CIS football Saturday roundup

WOLFVILLE, NS - The return of former Acadia head coach Sonny Wolfe to the Wolfville campus as head coach of the McGill Redmen was soured by a 38-9 loss to the host Axemen. Wolf, who earned his stripes as a seasoned head coach for nearly 20 years at Acadia, was honoured by fans and Acadia's newly appointed Director of Athletics, Kevin Dickie, at today's first meeting of the Redmen and Axemen on Acadia's historic Raymond Field.

While the pregame pageantry was pleasant, the on-field outcome was less than acceptable for the Redmen.

Acadia jumped on the scoreboard first at 4:14 of the opening quarter, as punt returner Mike Rostance returned a 48 yard Tomas Silvo punt for 56 yards deep into McGill territory, setting up a 11 yard touchdown run for senior running back Brett Haenni. Haenni, who pulled together 74 yards on 11 carries, left the game at the mid-point of the second quarter with a suspected broken hand.

Acadia stretched the lead to 14 points on a five play, 108 yard drive that was capped by a 58 yard reception for the major by fourth year Axeman Taylor Renaud who added 126 yards and one touchdown in receiving to Acadia's net offense of 328 yards.

With the halftime score resting at 14-0 for the host Axemen, McGill scripted a 74 yard drive beginning at the 11 minute mark of the third quarter to close the gap to seven points on a three yard quarterback sneak by replacement pivot Ryne Bondy who stepped in for starter Dallon Kuprowski late in the second quarter.

The third quarter McGill major would be their first and last on the day, adding only a two point safety in the fourth quarter.

Bondy's major was matched by a Zach Clarke five yard touchdown run in the opening three minutes of the fourth quarter to give Acadia a 21-7 advantage, followed 31 seconds later by a Tom Labenski interception for a 37 yard dash to the end zone.

Rookie kicker Ryan Begin added a 35 yard field goal at the 12 minute mark of the final frame, while a blocked punt,  returned by Acadia's Zach Clarke, completed the day's scoring. As a running back, Clarke offered 11 carries for 28 yards and two touchdowns to the Axemen point total.

The Redmen posted a strong passing game with 288 net yards, but only 32 yards rushing and for the most part of the day had to deal with the onslaught of Axemen in a high pressure defense that posted three sacks for a loss of 31 yards and three interceptions. McGill pivot Ryne Bondy was 24 for 42 attempts, posting a game high 256 yards passing, but one of two interceptions by Bondy led to the eventual "back-breaking" touchdown by Labenski.

Acadia head coach Jeff Cummins was pleased with the only win this weekend by an AUS team in the annual Interlock weekend between the Quebec and AUS conferences.

"Our special teams and defense played exceptionally well to allow us to limit the points scored by McGill. The offense scored when we needed them too and our turnovers were eliminated", pointed out Cummins. "We are happy with the win but we still need to improve based on only two games thus far".

The Axemen improve to 2-0 and host the winless StFX X-Men this coming Saturday night for their second meet of the opening half of the season, while McGill heads home with a 0-3 record to take on the CIS #1 ranked Laval Rouge et Or in Quebec City next weekend.

Source: Acadia Sports Info

SACKVILLE - The Mount Allison Mounties fell 36-23 in CIS football action at MacAulay Field on Saturday before an announced Homecoming crowd of 2,659.  The Mounties once again showed flashes of great promise and engineered a fourth quarter comeback but in the end, the visiting Gaiters came out on top.

The Mounties got the start they wanted when defensive end Ryan Downe forced Bishop’s quarterback Jordan Heather to fumble on the second play of the game.  Downe, who once again let the Mounties defensively, recovered the fumble.  Five plays later Alex Curtis connected for a 20-yard field goal to give the Mounties an early 3-0 lead.  The lead held until 9:58 of the second quarter when Mathieu Paquette made a 28-yard field goal.

Bishops took the lead right before the half when Quincy Van De Cruize punched it in from three yards with 1:18 to play.  Bishop’s got the ball first to start the second half and they took full advantage, using five plays to march down field and score to make it 17-3.  The Mounties answered right back with a 67-yard drive of their own which included a 20-yard completion to Jarrett King, a 15-yard completion to Ben Stehr, and 28-yard completion to Adam Molnar for the touchdown.

Bishop’s added to their lead when they took advantage of a Ryland Smith interception to get the ball back.  Bishop’s quickly used a 65-yard pass play to Steven Turner to up their lead to 24-10.  Before the end of the third quarter Bishop’s added a touch back to stretch the lead to 26-10.  Bishop’s struck again early in the fourth quarter on a 57-yard pass play to Alexander Fox.

Mount Allison made it 33-17 when they were able to turn a Bishop’s fumble into a touchdown.  After Jacob Leblanc recovered the fumble for the Mounties, Jake Hotchkiss went 33 yards to Ben Stehr.  A four-yard rush and personal foul to Bishop’s gave the Mounties a first and goal on the one-yard line and rookie Emmanuel Musangu punched it in for the home side.

On the ensuing kickoff the Mounties forced a fumble with Matt Montgomery recovering the ball on the Bishop’s eight-yard line.  Jake Hotchkiss wasted no time as he found Ben Stehr in the end zone on the next play from scrimmage.  Mount Allison failed to convert on the two-point conversion, leaving the score at 33-23.  The Mounties would get no closer and Bishop’s would add a field goal to make it 36-23.

Mount Allison’s Jake Hotchkiss finished the day with 309 yards passing, two touchdowns, and three interceptions.  For Bishop’s, quarterback Jordan Heather finished 26 of 41 with 459 passing yards.  Nick Kukkonen led the Mounties on the ground with 65 yards on 13 carries.

The Mounties fall to 0-2 on the season and sit in a tie for third place with StFX, who lost 55-9 against Concordia.

The Mounties’ next game is Saturday, September 24th when they host the Saint Mary’s Huskies at Moncton’s Rocky Stone Field at 1:00 p.m. as part of the CFL Touchdown Atlantic Weekend.

Source: Mount Allison Sports Info

MONTREAL - L’équipe de football des Carabins de l’Université de Montréal a remporté de justesse son match contre les Huskies de Saint Mary’s par la marque de 11-10, samedi après-midi devant 4098 spectateurs réunis au CEPSUM. Les Bleus ont réussi à s’accrocher à une mince avance acquise en début de partie jusqu’aux dernières secondes.

Avec 23 secondes à faire, les Huskies avaient l’opportunité de combler l’écart d’un point qui les séparait des Carabins en franchissant 65 verges. Le maraudeur recrue Anthony Coady (Arts et sciences) est cependant venu fermer les livres en réalisant une interception spectaculaire. « Je n’étais pas sûr d’avoir bien jugé le ballon au départ, mais j’ai réussi à le capter en sautant, raconte-t-il. »

Avec un peu plus de cinq minutes à jouer, Kayin Marchand-Wright avait réalisé une interception aux dépends du quart Yan Cyr (Arts et sciences) pour redonner le ballon aux Huskies à la ligne de 15 verges dans le territoire des Bleus. Les visiteurs ont alors profité de l’occasion pour inscrire un placement de 24 verges, réussi par le botteur Brett Lauther, Portant la marque à 11-10.

Lors de la séquence suivante, l’attaque des Huskies a encore une fois pénétré dans le territoire montréalais. Un placement de 43 verges aurait pu leur donner l’avance, mais la tentative a été ratée.

Nombreux revirements mais manque d’opportunisme

Les protégés de l’entraîneur-chef Danny Maciocia ont créé plusieurs revirements en début de match, mais ont laissé beaucoup de points sur le terrain. « La journée a mal commencé, mais on conclut avec une victoire, dit Maciocia. Nous avons vu que nos joueurs avaient une grande force mentale pour tenir le coup malgré certaines difficultés en offensive. »

Dès le premier jeu en attaque des Huskies, Mike Dubuisson (Arts et sciences), une recrue des Carabins qui jouait son premier match, a réalisé une interception avant de courir sur une distance de 51 verges. Malheureusement, les Bleus ont perdu du terrain et leur tentative de placement de 27 verges a été ratée, se contentant d’un simple.

Quelques instants plus tard, le quart des Huskies Jesse Mills a été frappé derrière la ligne de mêlée et a perdu un ballon que Garlins Duclervil (Intervention auprès des jeunes) a recouvré à l’avantage des locaux. Alexandre Nadeau-Piuze (HEC Montréal, Administration) en a profité pour lancer une passe de 17 verges à Maxime Fournier-Rioux (Arts et sciences) pour le touché. Ce dernier a terminé le match avec trois passes pour des gains de 80 verges.

Antoine Pruneau (Arts et sciences) a recouvré un autre ballon avant la fin du premier quart, mais les Carabins ont dû se contenter d’un simple à nouveau après une tentative de placement de 41 verges ratée. Au total, les Bleus ont récupéré quatre ballons échappés par leurs adversaires.

L’attaque des Bleus a eu de la difficulté à s’imposer au cours de la rencontre. « De la façon que notre offensive a joué aujourd’hui, nous ne méritions pas de gagner, affirme le joueur de ligne offensive Alexis Rousseau-Saine (Médecine). Nous devons remercier notre défensive et nos unités spéciales. » L’unité défensive des Bleus a limité les visiteurs à 233 verges de gain. Jonathan Pierre-Étienne (Droit) a été le plus productif avec un total de 6,5 plaqués, dont 2,5 sacs du quart.

« Nous avons travaillé sur notre jeu au sol et sur la protection de notre quart-arrière cette semaine, souligne Maciocia, mais nous avons tout de même eu de la misère aujourd’hui. On doit résoudre la situation », ajoute Maciocia.

Un deuxième simple du botteur Zackary Medeiros (Arts et sciences) et un touché de sûreté obtenus au troisième quart complètent le pointage pour les Carabins.

Nadeau-Piuze a complété sa journée de travail avec cinq passes complétées sur 16 tentatives pour des gains de 34 verges. Cyr a quant à lui réussi cinq passes sur 11 pour 93 verges. Mills a accumulé 103 verges en complétant huit de ses 23 passes et a subi deux interceptions.

Le porteur de ballon Rotrand Sené a été limité à 24 verges de gain en 12 portées.

La prochaine partie des Carabins aura lieu le samedi 24 septembre prochain au Coulter Field de l’Université Bishop’s, à Sherbrooke. La troupe de Danny Maciocia rendra visite aux Gaiters. Le match débutera à 13h et sera retransmis en direct à la télévision de Radio-Canada ainsi que sur les ondes du 98,5 Sports.
 
Source : Mathieu Dauphinais, agent d’information sportive

MONTREAL - Raul Thompson, a second-year running back from Mississauga, Ont., scored three touchdowns to lead the Concordia Stingers to a 55-9 victory over the St. Francis Xavier X-Men at Concordia stadium in Montreal on Saturday afternoon.
 
Thompson scored a major in each of the first three quarters. In the first, he found the end zone on a four-yard run at 12:32. He was celebrating again after a six-yard scamper at 2:44 of the second quarter. His biggest run of the day came at 6:20 of the third quarter when he took the ball 40 yards for a TD.
 
Overall, he carried the ball nine times for 76 yards and the three touchdowns. He was awarded the Homecoming Cup as the outstanding player in Concordia’s annual Homecoming game.
 
There were a lot of big plays in the game, starting with Stinger defensive halfback Kris Robertson’s 38-yard interception return for a touchdown at 2:34 of the first quarter.
 
The X-Men’s only bright moment came when Damone Williams returned a kickoff 99 yards for six points in the first quarter.
 
At the end of 15 minutes, Concordia had a 17-9 lead.
 
The Stingers stretched their advantage to 38-9 at halftime. Fullback Brendan Urness scored on a four-yard reception and Nathan Taylor on a 120-yard missed field goal return.
 
Concordia slotback Kris Bastien had the only other major in the game. It came on a 29-yard pass from quarterback Reid Quest at 6:06 of the third quarter.
 
Concordia rookie kicker Keegan Treloar also got his name on the scoresheet with a couple of field goals – a 32-yarder in the first quarter and a 25-yarder with 2:31 left in the game.
 
Overall Concordia rolled up 26 first downs and 447 yards of offence – 222 yards rushing and 225 in the air. Terrance Morsink and Quest split the time at quarterback.
 
The X-Men had 15 first downs and a total offence of 231 yards. Ashton Dickson carried the ball 19 times for 102 yards.
 
The victory gives Concordia a 2-1 win-loss record in RSEQ football conference play and a piece of second place in the standings. St. Francis Xavier’s record falls to 0-2.
 
The Stingers host the Sherbrooke Vert & Or on Friday at 7 p.m. at Concordia stadium. The teams last met on Oct. 16, 2010 when the Vert & Or won an epic battle 39-36 in overtime.

Source: Concordia Sports Info

TORONTO - Andrew Gillis rushed for two touchdowns in leading the Varsity Blues football team to a 21-12 victory over the Guelph Gryphons in their 2011 home opener on Saturday, September 17 at Varsity Centre.
 
The win marks Toronto’s (2-1) first over the Guelph (1-2) since 1995.
 
Leading 14-12 with under a minute remaining, fifth-year veteran quarterback Andrew Gillis avenged Toronto’s 2010 season-opening loss to the Gryphons, running 25 yards into the end zone to seal the deal and Toronto’s second victory of the season.
 
Gillis was 12-for-28 and 173 yards, while rushing seven times for 52 yards and two touchdowns. Sophomore running back Aaron Milton of Whitby, Ont., led all players with 85 yards rushing and one touchdown.
 
Fourth-year linebacker Wilkerson DeSouza was named theScore’s player of the game.  The Mississauga, Ont., native recorded a season-high 11 tackles, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery in the win.
 
The Gryphons got out to an early lead when fourth-year veteran Michael Millar of Port Colbourne, Ont., blocked Willie Sharpe’s punt in the first series of the game and recovered it in the end zone for the major.
 
On the last drive of the opening quarter, Gillis led the home team down the field before Milton finished it off with a seven-yard rushing touchdown on the first play of the second quarter.
 
Toronto built on that momentum in their next series with Gillis once again steering the ship.  The Toronto native connected with veteran receiver Michael Prempeh for a 49-yard gain and then ran it in himself for a one-yard rushing touchdown.
 
U of T’s defence got in on the action when fourth-year defensive back Dorian Munroe of Miami, Fla., intercepted a Christopher Rossetti (Mississauga, Ont.) pass on Guelph’s ensuing drive.
 
The Blues held a 14-7 lead at halftime.
 
The Gryphons drove deep into Blues territory early in the third, after a fake field goal attempt turned into a Jedd Gardner 15-yard rush. However, U of T’s defensive corps held strong with DeSouza forcing a fumble and recovering it on his own one-yard line. Toronto would then concede a safety and maintain a 14-9 advantage heading into the final stanza.
 
Guelph would kick a field goal early in the fourth to close the gap to two (14-12) and quickly regained possession when Sebastian Howard picked off the U of T pivot.  Toronto’s defence stood tall as both teams exchanged possessions over the next 10 minutes of action.
 
With memories of their last-second loss to the Gryphons last season, U of T dug in their heels. A 44-yard reception by third-year receiver Paul de Pass gave the Blues some breathing room and would ultimately set up Gillis’ final TD.
 
The Varsity Blues return to the field next Saturday, September 24 when they travel to Ottawa to take on the No. 9 Gee-Gees. The Gryphons return home to host the No. 7 McMaster Marauders.  Both games are scheduled to start a 1 p.m.

Source: Toronto Sports Info

KINGSTON, Ont. - Giovanni Aprile of Toronto had four touchdowns (three receiving, one return) on 177 yards receiving and 191 yards on kick returns to lead the Queen's Gaels (1-2) over the Laurier Golden Hawks (1-2) by a 58-35 score in week three action of OUA football.

Billy McPhee of Burlington, Ont. had a career day with 362 passing yards and four touchdowns as well as a rushing touchdown to spark the Gaels offence. McPhee got off to a fast start by hitting Justin Chapdelaine of Abbotsford, B.C. on a 47 yard pass play to give the Gaels first and goal early. Craig Rushon of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. punched in his first career touchdown to give the Gaels a 7-0 lead early.

It was all Gaels after that as the team responded with 26 more points before the end of the half off of a McPhee rushing touchdown, two McPhee to Aprile touchdown passes, a Laurier safety and a field goal by Dan Village of Abbotsford, B.C. which moves him within one of the all-time Gaels lead.

Laurier scored their first touchdown of the game just before the end of the first half on a three yard pass play to Anton Bennett of Toronto.

The Gaels came out strong after the half with an eight minute drive which culminated in a 10 yard McPhee to Aprile passing touchdown.

The Gaels forced a safety on the next Golden Hawks possession and on the ensuing safety kickoff, Aprile returned the the kick for a 90 yard Gaels touchdown to put the Gaels up 49-7.

Kingston, Ontario's Aaron Gazendam scored his first career touchdown on a 45 yard pass from McPhee to round out the Gaels touchdowns on the afternoon. The defence forced another safety on a bad snap to bring them to their final point total of 58.

Laurier's four second half touchdowns came on the strength of three passing touchdowns from Shane Kelly of Basking Ridge, N.J. and an interception which Shane Herbert of Ajax, Ont. took the length of the field from the Laurier goal line. Former Gaels receiver Mark Surya of Burlington, Ont. had two touchdowns in a losing effort for the Golden Hawks.

Ryan Granberg of Sherwood Park, Alta. was the Gaels feature back on the afternoon with 145 net yards rushing on 30 carries.

With the win the Gaels move to 1-2 on the season and will return to action on the road next week against the York Lions (1-2). Kickoff is set for 1:00 pm at York Stadium.

NOTES:
Dan Village moved within one field goal of Jamie Galloway's all-time record of 47... Giovanni Aprile set a Gaels record for return yards in a game with 191, breaking the previous mark of 180 set by Jimmy Allin on Sept. 7th, 2009 against the Guelph Gryphons... Aprile also moved into a tie for second on the Gaels leaderboard for points in a single game with 24... Granberg's 30 carries put him in a fourth place tie with former Gaels running back Jimmy Therrien of Montreal for most carries in a game with 30... The win was number 130 for Gaels coach Pat Sheahan in his head coaching career... The 58 point performance now stands as the most the Gaels have ever scored against Laurier dating back to 1968.

Source: Queen's Sports Info

LONDON, Ont. – The No. 2 nationally-ranked Western Mustangs faced their 2010 Yates Cup opponent, the No. 9-ranked Ottawa Gee-Gees, Saturday afternoon at TD Waterhouse Stadium in front of a crowd of 9,718.

In what most anticipated being a tight game, it was not until the second half that the Mustangs pulled away from the Gee-Gees.

Despite 41 passing yards for Western, and a predominately Gee-Gees led quarter, with 11 rushes and 63 yards, both teams were left scoreless after the first 15 minutes. Gee-Gees’ Brendan Gillanders’ (Orleans, Ont.) late-quarter touchdown was called back because of a penalty. Both teams remained scoreless after the first.

Early in the second, the Mustangs succeeded in putting their mark on the scoreboard with 22 and 29-yard field goals from kicker Lirim Hajrullahu to take a 6-0 lead.

At 13:24 though, Ottawa followed up with a field goal of their own from 37 yards bringing them to within one field goal of Western’s six points.

Donnie Marshall passed for a total of 161 yards in the quarter while Ottawa’s 96-rushing yards just about doubled Western’s 56. The score remained 6-3 for the Mustangs at half time.

Less than two minutes into the third quarter, Matthew Bond-Lapointe (Montreal, Que.) intercepted a Donnie Marshall pass. The possession brought Ottawa into field goal range where they complted a 15-yard field goal to tie up the game at 1:58 of the quarter.

The first touchdown of the game came at 4:31 of the third quarter on another Marshall pass to Zach Bull. Bull rushed 48 yards for the touchdown and Hajrullahu completed the convert bumping Western up 13-6.

On the ensuing kickoff, Hajrullahu gained another point on a rouge increasing Western’s spread to 14-8, as the Mustangs offense began to show signs of life.

Ten minutes later, the Mustangs were once again within kicking range and Hajarullahu showed why he is one of the nation’s top kickers with a 17-yard field goal, his third of the game.

Michael Van Praet recovered a forced fumble on Ottawa’s 30-yard line to return possession to the Mustangs.

This possession resulted in a Nathan Riva touchdown, his first of the game and fifth on the season. The touchdown came on a 20-yard pass from Marshall at 13:18. Hajrullahu completed the convert. Western led 24-6 with two minutes remaining in the third.

At 3:01 of the fourth quarter, Hajrullahu completed his fourth field goal, this time from 17 yards, putting Western in front 27-6.

Rookie runningback Tyler Varga got his first taste of the end zone midway through the fourth quarter. Varga scored on a two-yard rush. Hajrullahu gained another point with his fifth convert of the game.

A late-fourth quarter Ottawa drive resulted in a Simon Le Marquand touchdown for the Gee-Gees, and with a convert from Matthew Valvo, Ottawa made the score 34-13.

But, it was Varga’s second touchdown of the game at 14:08 of the fourth that really put the exclamation point on the match-up. The touchdown came on a 54-yard rush, giving him his ninth on the season. Hajrullahu earned his sixth and final convert of the game.

The 41-13 final puts the Western Mustangs at 3-0 on the season as they head to Waterloo on Sept. 24 to face the Laurier Golden Hawks. The Golden Hawks are 1-2 on their season.

Marshall completed 18 of 37 passes for 332 yards with a pair of touchdowns and three interceptions.

Varga led Western’s rushing attack with 149 yards on 23 carries and a pair of touchdowns.

On the receiving side, Bull led the Mustangs with 144 yards and one touchdown.

Source: Western Sports Info

WATERLOO, Ont. - Kicker Heneri Dervishi (Toronto) hit an 18 yard field goal in overtime to give the York Lions a 20-18 come from behind victory and snap a 29 game losing streak on Saturday afternoon at Warrior Field. 

Waterloo earned a single point off of a rouge on their first possession in overtime to take a 18-17 lead but were unable to shutdown the Lions offense in the shootout style overtime.

Waterloo held a 17-0 lead at halftime but following an injury to quarterback Evan Martin (Kitchener, Ont.) the offense lost its stride giving York life and 17 unanswered points to send the game to overtime where the Lions would relish the opportunity to win their first game since September 29, 2007 when York edged Toronto 21-20.

It was all Waterloo in the first half as Evan Martin had his offense rolling connecting with fifth year receiver Dustin Zender at 2:06 of the first quarter to take a 7-0 lead. 

Waterloo would add to its lead early in the second quarter with Martin moving an efficient offense down field with a 20 yard run and Marco Visentin (Kentville, Ont.) capping off the drive with a three yard touchdown rush to give Waterloo a 14-0 lead.  Late in the second quarter Rookie kicker Jake Fiorucci (Niagara Falls, Ont.) hit a 20 yard field goal to give the black and gold a 17-0 lead heading into the locker room.

The third quarter opened with a devastating blow to the Warriors offense as Martin would go down with a right ankle injury giving a new found energy to the Lions squad. 

York would cut into the lead at 12:10 of the third quarter with William Austin (St. Catharines, Ont.) corralling a 29 yard pass from quarterback Dimitar Sevdin (Toronto) to make the score 17-7 for Waterloo.

Back up quarterback Luke Balch (London, Ont.) would throw one of his three interceptions late in the third quarter and the Lions would get within one touchdown after Dervishi knocked through one of his two field goals in on the afternoon.

Down 17-10 the Lions defense turned up the pressure getting through to Balch time and time again to force turnovers late in the game.  An interception by second year defensive back Cory Bellerdine (Ottawa, Ont.) with four minutes remaining in the game gave the Lions their chance to equalize the game and they would make no mistake on a third down gamble.  Sevdin found first year receiver Skyler Hurst (Guelph, Ont.) on a slant pass to tie the game at 17. 

With two minutes remaining on the clock the Warriors seemed destined for a march down the field but would be denied by rookie back Belah Small (Toronto) to give York a chance at the win in regulation with the ball deep in the Warrior zone but failed to take the lead off of a missed field goal.

In overtime the Warriors would score a single on a rouge on their first possession to take an 18-17 lead but with the shootout overtime format York would receive the ball back and Dervishi would make amends for his missed field goal notching an 18 kick to send the Lions bench in a frenzy.

The Warriors (0-3) next action is the final game of their three game home stand as they face the Windsor Lancers (2-0) as part of homecoming at Warrior Field.  Prior to the game the Department of Athletics will be holding a Hall of Fame induction ceremony as they welcome four new members.

Source: Waterloo Sports Info

WINNIPEG - The unranked Manitoba Bisons football team recorded a 26-16 upset win over the #4 ranked Saskatchewan Huskies in front of 3500 fans on a windy afternoon during the annual Bisons Homecoming Game on Saturday, September 17 at University Stadium (U of Manitoba campus).

With their second consecutive victory, Manitoba moves to 2-1 in the young 2011 season while Saskatchewan suffers their first loss and drops to 2-1.

It is not often a punt is a difference maker in a football game but the host team took full advantage of the howling 35 km/h wind. On the first play at the start of the fourth quarter, Bison punter Brendon Bowman boomed a 64 yard punt, with the wind, that went off Huskies’ Jerit Lambert hands and dribbled into the end zone. Manitoba’s DB Grayson Wells hustled downfield and jumped on the loose, live ball in the Huskies end zone for a surprising touchdown. This was the first lead of the game, at 19-16, for the Bisons and they never relinquished the rest of the way.

“A big win for a young football team,” exclaimed Bison football head coach Brian Dobie after the game. “Winning our Homecoming Game against the number four ranked team in the country is a great result and proud of our consistency on both sides of the ball. The game was won by a complete effort by all three units (offence, defence, special teams).”

The wind played a factor throughout as Saskatchewan had it to begin the first quarter. But it was the defence with the first points of the contest. Huskies DL David Rybinski rumbled for a 68 yard fumble TD recovery after Bison QB Khaleal Williams fumbled the ball after pressure by DL Jon DeWitt. Manitoba then gave up a safety instead of punting into the strong wind and Denton Kolodzinski ended the first 15 minutes with a 30 yard field goal and the visitors had a 12-0 lead.

The second quarter, the Bisons chipped away with a couple of singles and kicker Nick Boyd ending the half with a 27 yard FG. After 30 minutes, the Huskies led 12-5.

In the second half, Manitoba tied the score when they found the end zone after an 11 play, 90 yard drive that took five minutes and ended with a 15 yard TD pass from Williams to SB Tyson Takasaki. This was the first touchdown given up by the Saskatchewan defence in three games this season. The Huskies regained the lead with a 17 yard field goal and long 72 yard punt rouge, aided by the wind, by Kolodzinski.

After Wells’ TD recovery in the end zone, the Herd shut down the Huskies offence as they only accumulated 107 yards on their last six possessions along with three turnovers (two interceptions, one on downs). Manitoba salted away the game with Boyd kicking two FGs (24, 42) and a rouge off a 38 yard miss for the 26-16 final score.

In team stats, Manitoba had 23 to Saskatchewan 19 in first downs; rushing yards were Saskatchewan at 119 and Manitoba at 78; Manitoba had 280 passing yards to Huskies 186; total offence was 320-283 for Manitoba; turnovers had Saskatchewan with four to Manitoba’s two; Manitoba controlled time of possession with 33:09 to 26:51 and penalties were 14-125 yards for Manitoba and Saskatchewan with 6-65 yards.

Individually, the visitors had starting QB Jahlani Gilbert-Knorren was top team rusher with 60 yards on seven carries while throwing for 113 yards on 9-23 with two interceptions. QB Trent Peterson played some in the third and went 5-9 for 73 yards. Dexter Janke had 51 rushing yards on 13 carries while top Saskatchewan receiver was Rory Kohlert had six catches for 85 yards.

For the Bisons, Williams was top passer with 23-38 and 28-0 passing yards and one TD. On the ground, RB Anthony Coombs ran ten times for a game-high 67 rushing yards while SB Jared Ralko was top receiver with ten receptions for 103 yards while Takasaki grabbed six passes for 75 yards and 1 TD.

On defence, Saskatchewan was led by LB Charlie Power with 8.5 total tackles while LB Peter Thiel had 6.5 tackles and Mitch Friesen at 4.5 tackles plus Rybinski 68 yard fumble recovery. For Manitoba, LB Thomas Hall had 6.5 tackles with two sacks while DL Adam Hindley added 5.5 tackles and LB Lauren Kroeker with five tackles. Pete Adams and Brett MacFarlane each had one interception while DL Evan Gill added a sack and Wells with the crucial fumble recovery.

Manitoba (2-1) now travels to play in Vancouver against the UBC Thunderbirds (2-1) on Saturday, September 17 at 2 p.m. local time while Saskatchewan (2-1) host the #3 ranked Calgary Dinos (3-0) on Friday, September 23 at 7 p.m. local time.

Source: Manitoba Sports Info

VANCOUVER – The UBC Thunderbirds football team opened the home portion of its 2011 season with an emphatic 40-30 win over the visiting Alberta Golden Bears at Thunderbird Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

The final score was much closer than the game itself.
 
After losing to Calgary in the final seconds last week, UBC made sure the outcome would be decided early by scoring early and often.

UBC got on the scoreboard 1:52 into the game when quarterback Billy Greene (Surrey, BC) found Micha Theil (West Vancouver, BC) with a 44-yard touchdown pass.

On the ensuing kickoff, Alberta’s Tyler Lewis fumbled the ball, giving UBC possession at the Golden Bears’ 38-yard line.

It took Greene just two passes to get the Thunderbirds back into the end zone, with Jordan Grieve (Salmon Arm, BC) catching a 25-yard throw for the team’s second major.

With just 2:40 of the game into the books, UBC was up 14-0.

The two teams then traded singles before UBC kicker Billy Pavlopoulos (Georgetown, ON) knocked home a field goal in the second quarter to make it 18-1.

UBC then drove 99 yards in six plays to score again at 4:54 of the second quarter.  Greene had runs of 41 and 37 yards before handing off to running back Dave Boyd (Duncan, BC) for a three-yard scamper into the end zone.

Boyd would end the day with 176 yards on 21 carries and one touchdown.  It is the first time in 2011 that a UBC running back has rushed for more than 100 yards.

Alberta made it 25-8 at the half by scoring late in the second quarter when running back Olukayode Sonuga ran in an 11-yard touchdown.

UBC started the third quarter quickly, scoring in on its first possession.

The combination of Greene’s passing and Boyd’s running sparked a 74-yard drive, which was completed when Greene threw a five-yard touchdown pass to Spencer Betts (Surrey, BC) to make it 32-8 for the home team.

Greene ended off his day with one final touchdown with two minutes left in the third quarter by running in for a major from a yard out to make it 39-8 for UBC.

A Pavlopolous single in the fourth rounded out the scoring for UBC.

By this time, both teams had gone to their benches but it was Alberta that was able to take advantage, recording three touchdowns in the final quarter of play.

Backup quarterback Curtis Dell threw a 27-yard pass to Jess Valleau at 6:09.  Sonuga scored his second major of the day at 12:28 before Brad Quartel caught a short pass from Dell to make it 40-30 after the two-point convert.

Dell finished the game with two touchdown passed and 167 yards on 15 completions on 23 throws.  Sonuga was the leading rusher for the Golden Bears with 107 yards and two major scores.

Greene was named player of the game for UBC after completing 21 of 27 passes for 250 yards and three touchdowns.  He also ran for 105 yards on eight carries, including one for a touchdown.

 “We put a touchdown up, it felt great,” said Greene talking about his team’s fast start.  “Fortunately we got the ball back right away and we made them pay for a turnover.  It’s always good to start off 14-0.”
 
“Our receivers made some big catches for me,” continued Greene.  “I put the ball in a position for us to make catches.  Our running game was awesome today.”

Greene and UBC head coach Shawn Olson credit the offensive line.

“I don’t think we’ve moved people enough this year and it adds a different dimension because now our play action game becomes more effective,” said Olson.  “Today was kind of the first day where I thought that we sort of imposed our will on somebody.”

The home win is the first-ever for Olson as UBC head coach after his team lost all four games at Thunderbird Stadium last year. 

It is also the first time UBC has beaten a team in a game at the Point Grey campus in three years.

All that is in the past.

“We talked a lot about our focus and our recent history at home so I was impressed with the way the guys came out,” said Olson.

UBC now improves to 2-1 on the year – tied for second place in the Canada West Conference.  The Thunderbirds will host another 2-1 team, the University of Manitoba, next week for Homecoming 2011.

Source: UBC Sports Info

SHERBROOKE - Le Rouge et Or de l'Université Laval doit sérieusement regarder dans son rétroviseur. Le Vert & Or de l'Université de Sherbrooke a prouvé samedi soir que le résultat de la dernière finale québécoise était beaucoup plus qu'un simple coup de chance. Menés par Simon Charbonneau-Campeau et Jérémi Roch, les Sherbrookois ont livré une chaude lutte aux champions de la coupe Vanier, s'inclinant finalement 40-27 devant une foule record de 10 432 spectateurs.

Le Rouge et Or a rapidement pris les devants en marquant dès sa première séquence offensive. Installé profondément en zone sherbrookoise, le quart Bruno Prudhomme a échappé le ballon en tentant de franchir la ligne des buts, mais c'est son receveur Junior Saydou Haidara qui a mis la main dessus dans la zone payante, un jeu bon pour le premier majeur de la soirée.

Les hommes d'André Bolduc ont rapidement répliqué, le duo Roch/Charbonneau-Campeau amenant l'équipe à la porte des buts sur un jeu de 47 verges. Jean-Christophe Beaulieu a complété le travail sur une course de trois verges.

 À mi-chemin au deuxième quart, Jean-Philippe Dupuis a intercepté une passe du quart Bruno Prudhomme, ce qui a permis à William Dion de donner les devants aux siens quelques instants plus tard avec un placement de 11 verges.

Décidés à ne pas retraiter au vestiaire avec un déficit, les visiteurs ont joué avec agressivité sur les unités spéciales, Christopher Normand réussissant à bloquer le botté de dégagement de William Dion avec quelques minutes à écouler en première demie. Bruno Prudhomme en a profité pour marquer dès la reprise, sur une course de trois verges.

Encore une fois, les Sherbrookois ont cependant répliqué coup pour coup quelques instants plus tard, cette fois via Simon Charbonneau Campeau qui a capté une passe de 17 verges profondément dans la zone payante. Le pointage était alors 18-14 en faveur du Vert & Or.

Le Rouge et Or passe en deuxième vitesse

Les représentants de l'Université de Sherbrooke ont ajouté trois points au tableau sur un placement de 39 verges de William Dion tôt au troisième quart avant de voir les visiteurs passer en deuxième vitesse.

Julio Féoli Gudino, sur un jeu de 40 verges, et Patrick Lavoie, sur neuf verges, ont tour à tout capté des passes de Bruno Prudhomme, jetant une douche d'eau froide sur les spectateurs sherbrookois.

William Dion a réussi ses troisièmes et quatrièmes placements de la soirée durant le 4e quart, mais ce fût trop peu, trop tard pour le Vert & Or.

Dans la défaite, Simon Charbonneau-Campeau a une fois de plus été la grande vedette, lui qui a capté neuf passes pour des gains de 196 verges et un touché. En défensive, Félipe Fonseca a été le plus effiace, terminant la soirée avec 9,5 plaqués.

Source: Sherbrooke info sport