Marauders hold off defending Vanier Cup champions in dying seconds

HAMILTON, Ont. - Ahead by just five points with the defending Vanier Cup champion and eighth ranked Queen's Gaels driving, the tenth ranked McMaster Marauders broke up a pass on the one-yard line as time expired to secure the opening night win in front of a crowd of 4033 at McMaster's Ron Joyce Stadium on Tuesday.

Boxscore

After each team exchanged field goals in the first quarter, the remainder of the first half set the tone for much of the duration of the contest. McMaster found the end zone first on a Kyle Quinlan (South Woodslee Ont.) toss to Matthew Peressini (Hannon, Ont.) that was setup by a Roberto Filice (Stoney Creek, Ont.) interception on the Queen's twenty yard line. However, it was Queen's that headed to the locker room at half time ahead by a narrow 11-10 margin.

The Marauders looked like they might take control of the contest to start the second half when Michael DiCore (Hamilton, Ont.) returned the opening kickoff a 101 yards to the Queen's four. Quinlan immediately connected with Peressini for a four yard touchdown strike putting the Marauders ahead 17-11.

Quinlan finished the night 17 of 24 for 208 yards with two touchdowns and an interception to power the McMaster offence.

First year kicker Tyler Crapigna (Ottawa, Ont.) then converted a 47-yard field goal, his second of three on the night, to build the McMaster advantage to 20-11.

The Gaels did not go away however. In the final minutes of the third they capped an eleven play 53-yard drive with a Ryan Granber (Sherwood Park, Alta.) one yard touchdown run to reduce the Marauder lead to just 20-18 heading into the fourth quarter.

The two teams traded possessions for most of the fourth until Crapigna added a 24-yard field goal with a minute remaining setting the stage for the final drive of the game. Queen's quarterback Justin Chapdelaine (Abbotsford , B.C.) drove the Gaels into the McMaster red zone completing six passes, two on third down, giving them a final shot from the McMaster 19. But it was the Marauder defense that stepped up on the final play by knocking down a Chapdelaine pass to secure the 25-18 win.

DiCore was the top Marauder receiver with four catches for 50-yards, and he finished with a combined 272 all purpose yards on the night. Joey Nemet (Burlington, Ont.) led the ground game with 54-yards on 12 carries.

Chapdelaine finished his opening night start 22 of 34 for 315 yards and a touchdown for the Gaels. Christopher Ioannidis (Toronto, Ont.) had a 103 yards receiving on four receptions. Granberg was the top Gaels rusher with 46 yards on ten carries.

The win improves McMaster to 1-0 on the year and marks the second consecutive season that the Marauders have opened their schedule at home with a win.

McMaster will now host the sixth ranked Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks on Labour Day, Monday, September 6 ^th with a 1:00 pm kickoff. Queen's will look to regroup during the bye week on their schedule.

Source:

McMaster Sports Info