CIS football Saturday roundup: Jarvis carries Alberta Golden Bears to playoff berth (with VIDEO)

On a day when the Mounties bus broke down near Truro, the game was delayed over an hour. However, after the first half of play, the score stood at 8-7 Huskies. Saint Mary¹s dominated the second half, scoring the final 36 points over that period. The Huskies defense was outstanding, holding the Mountiesto minus one yard of offense in the second half and 140 net yards in the contest. The defense sacked quarterback Jake Hotchkiss six times in the game.

Saint Mary¹s was led by player of the game Devon Jones who had 3 touchdowns on 59 yards rushing and Craig Leger¹s 172 yards rushing and one touchdown. Jahmeek Taylor continued his strong play with 260 all-purpose yards, 153 coming on punt returns. Saint Mary¹s can wrap up first place in the division next week with a victory at Acadia (4-3). The Mounties can host play-off game with a victory at home next week versus the St. Francis Xavier X-Men
(1-6).

Source: Saint Mary's Sports Info

The Axemen, who improve to 4-3 on the season, capitalized on ten X-Men turnovers in the game en route to the win as the X-Men fall to 1-6, out of playoff contention. The StFX offense continued to struggle as the X-Men lost their third consecutive lopsided game.

Acadia established a 10-0 lead after the first quarter of play after a Matt Archibald field goal and a Cameron Wade touchdown. After a blocked X-Men punt, Wade pounced on the ball in the end zone for the major score.

Acadia recovered three X-Men fumbles in the 1st half as special teams were the difference in the opening 30 minutes of play. Mike Rostance built the Axemen lead to 13-0 at half-time with a 33 yard field goal.

The Axemen put the game away in the third quarter, scoring two touchdowns. The first came on a Graeme Richardson 57 yard interception return as he picked off a Jeremy Mraovic pass and ran it down the sidelines. Mraovic came in for the injured X-Men starting quarterback Cory Wensley. Both the X-Men and Axemen each used three pivots throughout the afternoon.

Acadia's third TD of the game was scored by Zack Clarke who had a 32 yard rush and scored his first career touchdown to give the Axemen a 27-0 lead after three quarters of play.

The Axemen wrapped up the scoring in the game with an early fourth quarter 18 yard touchdown run by quarterback Kyle Graves. Graves helped his own cause with 8 carries for 47 yards, and was also 8 for 16 in the air with 80 passing yards on the afternoon.

Player of the Game Zack Skibin led the Acadia ground attack with 8 carries for 72 yards and also had 5 receptions for 55 yards. Zack Clarke had 9 carries for 64 total yards. The X-Men's top rusher was Jahmari Bennett (11 carries for 50 yards).

With the three AUS playoff teams determined, the Axemen will battle it out next week against the Saint Mary's Huskies to determine final playoff standings. StFX will face the Mount Allison Mounties in their final game of the regular season.

Source: StFX Sports Info

With the win, Western finishes the season at 7-1 and in second place in the league and will host an OUA semifinal on Saturday Nov. 6 at 4:30 p.m.

Ottawa, 54-11 winners over Guelph, also finishes at 7-1 but earns first place in the league by virtue of the head-to-head tiebreaker, as the Gee-Gees beat Western 20-19 on Sept. 6.

Nathan Riva ran for 144 yards, while Jerimy Hipperson added 132 yards and two touchdowns as Western scored 35 unanswered points starting late in the first half to earn the victory.

"In the second quarter, we started picking it up. We weren't playing with a sense of urgency in the first and we made quick changes and we got the game back. We had made mistakes," said Hipperson. "At half, coach Marshall did not say much, and he didn't have to because we knew what we had to do."

"We need to really work on the little things and we just need to play better disciplined football overall."

Western's defence held Toronto scoreless until the very late stages of the fourth quarter with many of Western's starters on the sidelines.

"We did a good job showing resiliency," said head coach Greg Marshall. "Everything that could go wrong did go wrong in that first half, we were fortunate that it was a regular season game."

"We can't play a half like that in the playoffs."

Adrian Kaiser led the Mustangs with 8.5 tackles including a tackle for a loss of one yard, while Zander Robinson had three tackles for losses of seven yards.

The defence had seven break-ups and one interception along with two sacks.

"We got upset about the fake kneel play before half and it just brought our attitude out in the second half, coach Gleason really fired us up at halftime," Kaiser said. "We need to eliminate the penalties in the playoffs, we have to play through it and stay focused on our game and shutting down offences."

The Blues stunned the Mustangs early on though, building a 17-0 lead and looking strong on offence and defence early on, making Western pay for turnovers.

Toronto scored their first touchdown on a reverse-option passing play, as Paul de Pass caught a pass from receiver Michael Prempeh for a 58-yard touchdown strike to lead 7-0 just under 10 minutes in.

Alex Pierzchalski, a graduate of South Secondary in London, Ont., scored on an eight-yard pass from Blues quarterback Andrew Gillis to extend the lead to 14-0. This touchdown was set up after Jonathan Wright's catch on a Gillis pass brought the ball inside the redzone.

Toronto led 14-0 after the first quarter, led by the senior Gillis who finished 25-43 passing for 282 yards and one touchdown and one interception.

In the second, the Blues added to their lead with 26-yard Andrew Lomasney field goal to go up 17-0, scoring after a controversial fumble call.

They would not score again until the final 47 seconds of the game.

After Toronto conceded a safety - linebacker Marcus Babic tackled Aaron Milton in the Toronto end-zone on a third-and-long punting situation - Western went on a five-play, 75-yard drive to get back into the game.

Riva set up a Hipperson touchdown with a monster 52-yard run, making up for an earlier fumble, and Hipperson drove it in for his 10th touchdown of the season from 11-yards out to make it 17-9 just before the halftime break.

In the third, Ian Noble showed his short-yardage skill, scoring on a one-yard carry to cap off another solid Western drive and bring Western within one point, trailing 17-16.

Lirim Hajrullahu tied a school record - most field goals in a season with 20 - booting a 39-yard field goal to make it 19-17, giving Western a lead they would not relinquish.

Andrew Thibaudeau, who was Western's best receiver with four catches for 83 yards and a touchdown, pulled in a 42-yard Donnie Marshall pass to extend the Western lead to 26-17. Marshall finished 15-for-23 passing for 218 yards and a touchdown.

The Blues turned over the ball on downs on the next series, failing to get a punt away after a bad snap, and Western led 26-17 after three quarters.

Early in the 4th quarter, Toronto's defence gave their team life again when they stopped Western deep in Toronto territory on a third-and-goal attempt from two yards out as Riva ran into a wall at the goal-line.

But David Lee took their remaining hope away with a powerful tackle to score a safety, as he sacked Gillis on ensuing Toronto possession and Western added to their lead to go up 28-17.

On the kickoff after the Western safety, the Mustangs nearly went up 35-17, but Thibaudeau's kick return touchdown was called back on a hold.

The Mustangs managed to put up points on the possession anyway, as Hipperson scored his second touchdown on the ground on the next series from three yards out, capping another great drive on 15 plays for 94 yards, lasting over six minutes.

Gillis scored on a one-yard run with 47 seconds remaining to pull the score to 35-23 after a failed two-point conversion.

Toronto finishes the season at 3-5 and out of the playoffs.

"Give Toronto credit, they threw everything at us, got big plays and trick plays," Marshall said. "Every penalty we could get called on us, we did. But we showed resiliency and overpowered them in the second half."
"We've got to play better than that and eliminate the mistakes going forward though," Marshall added. "The D has to play better than they did today, but if you had asked me, would I be happy with 7-1 and a playoff bye at the beginning of the year, then yes."

"We are a bit banged up and the week off will help us."

Western will now enjoy a bye week before hosting the OUA semifinal.

"The defence came out fired us up," Riva said. "We were playing too soft in the beginning we did not take a serious look at the game. But once our defence came back fired up, it fired us up."
He said the Mustangs will be ready for whomever they face in the post-season.

"We've just got to practice harder than we ever have before. Whoever it will be we'll be ready for them," Riva said. "I'm confident that we can go all the way."

Source: Western Sports Info

The first quarter saw the Gee-Gees jump out to an early lead. uOttawa made good work of their running plays as first-year running back Franck Ngandui, Laval, Que., finished off an impressive first drive for a touchdown; all 82 yards of the scoring play were on the ground. Guelph would answer back soon after and came close to a touchdown until fifth-year defensive back Lee Shaver, Ottawa, Ont., broke up what was a sure touchdown pass deep in the Gee-Gees red zone. The Gryphons would have to settle for a field goal.

The garnet and grey would then add to their lead in the final minutes of the quarter. Following a bad snap on a field goal attempt, third-year kicker Matthew Falvo, Welland, Ont., recovered and was able to get the ball off to first-year line backer Nick Lecour, Ottawa, Ont., who ran the ball in for a 22-yard touchdown. The play was so well executed to the point that there was much debate as to whether or not it was a set play. Regardless, Gee-Gees led 14-3.

While Guelph would give Sinopoli little chance of breaking the all-time CIS passing record, he would connect with third-year receiver Bogdan Raic, Ottawa, Ont., for a four-yard touchdown pass to become the all-time Gee-Gees leader for most touchdown passes in a season with 22. Matthew Falvo would make two more field goals to give the Gee-Gees a commanding 27-3 lead at halftime.

The third quarter would see much of the same from the Gee-Gees. First, Falvo would make his third field goal of the game from 39 yards out. Then midway through the quarter, Sinopoli would abandon the passing game altogether and rush for a 58 yard touchdown. Later, Guelph would miss a field goal attempt, and the score would remain 37-3 for the Gee-Gees heading into the fourth.

With the running game clearly working for Gee-Gees on this day, Ngandui would run 69 yards for his second touchdown of the game. And while Falvo added another field goal, Guelph did manage to score their first touchdown of the game on an 81-yard pass from Guelph's second-year quarterback Chris Rossetti, Mississauga, Ont., to fourth-year receiver Jedd Gardner, Niagara Falls, Ont. Guelph would then convert for two extra points.

Perhaps worth noting is that Brad Sinopoli was given a well deserved rest, and so second-year quarterback Aaron Colbon, Orleans, Ont., finished off the game strong for the Gee-Gees, rushing for a 19-yard touchdown of his own. Although Sinopoli did not break the CIS record for most passing yards in a season, he still finishes the season as the CIS' top quarterback with 184 completions, 301 attempts, 2756 passing yards and 22 touchdowns.

Following the game, Sinopoli was less than bothered knowing he did not get the record today: "I know some people were talking about the records, but you know you don't force things just for records. You just have to take what they give you. I think we truly demonstrated that our offense is balanced. I mean, we ran the ball amazingly well today."

On defense, the Gee-Gees were equally impressive: "Coming into this game, I think Guelph had the best pass defense in the league. We definitely took it as an incentive to come out and show that our defense can do it too," said defensive back Lee Shaver who made some key defensive plays throughout the game for the Gee-Gees.

uOttawa Gee-Gees head coach Jean-Philippe Asselin was very happy with the win, but remained cautious that there still a lot of football to be played and that nothing has really been accomplished just yet. In looking forward to the playoffs, Asselin admitted he had no preference as to who they play, but said: "I want to play the best team and be the best team. We need to play the best to be the best."

The Gee-Gees will host their first playoff game on November 6, 2010 for the OUA semi-final, and a chance to advance to the Yates Cup final. Game time is 1:00 p.m. at Frank Clair Stadium in Ottawa.

Source: Ottawa Sports Info

Shoiry finished with 29 completions on 39 attempts, and threw for 372 yards as the Vert & Or avenged the 40-10 loss they suffered at Sherbrooke two weeks ago. Vincent Garwood and Simon Charbonneau-Campeau each caught two touchdown passes, while Alex Poirier caught the final scoring pass. Sherbrooke also scored on a one-yard plunge by Olivier Nassif-Bouchard, a pair of William Dion field goals and a safety touch.

The Gaiters' highlight of the day came in the first quarter, as second-year safety Jermaine Gabriel scored on a 112-yard punt return, a new school record, and the third-longest punt return in QUFL history. After his score and a Josh Maveety (Kingston, Ont.) early in the second quarter, the Gaiters led 10-7, but Sherbrooke rattled off 35 unanswered points.

The Vert & Or outgained Bishop's 486 to 70, and made 34 first downs to the Gaiters' 8. Sherbrooke caused four turnovers by the Gaiters, but committed only two of their own.

Charbonneau-Campeau led the Sherbrooke receivers with nine catches for 140 yards, while Poirier caught eight for 93. David Dumas-Goulet was the leading receiver for the Vert & Or with 15 carries for 82 yards.

For Bishop's, starting quarterback Jesse Andrews struggled, going 7-for-14 for 65 yards. He was replaced by Jordan Heather in the third quarter, who went 4-for-10 for 37 yards. Stephen Adekolu (Brampton, Ont.) was the Gaiters' leading receiver with five catches for 40 yards.

Defensively, Tyler Jutras (Chateauguay, Que.) led the Gaiters with eight tackles, while Zak Buis (North Delta, B.C.) made one sack and forced a fumble. Dan West (Ajax, Ont.) made his second interception of the season.

With the win, Sherbrooke moves into sole possession of fourth place in the QUFL, and needs only a win or a Concordia loss next week to clinch a playoff berth. The Gaiters, meanwhile, remain tied for second place with the Montreal Carabins at 5-3.

Sherbrooke's (4-4) next game is next Saturday, as they head to McGill to play the Redmen (0-8). The Gaiters (5-3) close out the regular season next Saturday, as they visit the Carabins (5-3). The winner of that game will clinch second place in the QUFL, and host a semi-final game. Kickoff at the CEPSUM stadium is set for 1 p.m., and the game will be shown live on Radio-Canada, the French-language television service of the CBC.

Source: Bishop's Sports Info

It was McGill's most lopsided defeat since a 72-0 loss to Ottawa in 1976.

Milo, who was in on every scoring play, was 4-for-4 in field-goals, connecting from distances of 21, 18, 32 and 21 yards, respectively. He added eight conversions and moved into third place among the CIS all-time leading scorers with 369 points. He trails former Ottawa Gee-Gees star Neil Lumsden (410) and Western's Frank Jagas (392).Milo also sits third among the CIS all-time leaders in field-goals made with 66, just three behind Jamie Boreham (68) and four behind the aforementioned Jagas, who set the national record in 1994. Milo also averaged 40.6 yards on five punts and an impressive 60.8 yards on nine kickoffs.

Laval scored early and scored often, leading 21-0 after the opening quarter, 52-0 at halftime and 59-0 after three quarters. The undefeated Rouge et Or (8-0) racked up 461 yards of net offence and 30 first downs, compared to 135 yards and just seven first downs. The Redmen committed seven turnovers, including four interceptions and a pair of fumbles. McGill was unable to cross midfield until their final minute of the game, when a five-play drive, their longest of the afternoon, fizzled at the Laval 37-yard line.

Bourassa 16-yard run put Laval ahead 21-0 at 11:56 of the opening stanza and his second major, a 20-tard rush, made it 52-0 late in the first half.

Other touchdowns were scored by Paschal Lochard (94 yards rushing, including a 22-yard TD run), Patrick Lavoie (13-yard pass), Maxime Beland (seven-yard run), Dominique Boisvert (two-yard fumble recovery) and J.P. Dumas (18-yard fumble recovery).

Laval third-year quarterback Bruno Prud'Homme of LaSalle, Que., completed 11 of 15 passes for 156 yards, one TD and one interception before giving way to understudy Olivier Turcotte, who went 3-for-6 for 34 yards and a TD.

McGill quarterback Ryne Bondy, a junior from Richmond Hill, Ont., completed just seven of 17 pass attempts for 37 yards and one interception. He was replaced in the second half by Connor Ogilvie, who fared no better, going 6-for-18 for 81 yards and two picks. Ogilvie, a sophomore from Kelowna, B.C., was McGill's leading rusher with just 17 yards on one carry.

The leading Redmen receiver was Louis Lafreniere-Dupont, a junior from Trois-Rivieres, Que., who hauled in seven passes for 59 yards.

Defensively, linebacker Alexandre Bernard, a freshman from Laval, Que., led the Redmen with a game-high nine tackles, including seven solos.

McGill (0-8) will close out their dismal season at Sherbrooke (4-4) next Saturday, while division-leading Laval (8-0) will make a return trip to Montreal for a showdown at Concordia (4-4). Sherbrooke and the Stingers are battling for the last playoff berth in the Quebec conference. The Vert & Or hold the head-to-head tie breaker should both teams finish with the same record.

Source: McGill Sports Info

The win coupled with a Toronto loss qualifies the defending Yates Cup champions for the OUA playoffs. They will face the No. 8 McMaster Marauders in Hamilton next Saturday with a kickoff set for 1:00pm.

"We needed to win this game to get into the playoffs," said Chapdelaine. "We're happy... we're relieved. We're excited that we get this chance again. It's a new season for us now."

Chapdelaine completed 31 of 40 passes for 448 yards. He spread the ball around hitting four different receivers for touchdowns. Scoring on Chapdelaine touchdown passes were Giovanni Aprile of Toronto, Tom Howes of Parham, Ont., Jonathan Widgett of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., as well as Kingston's Devan Sheahan.

Ryan Granberg of Sherwood Park, Alta., rushed for 166 yards scoring one touchdown in the win. It was Granberg's third consecutive game with 100-yards rushing or more.

Sheahan ended the game as the top receiver hauling in 166 yards and two touchdowns. His second major came from Billy McPhee of Burlington, Ont., who relieved Chapdelaine with the game well in hand.

York's Nick Coutu of St. Catharines, Ont. finished with 137 yards and two touchdowns.

Queen's kicker Dan Village of Abbotsford, B.C. set a new team career scoring record with 271 points. That eclipsed the old mark by six points set originally by Jamie Galloway who played with Queen's from 1988-1992.

After he broke the record, Village received a standing ovation from the 2,123 in attendance at the game.

"It was emotional to see the Kingston community, fans and players on their feet – it was a nice thing," said Village. "It's a special day... but more importantly we want to make another run at this thing, that's our focus right now."

CIS rookie of the year candidate Sam Sabourin of Stittsville, Ont., led the game with 10.5 tackles while York's Theo Feroiu of Toronto had 9.5. Sabourin finished the regular season with 50 solo tackles setting a new school mark in solo tackles in a season. The old mark of 49 was held by Adam Ross (2006).

The Gaels scored just four minutes into the game and held a 28-0 advantage before the Lions were able to score at 9:20 of the the second quarter.

The scoring play was setup a few players earlier when Feroiu forced a fumble with the Gaels driving. Shane Peru of Guelph, Ont., recovered the ball and scampered for a 57 yard return which set up a Coutu one-yard touchdown pass to Jonelle Tolbert of Mississauga, Ont.

Village would add a field goal before halftime to make the score 31-7. York scored its second touchdown early in the fourth quarter on a 14-yard Coutu pass to Alex Bugdahn of Toronto.

McPhee capped the Gaels scoring on a nine-yard strike to Sheahan at 2:37 remaining in the game.

NOTES: On Friday the Queen's Football Club held its Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony at the Athletics & Recreation Centre... This year's inductee class includes three teams (1956, 1964 and 1968), two builders (Bob Howes and Bob Mullen) and five players (Bill Sirman, Mark Robinson, James Osborn, Jim Aru and Paul Correale)... The inductees were also honoured at half-time during today's game.

Source: Queen's Sports Info

With the loss, the Lancers finish the year with a 2-6 record and out of the playoffs.

On Saturday, the Golden Hawks jumped out to an early lead as Dillon Heap caught a 3-yard pass from quarterback Shane Kelly to put the visitors up 7-0.
Laurier would add to their lead only a few minutes later as Kelly handed off to Isaac Dell for a 19 yard run to make the score 14-0.

After the Lancers kicked a 23-yard field goal to cut into the lead, the Golden Hawks answered with a safety and a touchdown run to make the score 23-3.

Windsor closed the gap late in the second quarter after Cory Fernandes hauled down a 20-yard pass from rookie quarterback Austin Kennedy to cap off a 79-yard drive.

However, the Golden Hawks HHwere able to respond immediately as Shamawd Chambers ran the ensuing kick-off back 101 yards to restore the twenty point differential, 30-10.

Laurier opened the second half with a 37-yard field goal from Nathan Hawkes. They would add a touchdown on a 76-yard punt return by Dillon Heap to make the score 42-10.

In the fourth quarter, Lancer receiver Jordan Brescacin would add his fourth touchdown of the season as he caught a 10-yard pass from Kennedy. Brescacin finished the game with 8 catches for 112 yards and a touchdown.

The Lancers had no answer for the Golden Hawk offense on this day as they would add a pair of touchdowns in the fourth quarter to make the final score 56-16.

Laurier quarterback Shane Kelly finished the day 28 for 42 passing for 342 yards and one touchdown.

For the Lancers, rookie quarterback Austin Kennedy finished 20 of 38 passing for 229 yards and two touchdowns. Kennedy also led the team in rushing with 42 yards on seven carries.

Prior to the game, Windsor honoured their graduating seniors including Chris Arquette, Chris Cowan, Nick Cicchini, Matt Bucknor, Robert Eeuwes, Brandon Yohnicki, and Greg Orsini.

Source: Windsor Sports Info