CIS playoff round-up

SACKVILLE, NB – The CIS No. 6-ranked Mount Allison Mounties defeated the StFX X-Men 29-7 Saturday afternoon in front of 2,922 fans at MacAulay Field to claim their second consecutive Subway AUS Loney Bowl title.  The victory marks the sixth Atlantic conference championship banner for the Mounties program.  The Mounties have run the table in the AUS this year, going 8-0 in the regular season and then capping it off with the Loney Bowl victory on Saturday.

Mount Allison’s Josh Blanchard was awarded the Don Loney Memorial Trophy as the Subway Player of the Game for the Mounties after catching a TD pass and throwing a TD pass, both in the 1st quarter.

After the X-Men’s Jeremy Ford missed a 37 yard field goal on their opening drive, the Mounties went to work right away.  The Mounties moved the ball 40 yards on three plays and the used a flee flicker as Mounties QB hit game MVP Blanchard from 35 yards out to electrify the hometown crowd.  Two possessions later the Mounties defense held StFX deep in their end, causing them to take a safety, bringing the score to 9-0.  On the ensuing possession the Mounties drove 38 yards before using some more trickery, this time with receiver Josh Blanchard taking a pass in the backfield and then hooking up with Rod Joseph for a 23 yard touchdown pass.  This brought the score to 16-0.  The Mounties would add a rouge before the end of the first quarter to make the score 17-0.

With the wind in the 2nd quarter StFX responded with a 76 yard drive of their own, capped off by a 1 yard touchdown pass from Tivon Cook to Jordan Catterall, bringing the score to 17-7.  The score would remain that way heading into halftime.

The Mounties added to their lead in the 3rd quarter when kicker Ryan Lambert split the uprights from 36 yards out to stretch the lead to 20-7.  StFX surrendered another safety with 3 minutes to play in the 3rd quarter, leaving the score at 22-7 with 15 minutes to play.  StFX had the wind in the 4th quarter but the Mounties defense shut the door.  Two minutes into the quarter Jacob LeBlanc sacked Tivon Cook, knocking the ball loose and allowing the Mounties to recover on the StFX 5 yard line.  Two plays later Leyh found Rod Joseph for his 2nd touchdown of the afternoon.  This gave the Mounties a 29-7 lead and ultimately, their 2nd straight Loney Bowl victory.

Mounties quarterback Brandon Leyh was 15-24 for 212 yards, 2 touchdowns and 1 interception.  Tivon Cook was 28-49 for 231 yards, 1 touchdown and 3 interceptions for StFX.  The Mounties defense also had 1 fumble recovery and 5 sacks on the day.  Chris Reid led the Mounties on the ground, going 90 yards on 26 attempts while Ashton Dickson had 75 yards on 15 carries to lead the X-Men.  Rod Joseph had 4 catches for 94 yards and 2 touchdowns for the Mounties.  Donald Tabor had 9 catches and 93 yards for StFX.  The Mounties were led defensively by Michael Bohan who had 7.5 tackles on the day, while Shaun Robinson (2), Jacob LeBlanc, Dylan Cossar and Jordan Redding all had sacks for the Mounties.  Nate Rostek had two interceptions while All-Canadian Kwame Adjei also had a key 4th quarter interception in the end zone for the champions.

The Mounties will now get a week off while Guelph and McMaster battle it out for the OUA Championship.  The Mounties will travel to play the Ontario Champion in the Mitchell Bowl on Saturday, November 22nd.  The winner of the Mitchell Bowl will advance to the Vanier Cup on Saturday, November 29th in Montreal.

GUELPH, Ont.- The Guelph Gryphons are heading to the Yates Cup for the second time in three years after defeating the Western Mustangs 51-26 at a cold and rainy Alumni Stadium on Saturday afternoon.  The Gryphons will now travel to Hamilton to face the McMaster Marauders next weekend (Saturday, Nov. 15) in the 107th Yates Cup.

Coming into the game all eyes were on Western’s backup quarterback Stevenson Bone, who was filling in for injured starter Will Finch.  By the end of the game, it was Guelph’s backup quarterback who stole the spotlight.  In the first quarter, Jazz Lindsey was shaken up and was forced to leave the game after landing hard at the end of a first down run.  In his place stepped rookie James Roberts.  And he did not look like a rookie out there.

The native of Cambridge, Ontario was able to get some experience under his belt in the final game of the regular season when he was given the start at Laurier.  That week, the Gryphons had already locked up second place in the OUA standings.  This week, the first year pivot had the ball in his hands with the season on the line and he made the most of the opportunity.  With the Gryphons trailing 9-6 in the 2nd quarter, Roberts would officially announce his entrance into the game by airing it out for Lucas Spagnuolo (Grimsby, Ont.) for a beautiful 62-yard pass-and-catch for a touchdown to give Guelph a 13-9 lead.  Later in the quarter, the Gryphon offensive line would open up a huge hole for running back Rob Farquharson (Niagara Falls, Ont.) who would go 29-yards down inside the Western 5-yard line.  Two plays later, Roberts would pick up his second touchdown pass of the game, finding a wide open Alex Charette (St. Catherine’s, Ont.) to put the Gryphons up 20-9.

After Western responded with a touchdown from Justin Sanvido (Vancouver, BC) to make it a 20-16 game, it was once again time for the Gryphons’ rookie quarterback to make a big play.  Once again, Roberts and Spagnuolo would hook up, this time it was a 39-yard strike to push Guelph’s lead back to 11.  In the first half alone, Spagnuolo had 118 yards receiving and two touchdowns on just three catches.  But the biggest problem for the Western defence on the day was not Spagnuolo or even Roberts for that matter; it was Farquharson.  The fifth year running back carried the ball 15 times in the opening half for 148 yards.  With under a minute to go in the 2nd quarter, he would add a 1-yard touchdown run to give Guelph a 34-16 lead at the break.

With points coming fast and furious in the first half, the two defences would tighten things up in the 3rd quarter, with the only points of the quarter coming on an Adam Sinclair touchdown for Western.  Standout defensive end Cam Walker (London, Ont.) provided the biggest highlight of the 3rd quarter with a huge hit on Western quarterback Stevenson Bone.  Walker was able to beat his man and record both a sack and a forced fumble as he blind-sided Bone in the pocket.  The Gryphons led 34-23 heading to the final quarter.

For as good as rookie quarterback James Roberts was, he was not perfect.  In the 4th, Roberts would throw into coverage and be picked off by Preston Huggins who would return it into Gryphon territory.  The Mustangs were unable to translate that turnover into any kind of serious momentum however, going 2-and-out and missing the subsequent field goal attempt.  But perhaps even more impressive than the touchdown passes that Roberts threw earlier, was the way in which he responded to his mistake.  Roberts would go right back to testing the Western secondary, this time with a perfectly placed ball to Alex Charette.  Despite some tight coverage, Charette was able to haul in the 33-yard pass before being marked down just shy of the endzone at the 1-yard line.  Farquharson would punch it in from there to put the Gryphons up 42-24.

With just over two minutes remaining in the game, Farquharson would seal the victory for the Gryphons by ripping off a 50-yard touchdown run for his third score of the game.  That capped a monstrous day on the ground for Farquharson who finished with 232 yards on 25 carries, good for an average of 9.3 yards per carry.  He took home player of the game honours.  Also deserving of a mention were the Gryphon return men.  Ryan Nieuwesteeg (Niagara Falls, Ont.) and Lucas Spagnuolo both had stellar performances fielding punts, kickoffs and missed field goals, giving the Gryphons great field position to work with throughout the game.  Roberts finished the game with 238 yards and three touchdown passes to lead a balanced offensive attack for the Gryphons (300 yards passing, 274 yards rushing).

In a re-match of the 2012 Yates Cup, the Gryphons will now travel to Ron Joyce Stadium in Hamilton to face McMaster.  The University of Guelph will be selling tickets beginning at 10am on Monday through until 3pm on Tuesday.  Tickets can be purchased at the Client Services desk at the W.F. Mitchell Athletic Centre.

HAMILTON, Ont. – The No. 3 McMaster Marauders advanced to the 107th Yates Cup with a 42-31 win over  No. 10 Ottawa Gee Gees at Ron Joyce Stadium in Hamilton on Saturday.

After seeing an 18 point second quarter lead vanish and the game tied at 28 in the fourth quarter, McMaster quarterback Marshall Ferguson of Kingston, Ont., found Joshua Vandeweerd of Burlington, Ont. in the end zone with 6:57 remaining in the game.

McMaster would withstand an Ottawa push and tack on a late touchdown to clinch its third trip to the OUA championship in the past four seasons.

In the other OUA semi-final game, No. 5 Guelph Gryphons knocked off No. 7 Western Mustangs 51-26 with the Gryphons heading to McMaster for the 107th Yates Cup set for next Saturday (Nov. 15). Kickoff is set for 1:00pm

McMaster used a trio of running backs combining for three touchdowns and 299 yards on the ground to help propel them to the win. Chris Pezetta of Burlington, Ont., notched a touchdown and a game high 143 yards rushing to lead McMaster.  Wayne Moore of Etobicoke, Ont. had 99 yards while Declan Cross of Oakville, Ont. finished with 55 yards with both contributing touchdowns.

Ferguson tossed two touchdowns in the win for McMaster going 21-34 with 287 yards with two interceptions.

Ottawa’s Derek Wendel of Belleville, Ont. was the game’s top quarterback throwing 443 yards and three touchdowns in the loss.

Two of Wendel’s touchdowns were caught by Ian Stewart of Burlington, Ont., who had 187 yards receiving.

McMaster built an 18-0 lead late into the second quarter, but Ottawa would breakout for 20 points in the stretch of three minutes to overtake the Marauders 20-18 in the third quarter.

Ottawa got their first major with just 2:23 to play in the half as Ian Stewart slipped behind the McMaster secondary to receive a 58-yard touchdown pass from Wendel.  The Gee Gees would tack on two field goals from Lewis Ward of Kingston, Ont., to make the score 18-13 headed into half.

Wendel then connected with Tristan Bailey on a 32 yard pass in the opening minutes of the third quarter to hand them a 20-18 lead.

The Gee-Gees would build on that lead in the third with a rouge and Wendel hitting Stewart for a 15 yard touchdown pass to make the score 28-19.

Moore punched in his touchdown on a 13 yard rush to pus the score within two points (28-26) before the third quarter closed out.  Tyler Crapigna added two rouges to tie the game at 28 with 10:43 to play in the game.

NOTES: Next week’s Yates Cup between Guelph and McMaster will be a rematch of the 2012 OUA championship which saw the Marauders beat the Gryphons 30-13… This will be McMaster’s eighth Yates Cup appearance in school history holding a 6-1 Yates Cup win/loss record… McMaster now has a home field record of 31-4 since the opening of Ron Joyce Stadium in September 2008.

CALGARY – The University of Calgary Dinos will get a shot at a seventh consecutive Canada West title after dominating the University of Regina Rams 56-0 Saturday in the second of two conference semi-finals.

The Dinos (7-2) will meet the Manitoba Bisons (5-4) in the 78th Hardy Cup next Saturday at 2 p.m. MT, live on Shaw TV, in a rematch of last year’s conference championship game at McMahon Stadium.

Andrew Buckley completed 23 of 31 passes for 404 yards and four touchdowns – all of which came in a 33-point second quarter – to lead the Dinos back to the conference title game. He found Brett Blaszko and Rashaun Simonise for two touchdowns each in the second frame, and three of those were bombs: Blaszko had 36- and 72-yard scores, while Simonise ran a 58-yarder into the end zone. Blaszko’s first touchdown was a 36-yard beauty as he tiptoed down the sidelines into the end zone 82 seconds into the second quarter, sparking the 33-point outburst.

Buckley added a one-yard score of his own early in the fourth, while Eric Dzwilewski tossed a 9-yard TD pass to Austen Hartley in the fourth quarter. Johnny Mark rounded out the scoring with field goals from 23, 21, 40, and 21 yards, along with a pair of kickoff singles.

With Regina keying on the run from the very early stages of the game, the Dinos went to the air early and often, with Buckley tossing for 393 yards in the first half alone. By contrast, Mercer Timmis saw just five carries for a total of 19 yards, and Buckley ended up as Calgary’s leading rusher with 56 yards and one touchdown on six carries. Blaszko’s 160 yards paced the Dinos receiving corps, while Jake Harty hauled in eight balls for 112 yards as the Dinos racked up 617 yards of total offence.

“We kind of thought it might happen because our first game against them we rushed for 400 yards so they had to do something to stop our run game and they tried doing that,” said Buckley. “They just packed the box – we did try to establish the run early on, but it wasn’t working for us as much as we would have liked, so we went to the pass after that.”

“Offensively we had a good game plan,” said Calgary head coach Blake Nill. “We were able to throw the ball basically at will in the first half, and they gave us that opportunity. The kids played well on all aspects of the game, and probably it was one of our best 60-minute efforts that we’ve had this year.”

Defensively, the Dinos held the Rams to just 239 yards and pitched the shutout – their first goose egg on defence in the Blake Nill era – and forced the Rams into eight turnovers: four on downs, along with four interceptions – to each by defensive backs Elie Bouka and Adam Laurensse. Tanner Doll was Calgary’s leading tackler with 7.5 tackles.

The game was the final contest in the career of Regina head coach Frank McCrystal, who announced his retirement effective the end of the 2014 season.

For the Rams, Noah Picton completed 14 of 24 passes for 147 yards and two interceptions before giving way to Cayman Shutter in the Regina backfield. Shutter fared no better, completing six of 18 passes for 74 yards – and two more interceptions. Jared Janotta was Regina’s top receiver with four catches for 86 yards, while Mitch Thompson hauled in seven for 76 yards.

The Dinos now turn their attention to the Manitoba Bisons, the only team to have defeated them on the field this season: a 50-31 win at Investors Group Field in Winnipeg last Saturday on the final day of the regular season.

“That’s the way it should be,” said Nill. “They’ve given us the toughest games of the year, and they’ve earned the right to be in that final. We’ve just got toacome out and play well, and hopefully learn from what we experienced last week, and improve on it.”

Calgary and Manitoba played a classic earlier in the season at McMahon, with Calgary squeaking out a 42-41 win. The Dinos knocked off the Bisons 43-28 in the 2013 Hardy Cup, also at McMahon Stadium.