CIS football Saturday roundup (with VIDEO)

The Mounties drew first blood on a pair of field goals by kicker John Szilagyi in the first quarter. Saint Mary's answered back early in the 2nd quarter when Micah Brown found Craig Leger for a 41-yard touchdown. Szilagyi kicked his 3rd field goal of the game half way through the 2nd quarter, giving the Mounties the lead back at 9-7. Saint Mary's answered back six minutes later when Devon Jones scored with a five-yard run.

With Saint Mary's leading 14-9, Mounties' defensive back Bradley Daye intercepted Jones with under a minute to play in the half. One play later Jake Hotchkiss hooked up with All-Canadian receiver Gary Ross for a 44-yard touchdown. Ross had six receptions for 82 yards before leaving the game with a hand injury. This leaves Ross tied 2nd all-time for most career receptions in CIS history. The Mounties added a safety before the end of the half to lead 18-14 as the teams went to the locker rooms.

In the second half, Szilagyi kicked his 4th field goal of the game, this one for 29 yards to give the Mounties a 21-14 lead. During the third quarter the Huskies conceded a team safety with Mount Allison gaining another two points, leaving the score at 23-14.

From there the Mounties' defense closed out the game and even though Saint Mary's scored to pull within two as time expired, it wasn't enough.

Source: Mount Allison Sports Info

The Golden Hawks got on the scoreboard early and often against the Lions with starting quarterback Evan Pawliuk (Kingston, Ont.) hitting a wide open Mark Surya (Burlington, Ont.) for a 42 yard major. Surya had his best game for Laurier picking up 66 yards on three receptions.

The purple and gold continued to roll from there with a blocked kick and recovery by Mitchell Bosch (Langley, B.C.) for the Hawks second major of the match. Dillon Heap concluded the first quarter with a 22 yard touchdown reception to give the home team a 26-0 lead.

In the second quarter it was the running game that provided the scoring for the Hawks. Anton Bennett (Toronto, Ont.) picked up two majors, both on one yard runs, while Shamawd Chambers (Markham, Ont.) put on a show running for 24 yards and a touchdown. Josh Pirie (Cambridge, Ont.) scored Laurier's final major of the half with a five yard dash.

The Lions got on the scoreboard late in the first, when backup quarterback Darren Frank (Pickering, Ont.) went to a no-huddle offence and drove the ball 74 yards on six plays to score the major before the break. Frank replaced Nick Coutu (St. Catharines, Ont.) early in the match when the starting quarterback left the game with an injury. Jolene Tolbert (Mississauga, Ont.) scored the major on a 22 yard reception.

Laurier kicker Nathan Hawkes (Kitchener, Ont.) had a strong day hitting field goals from 38 and 35 yards as well as kicking for 568 yards on 10 kickoffs.

The second half consisted primarily of defensive scores. York's Steven Reading, who led the Lions with 10.5 tackles (6 solo, 9 assisted), picked off Dan Daigle and scored the visitors second major of the game. Laurier would scored again late in the fourth on Isaac Dell (Niagara Falls, Ont.) rush.

The Hawks defence was led by Mitchell Bosch, who had 5.5 tackles (4 solo, 3 assisted). The team also had a strong showing from Shane Burns (Burlington, Ont.) who had a three knockdowns, while Giancarlo Rapanaro (Niagara Falls, Ont.) picked up his seventh career interception and the second of the season.

For the Lions, Patrick Russel (Brampton, Ont.) and Chris Burnett (Brampton, Ont.) were second and third in tackles with eight and seven respectively. Michael Boyd contributed 3.5 tackles as well as a 24 yard interception return.

Source: Laurier Sports Info 

The Stingers controlled the game and had the advantage until the dying minutes of the when Maveety booted an 85-yard single with 2:43 left to narrow the score to 17-15. Then with 24 seconds to play he connected on a 22-yard field goal to give the Gaiters an 18-17 win.

The Kingston, Ont. native kept Bishop's in the game throughout the day. He had three field goals (15, 19 and 22 yards) and two singles.

With five field goals, Concordia kicker Rene Paredes (Pierrefonds, Que.) accounted for 15 of his team's 17 points. He scored from 20, 31, 34, 35 and 48 yards.

Paredes opened the scoring with his longest field goal of the day at 3:12 of the first quarter. The 3-0 lead stood through the first quarter. He connected for two more three-pointers in the second, while Maveety chipped in with one field goal and a single, making the score 9-4 for the Stingers at halftime.

In the third quarter, Concordia pulled ahead 14-4 on another field goal and a safety.

In the final 15 minutes, Maveety narrowed the score to 14-7. Then Paredes put the Stingers up 17-7. Bishop's quarterback Jesse Andrews hit David Haddrall with a seven-yard touchdown strike to make the score 17-14 with 2:43 left to play. The major – the only one of the day – capped a six-play, 75-yard drive.

On paper, Concordia looked good, rolling up 402 yards of offence and 21 first downs. Bishop's had 311 yards of offence and 18 first downs.

Stingers quarterback Terrance Morsink completed 25 of 41 passes for 326 yards. He threw one interception. Morsink has replaced injured starting quarterback Rob Mackay for three games. He is now second in the CIS in passing yards per game with a 293 average.

The game was Concordia's Homecoming and the 24th annual Shrine Bowl. The game has raised $739,000 for the Montreal Shriners Hospital for Children over the years.

The Stingers' win-loss record falls to 2-2, while the Gaiters improve to 3-1. However, Concordia owns the tiebreaker between the two teams, having won 17-14 on Sept. 4 in Lennonxville, Que.

Source: Concordia Sports Info

HAMILTON, Ont. – The No. 8 McMaster Marauders held the visiting Windsor Lancers to just three points winning 39-3 in front of a sold-out homecoming crowd of 5610 at Ron Joyce Stadium on Saturday.

McMaster took an early lead in the first quarter on a 14-yard touchdown reception from Kyle Quinlan (South Woodslee, ON) to Brad Fochestato (Windsor, ON). The Marauders didn't waste much time building their lead, scoring on their next offensive series. The offense needed only five plays, and capped the scoring drive with a four-yard Joey Nemet (Burlington, ON) touchdown run to take a 14-0 lead.

The second quarter saw McMaster put more points on the board, as Joshua Kreidl (Hamilton, ON) caught an 18-yard touchdown pass, his first of the season, to widen the Marauder lead to 21-0.

Windsor scored it's only points of the ball game midway through the second quarter on a Robert Eeuwes (Burlington, Ont.) field goal. The Lancers had another chance to score in the final seconds of the half, when Mark Riggi (Amherstberg, ON) caught a 43-yard pass from Sam Malian (LaSalle, ON), but time expired before they could find the end zone.

The third quarter remained scoreless and saw multiple possession changes until McMaster running back Tanner Forsyth (Mount Albert, ON) ran for a 29-yard touchdown; his first of the season. Forsyth was the top rusher in the ball game finishing with 80 yards on 12 attempts. He also caught two balls for 25 yards.

McMaster would score once more in the quarter when Quinlan completed a 32-yard touchdown pass to Fochestato for his second major of the afternoon. Fochestato's touchdown built a commanding 36-3 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

The McMaster defence held the Lancers scoreless during the final fifteen minutes of play and Tyler Crapigna (Ottawa, Ont.) added a 40-yard field goal to secure the 39-3 win.

Quinlan finished with 222 yards passing on 12-of-18 completions with three touchdowns. He also ran the ball eight times for a combined 73 yards. In his best game to date, Fochesato finished with 72 yards on three receptions and the two touchdowns. Bryan Dowd (Mississauga, Ont.) added 196 all purpose yards returning nine punts for 135 yards.

On defence, Ben D'Aguilar (Hamilton, Ont.) had another fine game with seven tackles and two sacks. Joey Cupido (Hamilton, Ont.) had a solid game in the defensive backfield finishing with five and half tackles, a sack, an interception, and two break ups.

Windsor starting quarterback Sam Mallan (LaSalle, Ont.) finished 8-of-20 passing for 125 yards. Paul Lefaive (Markham, Ont.) was the top rusher for the Lancers with 59-yards on nine carries. Matt McGarva (Surrey, BC) and Brad Adams (Windsor, Ont.) each had seven solo tackles in the loss.

With the win McMaster improved to 3-2 on the season and they will travel to York next Saturday, October 2, to take on the winless Lions at 1:00 p.m. at York Stadium.

NOTES: As part of McMaster's homecoming celebrations, the members of the 2000 McMaster Yates Cup championship team were honored at half time to commemorate the tenth anniversary of McMaster's first Ontario University Athletics championship title.

Source: McMaster Sports Info

KINGSTON, Ont. – The No. 2 ranked Ottawa Gee Gees (5-0) sent the Queen’s Gaels (1-3) to their first regular season home loss since 2007 with a 27-25 overtime victory this afternoon at Richardson Stadium.

Matt Falvo of Welland, Ont., hit a 30 yard field goal in the first possession of overtime after Dan Village of Abbotsford, B.C., recorded a single on a 35 yard field goal attempt. The win sends the Gee Gees to their fifth straight victory to begin the season.

For the Gaels, it was the team’s first regular season loss at home in nearly than three years, a streak that ran for ten consecutive contests. The team’s last regular season home defeat was on September. 29, 2007 against the then-ranked No. 4 Laurier Golden Hawks.

The Gaels have lost three games this season by eight points or less and many have pointed out the Gaels could easily been 4-0 to start the season.

“We played with them, but that’s not enough anymore,” said Gaels defensive end Frank Pankewich of Thunder Bay, Ont. “I’m sick and tired of saying we almost had them – we stuck with them, but we gotta win the game.”

The Gee Gees started the game off strong, opening up a 14-0 lead in the first quarter thanks to touchdowns from Cyril Adjeitey of Ghana, and Ezra Millington, of Newmarket, Ont.

After being replaced early by Billy McPhee of Burlington, Ont., Gaels second year pivot Justin Chapdelaine of Abbotsford, B.C., came back into contest and engineered a 12 play, 97 yard drive. Chapdelaine capped off the drive by running the ball in from five yards out to pull Queen’s to within seven at the half.

With momentum on their side, the Gaels continued to produce offensively in the second half and tied the game on another impressive scoring drive. Chapdelaine wrapped up a 12 play, 83 yard drive when he hit Giovanni Aprile, of Toronto, for a 10 yard major to even the score at 14.

The Gaels would grab the lead midway through the fourth quarter when Chapdelaine ran for his second touchdown of the day, on a 10 yard scramble off a broken play, to give Queen’s a 21-14 advantage.

The lead was short lived, as Ottawa responded with Sinopoli hitting wide reciever Alex Fortier-Labonte of Gatineau, Que., on a 68-yard touchdown strike.

Village and Falvo would trade field goals late in the game to send the contest to overtime tied at 24.

Sinopoli, currently the leading quarterback in the country, finished the day 21 for 39 with three touchdowns and one interception.  For the Gaels, Chapdelaine turned in a career best day completing 18 of 28 passes for 335 yards and a touchdown.  He also ran for 54 yards and two touchdowns.

Aprile, who was Chapdelaine favourite receiver all day, finished with seven receptions for a career-best 179 yards and one touchdown. Fortier-Labonte was Ottawa’s top receiver with three receptions for 89 yards and a touchdown.

Andrew Lue of Markham, Ont., led the Gaels with 6.5 tackles while Ottawa’s Tyler Sawyer of Metcalfe, Ont., finished as the top defensive player in the game with nine tackles.

Up next for the Gaels, the team will travel to London to take on the Western Mustangs (4-1) on Saturday, October 2. Game time is scheduled for 1:00pm at TD Waterhouse Stadium and is scheduled as Western’s Homecoming.  The game will also be broadcast nationally on theScore.

NOTES: The last overtime game for Queen’s was Sept. 3, 2007 when the Gaels defeated Western in London 26-20…Aprile’s third quarter touchdown was the first of his CIS career…Mohtadi’s fourth quarter interception was the first of his CIS career....The Gaels 1-3 start is their worst start since 2005 when they began the season 1-4… Attendance at the game was 9,103.

Source: Queen's Sports Info 

On offence, Gryphon quarterback Chris Rossetti (Mississauga, Ont.) went 12-22 for 202 yards. Nick FitzGibbon (Puslinch, Ont.) had another good day on the ground with 87 yards on 19 carries, as well as 36 receiving yards. Jedd Gardner (Niagara Falls, Ont.) led Gryphon receivers with 86 yards on three receptions.

For Western, Donnie Marshall (London, Ont.) had an impressive performance going 9-17 through the air for 116 yards, while also picking up 116 yards of rushing. Mustang running back Jerimy Hipperson (St. Catherines, Ont.) had a total of 147 yards rushing, taking two carries in for touchdowns. Nick Trevail (London, Ont.) pulled in three receptions for a team-leading 72 yards.

Defensively, both teams were wary of the number ninety-seven as Cam Thorn of Guelph picked up seven tackles and 2.5 sacks, and Zander Robinson (Vancouver, B.C.) of Western walked away with 12.5 tackles and 2.5 sacks.

Western would get the scoring started late in the first quarter on a 60-yard drive. Ignited by a 13-yard scramble from Donnie Marshall, Jerimy Hipperson then took over, powering down the field and eventually punching the ball into the end zone on a 10-yard rush for the touchdown. Hajrullahu kicked the extra point through giving the Mustangs the 7-0 lead.

In the second quarter it would be Guelph's turn to get on the board. After a long drive, the Gryphons set up for a field goal, but as the snap made its way into the hands of Jedd Gardner for the place, Gardner took off for the sideline. With Western pressuring the kicker, no one was outside to contain Gardner and he strolled into the end zone. Julian Tropea (Niagara Falls, Ont.) would knock the extra point through and knot the game at seven a piece.

With the clock dying in the second, a deep punt by Evan Short (Burlington, Ont.) bounced deep into the end zone. Unable to get the ball out, the Western returner was taken down by James Savoie (Niagara Falls, Ont.) who would be awarded the rouge, putting Guelph up 8-7 at the end of the first half.

Back and forth play in the third didn't result in points for either team. Both squads would come close, but the strength of the defence could not be overcome.

Guelph came out strong in the fourth, with Cam Thorn picking up a sack deep in Western territory. On the ensuing Gryphon drive, Guelph fans looked hopeful as Gardner pulled in his third big catch of the game for 31 yards, however, Guelph would be forced to kick a field goal and the attempt went wide.

After that the Mustangs got down to business. Going deep, Marshall aired out a long ball down the sideline that was grabbed by Nick Trevail (London, Ont.) in the Gryphon zone. Following the big catch, Hipperson would charge up the middle for a 27-yard touchdown, his league-leading seventh major of the season. Attempting to make up for the single point Guelph had picked up earlier, Western went for the 2-point convert, but was unsuccessful.

With Guelph behind 13-8, a late surge had to be made to stay in the game. Unfortunately for the Gryphons, they were unable to move the ball well late in the game and had to concede a safety with only a couple of minutes left, giving the Mustangs a 15-8 lead.

Guelph made a valiant effort to stop Western, in the hopes of getting one last shot at the Mustangs' end zone, but Marshall was on his game and a 20-yard dash with just forty seconds on the clock would be a dagger in the heart of the Gryphons. Western would remain on top, finishing the game with a 15-8 victory.

Next week the Gryphons are on the road to battle the Laurier Golden Hawks (2-2), while the Mustangs host the Queen's Gaels (1-3). Both games will kickoff next Saturday (Oct. 2) at 1:00pm.

Source: Guelph Sports Info 

With the victory, the Dinos vault into a tie with Regina atop the Canada West conference with a 3-1 record. Manitoba now falls to 1-3 and tied with UBC for last in the conference.

Calgary was dominant on the ground as they had three different players churn up more than 100 yards in the game and the Dinos outrushed the Bisons by a wide 355-42 yard margin. The Dinos were led by rookie QB Eric Dzwilewski who produced 114 rushing yards on 11 carries and threw for 147 yards on 11-18 with one TD and one interception. Along with Dzwilewski, fourth year RB Matt Walter had a game-high 137 yards and second SB Steven Lumbala had 105 yards for the winning side.

The visitors held a 20-3 halftime lead with TDs from Lumbala (19 yard reception) and Walter diving in from one yard out. At the half, Calgary already had a large 268-9 rushing yard margin and had 17-5 advantage in first downs. Manitoba saw life at the start of the second half when Bison QB Khaleal Williams marched the team on a 93 yard drive and finished with a five yard pass to third year Brendon Bowman. This was the first TD at home this season for the Herd. Manitoba responded right back with another TD capped by Williams QB sneak from the one and it was 20-17.

After Calgary increased the lead by six with a Bisons' safety and punt single, the turning point of the game occurred as the Manitoba began a drive after the punt single with less than five minutes remaining in the fourth and Williams threw to third year Bison Quincy Hurst. Hurst made a diving attempt at the ball but it bounced off his hands and into the hands of Calgary defender Wyatt Getty. Safety Getty was in the right place as he snagged the ball out of the air before going out-of-bounds at Calgary's 53 yardline. The Dinos proceeded to drive seven plays with four on the ground and set-up fifth year kicker Aaron Ifield for a 22 yard field goal and push the lead for Calgary to insurmountable nine points (26-17) with only 1:30 left in the game.

The Bisons made it interesting as in hurry-up offence, Williams drove them the length of the field and fifth year RB Matt Henry capped the drive with a one yard plunge. Bowman caught the successful two point conversion but the home side ran out of time as Calgary recovered the onside attempt and ran out the clock in a thrilling finish to the annual Bisons Homecoming Game.

"Today we were horrible in the first half. We were playing the pre-season #1 ranked team in the country but we fought and did not give up in the second half." said Bison football head coach Brian Dobie. "Calgary did a great job in shutting down the run and we made a decision at half to throw the ball. With the team we have right now, I hate to say it as it is so cliché, but this is a moral victory. It shows that if you fight, you have a chance and we now continue onto Saskatchewan."

For Manitoba, Williams had his best statistical game in his CIS career with 308 yards on 25-40 with 2 TDs and two picks plus 28 rushing yards. Henry, Bisons top rusher, was grounded with only six yards on four carries.

On defence, Calgary was led second year DB Brian Hagen with 5.5 tackles and third year DB Tye Noble with 4.5 tackles plus Getty with 4.5 tackles and one huge interception. Manitoba had fourth year DB Pete Adams with a game-high 12.5 tackles (11 solo), third year LB Thomas Hall recorded 7.5 tackles and two sacks and third year DL Adam Hindley with 7.0 tackles in the home loss.

Calgary now has a four game winning streak over the Bisons. Manitoba last victory versus the Dinos was in the 2007 Vanier year when Manitoba was winner both in playoffs (W 27-5 on Nov. 3/07) and in the regular season (W 35-28 on Sept. 15/07).

Dobie ended by saying, "I see no panic in the dressing room. Our record is not good, but we can take some positives away... and I thought Khaleal took some huge steps forward in the last two games."

The next Bisons football action is when they travel to play the Saskatchewan Huskies (2-2) on Friday, October 1 at 8 p.m. CT. Calgary will host the UBC Thunderbirds (1-3) on Saturday, October 2 at 1 p.m. MT.

Bison Football Notes: Manitoba has won five of the last nine match-ups during the annual Bisons Homecoming Games but have lost the last three in a row... Matt Henry notched his 25th overall touchdown with the Bisons during his five year career, good for second all-time in the program's history.

Source: Manitoba Sports Info