Mills, Ont.) staring them down from across the field, whose numbers alone are intimidating. For those of you that need a reminder, the fifth-year quarterback broke OUA and Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) records this season, becoming the league's career passing leader with 10,811 yards and most passing yards in a single season with 3,033.
At 3,033 yards, Faulds has more than doubled Pawliuk's (Kingston, Ont.) 1,457 passing yards for the regular season, although he got the starting job after a Week 3 season-ending injury to Luke Thompson (London, Ont.). Jeffries has complete faith in Pawliuk's abilities.
"What I've seen so far, I'm pretty confident in Evan," he said. "We said going into the Guelph and Queen's games, these are like playoff games. We'll use them as measuring sticks to see if we've got any shot of extending this season."
"I thought in both games, he played great. I'm not too concerned about him."
Marshall, on the other hand, is concerned about how his Mustangs will deal with a team that has made so much progress and evolved well beyond the point they were at in Week 2.
"They're pretty balanced offensively, they can run the ball, they're big up front, they've got lots of weapons at receiver, which gives Evan some opportunities," said Marshall. "He plays within himself, he's not going to go out there and try to take the game for himself. He plays under control and we've got to make plays on defence and control the ball."
Laurier's defence relies heavily on three men, including Courtney Stephen (Brampton, Ont.) and Mitchell Bosch (Langley, B.C.). Stephen, with 35 solo tackles, and Bosch, with 36, could be the answer to shutting Faulds down. Linebacker Giancarlo Rapanaro (Niagara Falls, Ont.) could be the critical element for Laurier in keeping Faulds' numbers to a minimum. He sits third on the team with 32.5 total tackles and 4.5 sacks, and has six four break ups and two interceptions.
But the star of the show as of late has been Scott McCahill (Kingston, Ont.). In the Hawks victory on Oct. 24, the sophomore free safety picked off a pass from Brannagan (one of three interceptions in the game from the Laurier defence) and returned it down the field for 110 yards and a touchdown.
Offensively, the Hawks still have to contend with John Surla (Niagara Falls, Ont.), who could rival the Hulk for size and he makes good use of it. The third-year linebacker has 36 solo hits to his name, the same as Bosch, but he also has three sacks and three interceptions, making him a threat to Pawliuk's recent success.
Conor Elliott (London, Ont.) and Scott Fournier (Ottawa) are two other defensive players aiming to stall Pawliuk's passing game. Elliott, a second-year linebacker made three interceptions in the regular season, while Fournier earned three sacks.
Looking to light up the scoreboard for the Hawks will be running back Mike Montoya (Burlington, Ont.) and special teams star Dillon Heap (Waterloo, Ont.).
Montoya had the best regular season of his career, leading OUA with 847 rushing yards and adding six touchdowns. Heap has also had an outstanding regular season, breaking the CIS punt return record with 912 yards. He finished the season with 493 kickoff return yards, making him a dominant presence on special teams.
As for Western's running attack, it's been business as usual for Nathan Riva (LaSalle, Ont.), who scored one touchdown against Guelph last weekend and had a season-high 171 yards on 25 attempts. The second-year running back was OUA's leading scorer in the regular season with 15 touchdowns.
Faulds has many weapons of choice when he goes to the air. Nick Trevail (London, Ont.), Nick Pasic (London, Ont.) and Zach Bull (Port Colborne, Ont.) gave Faulds a reason to rely on them in the playoffs, as they caught two, three and six passes, respectively, against Guelph on October 31. Trevail's two receptions were for 73 total yards, the longest a 65-yard gain, which was also Faulds' longest completion of the day.
In their quarter-final game against the Gryphons, Faulds connected with fourth-year receiver Jesse Bellamy (Guelph, Ont.) on two touchdown passes, making him another likely target for his throws this weekend.
So while the Mustangs have defeated the Golden Hawks once already, a lot has happened to Laurier over the course of the season. They've come together as a team and individual players have made great strides in their abilities and skills, making them a potential Yates Cup contender, if they can get past Faulds.
Play-by-play announcer Tim Micallef along with former McMaster Marauder and CFL star Mike Morreale will bring you all the action on The Score beginning at 4:30 p.m. The game will also be webcast via SSNCanada.ca, and heard on CHRW 94.9 FM in London, Ont.
LAURIER LEADERS (regular season)
Passing
Evan Pawliuk (Kingston, Ont.)
94 completions, 162 attempts, 1,457 yards, 8 touchdowns, 10 interceptions
Rushing
Mike Montoya (Burlington, Ont.)
131 attempts, 847 yards, 6 touchdowns
Receiving
Dillon Heap (Waterloo, Ont.)
28 receptions, 592 yards, 2 touchdowns
Defence
Courtney Stephen (Brampton, Ont.)
40 solo tackles, 2 sacks, 2 interceptions
Mitchell Bosch (Langley, B.C.)
35 solo tackles, 1 sack, 1 interception
Giancarlo Rapanaro (Niagara Falls, Ont.)
31 solo tackles, 4.5 sacks, 3 interceptions
WESTERN LEADERS
Passing
Michael Faulds (Eden Mills, Ont.)
201 completions, 310 attempts, 3,033 yards, 15 touchdowns, 9 interceptions
Rushing
Nathan Riva (LaSalle, Ont.)
98 attempts, 606 yards, 10 touchdowns
Receiving
Nick Trevail (London, Ont.)
33 receptions, 568 yards, 1 touchdown
Defence
John Surla (Niagara Falls, Ont.)
36 solo tackles, 3 interceptions, 2 sacks
Craig Butler (London, Ont.)
27 solo tackles, 2 interceptions, 3 break-ups
Conor Elliott (London, Ont.)
26 solo tackles, 3 interceptions
– OUA –
ABOUT ONTARIO UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS
Ontario University Athletics (OUA) and its 19 member institutions are developing Champions For Life. Giving 9,000 student-athletes the opportunity to excel academically and on the playing field, while preparing for life after university. For more information, visit OUA.ca.
