CIS football Saturday roundup: McMaster, Guelph head to OUA semis; Rouge et Or finish undefeated

Source: StFX Sport Information

ANTIGONISH, N.S. - Despite a late fourth-quarter comeback, the StFX X-Men dropped a hard fought 12-6 defensive battle to the Saint Mary's Huskies in AUS football action Saturday afternoon at Oland Stadium.
 
Quarterback Tivon Cook (9-16-81), who replaced freshman starter Dante Djan (9-18-89), engineered two drives in the final minutes, with the last one ending in an incomplete Hail Mary pass to Devon Bailey (5-68), which deflected off the leaping wide receiver's hands just short of the goal line.
 
On that final drive, Bailey made three consecutive catches to help set up the last second toss from Cook.
 
With the loss, the X-Men (3-5) finish fourth in league play and will not make the playoffs, while the Huskies (5-3) secured first place and the right to host the 2013 AUS Loney Bowl, which is scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 9 in Halifax.
 
In an opening 30 minutes dominated by the defences, special teams' play and penalties, the X-Men opened the scoring on a 30-yard field goal from Jeremy Ford, who connected on two out of four attempts in the game.
 
The seven-play, 38-yard scoring drive was keyed by a soaring reception in coverage by Devon Bailey and back-to-back rushes by Ashton Dickson (25-109).
 
Djan (9-43) also converted a third-and-short on that march.
 
In the final minute of the first half, Huskies' quarterback Jack Creighton (12-24-155) connected with Mohamed Abdalah (5-86) to start a two-play touchdown drive culminated by a one-yard rush by Michael Dawes.
 
With the Chase Kodejs point-after, the Huskies took a 7-3 lead to the locker room at halftime.
 
In his first game action, the X-Men's Kyle Sovie blocked a Kodejs' punt in the opening half, but the blue and white could not convert the momentum changer into points.
 
The offence also stalled after a highlight reel 37-yard punt return by Randy Roseway in the second quarter.
 
In the third quarter, the X-Men conceded a safety, giving the Huskies a 9-3 lead.
 
With less than five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, the Huskies made it a two-possession game (12-3) on a Kodejs' 10-yard field goal.
 
Cook then led the X-Men on a 13-play, 59-yard drive, which culminated in a Ford 23-yard field goal.
 
The X-Men defence, which held the Huskies to 292 total yards, stiffened and gave the offence its last-minute possession.
 
Linebacker Ron Omara led the X-Men defence with 6.5 tackles, while Samni Adereti added five, along with a quarterback sack and a tackle for a loss. Brett Hubbeard and James Menzies each chipped in five tackles.
 
Nathaniel Fermin recorded a second-half interception for the X-Men.
 
With 3.5 tackles, defensive back Hugo Rajotte extended his all-time X-Men tackle total to 157.5. Second on the blue-and-white list, with his tackles against the Huskies, is Hubbeard with 152. Formerly of the StFX X-Men, current Winnipeg Blue Bomber Henoc Muamba is in third with 149.5 tackles.
 
On offence, the X-Men gained 265 net yards, including 109 rushing and 170 through the air.
 
Donald Tabor, with 38 yards, joined Bailey with a team-leading five catches. Travis Rasch and Keon Hughes caught three balls, for 32 and 26 yards, respectively.
 
Dawes led a balanced Huskies' rushing attack with 54 of the team's 138 yards, while Melvin Abankwah and Dave Sabourin amassed 41 and 39 yards, respectively.
 
For the Huskies, Matt Lalande led with 11.5 tackles, while Marvin Golding collected 8.5 tackles, two sacks and five tackles for loss.
 
In other AUS action Saturday afternoon, the Mount Allison Mounties (4-4) scored a 23-14 home win over the Acadia Axemen (3-5).
 
In the league semifinal game, which will take place Saturday, Nov. 2, the Mounties will host the Axemen in Sackville, N.B.

Source: Mount Allison Sports Info

The Mount Allison Mounties are headed to the AUS Football playoffs for the 2nd straight year and for the 3rd time in the last 4 years. The Mounties defeated two-time defending AUS Champion Acadia Axemen 23-14 in front of a frenzied hometown MacAulay Field crowd on Saturday afternoon. The win was the 3rd straight for the Mounties. The Mounties will finish the regular season as the only team who beat every other team in the AUS this year. With the win, the Mounties have clinched 2nd place in the AUS and will now host Acadia for the AUS Semi-Final on Saturday, November 2nd at MacAulay Field.

The Mounties got the start they wanted by scoring first. On the Mounties 2nd possession they took over on their own 22 yard line and proceeded to march down field to the Acadia 41 yard line. Faced with a 3rd and 3, the Mounties elected to go for it but used a quick kick by Brandon Leyh, who punted the ball to the Acadia 2 yard. The Acadia defense was caught off guard by the play and Mounties receiver Troy Trentham, who lined up onside, pounced on the ball recovering it for the Mounties. This gave the Mounties a first a goal on the Acadia 2 and on the next play Jordan Botel scored his league leading 6th rushing touchdown of the season.

Acadia answered back 3 minutes later when they engineered a 64 yard drive of their own, capped off by a 2 yard touchdown run by Thomas Troop. Acadia threatened to take the lead early in the 2nd quarter when they drove the ball to the Mounties 25. But an aggressive Mounties pass rush forced a bad throw by Acadia quarterback Evan Brown that All-Star cornerback Donovan Saunders intercepted and ran back 59 yards all the way to the Acadia 30 yard line.

The Mounties offense went to work and after converting on a 3rd and 2 to keep their drive moving, the Mounties used the reverse hand off perfectly, springing Kyle McLean for a 17 yard touchdown run and giving the Mounties a 14-7 lead. Two plays later the Mounties defense intercepted Brown again, this time linebacker Te Nguyen grabbed his 4th interception of the year and ran it back to the Acadia 30 yard line. After the Acadia defense forced a punt and got the ball back on their own 22, they gave it right back to the Mounties, this time when Brown threw his 3rd straight interception to Mounties rookie Devante Sampson. The true freshman from Mississauga grabbed his 4th interception of the year and ran the ball back to the Acadia 31. This time the Mounties would make Acadia pay as Leyh connected with Matt Rose on the first play from scrimmage and Rose scampered 31 yards for the major. The Mounties would pick up a single before the end of the half as Acadia failed to clear their end zone on a punt, leaving the score at 22-7 at halftime.

Acadia showed life early in the 2nd half as they drove the ball from their own 50 but they were held to a 22 yard field goal by Ryan Begin, bringing the score to 22-10. After that, the Mounties defense held strong. The Mounties would pick up another single point and the Acadia defense would force two safeties, but in the end the Mounties were able to protect their lead and run out the clock on a 23-14 win.

Mounties Jordan Botel had his 4th straight 100+ yard rushing game and 5th of the year as he ran for 114 yards on 28 carries. Botel finished first in the conference for rush yards for the 2nd straight year, amassing 758 yards in 8 games. Acadia’s Thomas Troop, who had 119 yards on the day, finished 2nd in the AUS with 565 yards this year. Brandon Leyh was 11-17 for 137 yards and 1 touchdown. Leyh has now gone 10 quarters without an interception. Defensively, rookie Devonte Sampson led the way with 7.5 sacks and 1 interception while junior Matt Montgomery had 6.5 tackles for the Mounties. The Mounties now prepare to host Acadia in the AUS Semi-Final on Saturday, November 2nd at 2PM at MacAulay Field.

Source: Felix Tremblay, Bishop's Sports Information Writer

SHERBROOKE, Que. – The No.7-ranked Bishop’s Gaiters concluded their remarkable 2013 regular season with a 40-21 victory on Saturday against the McGill Redmen in RSEQ University Football action. Quarterback Jordan Heather and receiver Alexander Fox were simply outstanding. They broke a multitude of school, RSEQ and CIS records en route to securing their first home playoff game since 1994.

Heather (Oromocto, N.B.), had already re-written the Bishop’s record books. He set the CIS single-season passing record with a 93-yard touchdown strike fittingly to Alexander Fox as time ran out on the third quarter. His 3132 yards is the new mark for CIS quarterbacks to strive for and he becomes just the fourth pivot to throw for over 3000 yards. The history major finished the day 26-for-47, 484 yards passing, four touchdowns and zero interceptions.  The 484-yards ranks 10th all-time in the RSEQ and is his second highest total this year (538 against Laval on Sept. 28).  It also marks the fourth consecutive game he has passed for over 400 yards. His 20 touchdown tosses in 2013 is the most ever in the RSEQ.

The Montreal native, Fox, saved his best performance for last. He caught seven passes for 256 yards and four touchdowns.  The latter two stats are Bishop’s records for a single game. Fox’s second touchdown of the day, a three yard catch, gave him 23 for his career, the most receiving touchdowns ever in the RSEQ. He also reached the 1000-yard plateau, only the 11th player in Canadian University football to do so, and earned another Gaiters record.

Not to be outdone by the two record-breakers, fifth year captain Matt Burke rushed for 132 yards and added 35 more in the receiving column.  He too was playing his last regular season game on Coulter Field.

Fellow senior, kicker, Mathieu Paquette (Sherbrooke, Que.) was 4-for-4 on field goal attempts with makes of 20, 22, 28 and 29 yards. He closed out his stellar bounce back season 17-for-23 on field goals including a long of 47, while registering 76 points.

McGill jumped out to an early 8-0 lead in the first quarter. Late in the frame, a 22-yard Paquette field goal put the Gaiters on board before the teams switched ends on the cold, rainy Lennoxville afternoon.

The rhythm of the game changed quickly as the Gaiters scored 20 unanswered points in the second quarter. After a 20-yard field goal by Paquette, Fox scored his first touchdown of the day, on a 54-yard pass from Heather. He did it again less than five minutes later, this time his record breaking 3-yard touchdown catch. Paquette’s third field goal of the half put Bishop’s on top 23-8 as the teams headed to their locker rooms.

The Gaiters added 17 more points on the scoreboard in the third quarter, with two more majors from Fox (60 yards and 93 yards, respectively) and a 29-yard field goal from Paquette.

The Redmen tried to push in the fourth-quarter but it was not enough. They finish the season with a 3-5 record while the Gaiters improved to 6-2, their first six-win season since 1993.

In Montreal the No. 2 Laval Rouge et Or (8-0) defeated the No. 6 Montreal Carabins (5-3).  The result means the Gaiters will host an RSEQ semi-final next Saturday, Nov. 2, against the Carabins. Kickoff is slated for 1 p.m. on Coulter Field.

Stay tuned to www.gaiters.ca for more details about the first university playoff game in Lennoxville since 1994.

Game notes: The Gaiters out-gained the Redmen 665-503 yards … Bishop’s lone turnover came on a failed third down conversion late in the game while McGill was 3-of-5 on third down conversions and threw one interception … Another senior, Steve McCollum (Brampton, Ont.) led the Gaiters defensive charge recording eight tackles and two sacks.

Source: Michael Grobe, McMaster

HAMILTON, Ont. – The No. 8 McMaster Marauders dumped the Ottawa Gee-Gees 41-7 at a rain soaked Ron Joyce Stadium on Saturday to advance to the OUA semifinals set for next week.

McMaster’s Marshall Ferguson of Kingston, Ont., tossed two touchdowns and ran for another while Wayne Moore of Etobicoke, Ont. rushed for 140 yards on 22 carries in the win. 

Ottawa mustered just 10 first downs and 30 rushing yards in the game as the Marauder defence stymied the Gee-Gee offence. 

McMaster’s defence and special teams also chipped in two touchdowns with Jeremy Kyei of Hamilton recovering a Gee-Gee fumble on a bad punt-snap while Steven Ventresca also from Hamilton intercepted Ottawa native Aaron Colbon for a touchdown.

With the win, McMaster advances to the OUA semifinal and will meet either Western or Queen’s next week pending the outcome of tonight’s Guelph - Windsor quarter-final match-up.

If Guelph wins, then the Marauders will travel to Western to face the Mustangs at TD Stadium (Kickoff 4:30 p.m.).  If the Gryphons lose, then McMaster will head to Kingston to meet Queen’s (Kickoff 1:00 p.m.).  Both semifinal games will air nationally on Sportsnet360.

McMaster scored on its first two drives of the game to build a 14-0 lead which would be all the Marauders needed to finish off the Gee-Gees.

Moore dominated the opening drive which saw McMaster cruise to 78 yards on nine plays.  Ferguson capped the drive with a one-yard quarterback sneak but Moore did the heavy lifting rushing for 50 yards on six carries to set up the score.

On McMaster’s next possession, Ferguson tossed a 21-yard pass to Daniel Vandervoot of Barrie, Ont., to finish another nine play drive, this time for 79-yards.

Ottawa’s Aaron Colbon closed his CIS career throwing for 181-yards going 17-for-39 and no interceptions.

The Gee-Gee’s lone points came on two conceded safeties and a 28 yard field goal kicked by Ward Lewis of Kingston, Ont.

McMaster’s other touchdown was on a 27-yard pass from Ferguson to Ben O’Connor of Kingston, Ont., coming at 13:10 with the game well in hand at the time.

NOTES: McMaster`s defence has not allowed an offensive touchdown in the last 17 quarters of play; Guelph was the last team to score a touchdown against McMaster which happened on September 21st at Guelph... The entire McMaster defence was named as the player of the game.

Sourc: Regina Sports Info

REGINA - The University of Regina Rams' season ended on Saturday afternoon with a 33-15 loss to No. 10-ranked Saskatchewan in a sloppy Canada West game at Mosaic Stadium.
 
The two teams combined for 14 turnovers, including eight for the Rams alone as they gave up the ball six times on interceptions, once on a fumble, and once on downs. Four of Saskatchewan's six turnovers came off fumbles, while the other two were off interceptions.
 
Saskatchewan (5-3) will now wait for the outcome of Saturday night's Manitoba/Alberta game. A win for the Bisons will put the Huskies in third place and send them to Manitoba next weekend for the Canada West semifinals, while a win by the 0-7 Golden Bears will give Saskatchewan a home playoff game against UBC.
 
The Huskies' Drew Burko completed 18 of his 37 passes for 217 yards and a pair of touchdowns, including a seven-yard strike to Mitch Stevens with seconds remaining in the second quarter which gave Saskatchewan a nine-point lead heading into the half. Garrett Burgess had 66 yards off a team-high six receptions for the Huskies, while Kit Hillis had five catches for 69 yards including a 27-yard touchdown reception late in the fourth.
 
Saskatchewan had four running backs on the depth chart and all four of them had at least five carries, including Jarvis James who ended up with six rushes for 44 yards. Braxton Lawrence led the Saskatchewan defence with a pair of interceptions, while Keegan Arnyek, Thomas Hilderman, Corey Edington, and Clayton Sarich had one pick apiece. Arnyek and Brad Kotania both had six solo tackles and a pair of assisted tackles, while Kotania and Zach Hart both registered sacks.
 
Cayman Shutter was 22-for-36 for the Rams, but was picked off five times by the Huskies. Catlin Schneider was the team's leading receiver with eight catches for 69 yards, while Rory Copithorn and Richard Sindani both had touchdown receptions. John Kiesman came on in relief of Shutter late in the third quarter and ended up going 4-for-6 for 92 yards and a touchdown.
 
Jens Johnson got his first career start at running back for the Rams and ended up with 14 rushes for a total of 61 yards. Jordy Kibamba had an interception and a pair of pass breakups for the Rams' defence, while Patrick MacDonald also had a pick and Tevaughn Campbell recovered a pair of fumbles. Jeff Propp was in on a team-high eight tackles and also had a sack and a fumble recovery.
 
The Rams finish the season in fifth place in Canada West with a 2-6 record and miss the postseason for the first time since the 2005 campaign.

Source: Matt Gutsch, Alberta Sports Info

EDMONTON - In the final game of the 2013 Canada West conference season, the Alberta Golden Bears and Manitoba Bisons combined to produce 1,751 all-purpose yards, while Manitoba’s star runningback Anthony Coombs broke a Canada West record as the Bisons thumped the home-town Golden Bears 60-18 at Foote Field in Edmonton.

The win improved Manitoba’s record to 5-3 on the season, and clinched second place in the conference standings. With that finish comes a home playoff date for the Bisons, as they will host the Saskatchewan Huskies next weekend at Investors Group Field in Winnipeg.

Coombs, a third-year back, broke the Canada West record for longest rush when he took a hand-off deep in his own territory and burned across the Foote Field turf for a 107-yard touchdown run. The previous conference high was set in 1979 by Alberta’s Sean Kehoe, who rushed for 102 yards, while the CIS record is 108 yards, which has been done twice (1967 and 2004).

The two teams, who earlier in the season combined to produce the third highest scoring game in Canada West history with a 65-41 game in Winnipeg, this time produced a whopping 1,751 all-purpose yards.

Receiver Nic Demski caught a pair of touchdown passes for Manitoba, while Coombs and Alex Christie rushed for a combined 286 yards and five touchdowns. Quarterback Jordan Yantz, the 2012 CJFL Offensive Player of the Year, completed 17 of 22 passes for 370 yards and five touchdowns. As a team, the Bisons racked up 790 yards of offence on 70 plays, and added an additional 99 yards on special teams to finish the night with 898 all-purpose yards.

For the Golden Bears, the loss means a 0-8 season and the end of the 2013 campaign. Alberta’s last win came on November 6, 2010, when they rallied from a 27-point deficit to upset the Saskatchewan Huskies in Saskatoon during the Canada West playoffs, while their last home win was October 23, 2010, which was a 46-21 victory over Manitoba. Although, they were awarded two forfeit wins in 2011 when it was determined UBC played with an ineligible player throughout the course of that year.

Rookie receiver Tylor Henry had a special night as the Edmonton product ran for an incredible 341 all-purpose yards, and broke a Golden Bears’ record. Henry caught a game high 11 passes for 149 yards, but also returned five punts and two kick-offs for 192 yards and a touchdown. In fact, his 106-yard kick-off return for a TD is the longest in U of A history, surpassing the old mark of 103-yards which was set in 1962 by Ken Neilson. The conference record is 110 yards.

Alberta managed to roll up 488 yards of offence against Manitoba, on 82 plays, and they racked up an additional 350 yards on kick and punt returns for a grand total of 853 all-purpose yards. Fifth-year fullback Smith Wright, playing in his final career CIS game, also scored for Alberta.

Manitoba, meanwhile, found the end zone on their opening possession of the game on Saturday, and never really looked back against the Bears. They soon jumped out to a 14-0 lead, but Alberta was able to get one back when Henry bolted through their special teams and hit pay dirt at 11:33 of the first quarter.

Alberta then started the second quarter with two great opportunities to either tie, or even take the lead, but they couldn't convert from the red zone. Instead, they settled for a 19-yard Stephen Fabian field goal, and during their second opportunity in the Manitoba end, they turned the ball over on downs, which the Bisons quickly turned into a touchdown when Yantz hit a streaking Matt Sawyer  for a 60-yard pass and run TD.

Manitoba scored two more majors before half-time, including Coombs’ record breaking run, as they ballooned their advantage to 41-10 entering the third quarter.

The visitors added four more touchdowns in the second half, plus a field goal and a safety, while Wright, a recent draft pick of the Edmonton Eskimos, bulldozed in from one-yard out in the third quarter, which all added up to a 60-18 finish.

The Bisons, winners of the Vanier Cup in 2007, will begin their playoff journey next weekend at home to Saskatchewan.

Game Notes
Fifth-year Alberta receiver Jess Valleau finished his career sixth in all-time Golden Bears receiving yards with 1,636 and sixth in all-purpose yards with 3,406. He is also sixth in career receptions with 110, and he has recorded more kick-off return yards than any other Golden Bear in program history with 1,212. Saturday was also the final CIS games in the careers of Steven Giang (DL) and DB Cayce Kerr.