Will Finch connected with Brian Marshall for all three of his touchdown passes Saturday as the No. 3 Western Mustangs hammered the Ottawa Gee-Gees 83-27 in Canadian university football action.
Finch completed 18 of 26 passes for 297 yards and also rushed eight times for 63 yards and a TD for Western (4-0).
Marshall caught five balls for 78 yards, while Adam Sinclair and Justin Sanvido each caught five passes for 92 yards.
Garret Sanvido rushed 12 times for 180 yards and two touchdowns for the Mustangs, who also got TDs on the ground from Sinclair, Yannick Harou and Preston Huggins.
Elsewhere in the CIS it was: No. 1 Laval 30, Acadia 14; No. 4 Montreal 29, No. 10 Saint Mary’s 10; No. 7 Guelph at Toronto; York at No. 9 McMaster; Windsor 44, Carleton 14; McGill 48, Mount Allison 17; and St. FX 35, Concordia 18.
In the late games, No. 6 Saskatchewan visited No. 5 Calgary, UBC hosted No. 8 Manitoba, Waterloo welcomed Laurier, Bishop’s travelled to Sherbrooke and Regina was at Alberta.
At London, Ont., Aaron Colbon was 24-of-36 passing for 328 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions for Ottawa (2-2).
Andrew Mullings caught both TD passes from Colbon and finished with 76 yards receiving.
Ian Stewart was Colbon’s top target with eight catches for 148 yards.
Western led 44-20 at halftime before pouring it on in the third quarter by outscoring Ottawa 30-0.
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No. 9 Marauders 41, Lions 27
HAMILTON, Ont. – Marshall Ferguson of Kingston, Ont. tossed five touchdowns including three to receiver Danny Vandervoort of Barrie, Ont., to lead the No. 9 McMaster Marauders to a 41-27 win over the York Lions.
The win evens McMaster’s OUA season record to 2-2 while York drops to 1-2.
Vandervoort collected 117 yards on five receptions to finish as the game’s top receiver. Ferguson would finish the game 23-34 for 269-yards throwing with five touchdowns and no interceptions.
The duo would break a 10-10 tie with just 23 seconds remaining in the first half with the first year receiver, Vandervoort, catching a 10-yard pass from Ferguson to make the score 17-10.
The two would go on to connect for the next two Marauder touchdowns with Ferguson finding Vandervoort wide open on a 40-yard strike in the third quarter and on a 30-yard toss early in the fourth.
McMaster put together 24 points in the second half after a sluggish opening two quarters to record their 30th win since 1971 against the Lions. Their all-time record against York sits at 30-12 with their last loss coming back in 1997.
York’s Eroll Brooks of Toronto, Ont., nearly pushed over 200-yard mark against the Marauders taking the ball 20 times for 193-yards.
Myles Gibbon of Montreal finished 18-for-30 with 231-yards in the loss recording one touchdown while punching in another on the ground.
Next week McMaster travels to meet the undefeated Guelph Gryphons (3-0) in Guelph, Ont. while York visits winless Carleton (0-3) in the nation’s capital.
NOTES: McMaster’s kicker Tyler Crapigna of Nepean, Ont. converted a pass on a fake punt attempt, throwing a 20-yard bullet to Andrew Sinclair of Denfield, Ont.; that conversion set-up the Vandervoort-Ferguson 10-yard touchdown just before the half.
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No. 1 Rouge et Or 30, Axemen 14
WOLFVILLE, N.S. – The CIS No. 1 ranked Laval Rouge et Or remain undefeated after three weeks of play in the RSEQ football conference after posting a 26-14 win over the unranked Acadia Axemen in one of four games this past weekend in AUS-RSEQ interlock play.
Boris Bede hammered home three field goals from the 29, 27 and 24 yard lines to give the Rouge et Or a six point lead in the closing minutes of the first half.
Pascal Lochard opened the scoring eleven minutes into the first quarter on a five yard toss by starting Tristin Grenon that capped a 55 yard, 7 play drive. Grenon was 10 for 17 for 109 yards on the day and was later replaced by Alex Skinner.
Bede added the first two of three field goals to give Laval a 13-0 lead eighth minute mark of the second quarter.
Not giving up in the closing minutes of the second quarter, the Axemen sent runningback Thomas Troop scampering in for the 18 yard major with just over five minutes remaining in the half. The touchdown ended an 87 yard drive that included a 15 yard roughing the passer penalty on a 19 yard pass reception by Acadia’s Andrew Healy.
A third quarter only saw a rouge scored by Laval that bumped the lead to 14-7, but the final frame included the final field goal by Laval’s Bede and a Felix Lachasseur 2 yard reception from replacement quarterback Alex Skinner at the eight minute mark of the fourth quarter.
Laval’s final points were a team safety after an Acadia snap over the head of senior quarterback Evan Brown soared into the end zone causing Acadia fans to rise in panic.
With 1:36 remaining in the game, 2012 AUS rookie of the year, Thomas Troop added his second touchdown of the day on a 1 yard dive into the end zone to end the scoring at 26-14.
The Rouge et Or posted 388 net yards of offense compared to Acadia’s 240, but 136 yards in penalties evened the playing field compared to 77 yards in penalties experienced by the Axemen.
Troop out-rushed Pascal Lochard’s 90 yards on the ground with a game high 94 yards on 14 carries, while Acadia starting quarterback Evan Brown – AUS two-time AUS Most Valuable Player Kyle Graves’ under-study for the last two seasons – had a game high 154 yards in passing and was 23 for 38 in the air with one interception.
Acadia’s head coach Jeff Cummins was happy with the effort but had words on the future development of the team. “I think we grew as a team and got better today but wasn’t exactly what I was looking for; however we got better on offense and we played strong on defense. We played well on special teams”.
Cummins added, “I just want to keep growing game in and game out until the end of the season so we are playing our best football by week eight. We are not where we want to be. I am not happy with the loss and don’t get gratification from a moral victory. We are better today and I can be happy with that, but the bottom line is that we are 0-2.”
The Axemen will hit the road next weekend and will be in Antigonish to take on the 2-0 StFX X-Men. Acadia dropped StFX 19-15 in preseason play on August 30. The Rouge et Or will prepare to take on the No. 4 ranked Montreal Carabins next Sunday at home in Quebec.
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Redmen 48, Mounties 17
SACKVILLE, NB — Quarterback Jonathan Collin threw a pair of touchdown passes and ran for another as the upstart McGill Redmen cruised to a 48-17 road victory over Mt. Allison to put a damper on the Mounties Homecoming in an interlocking CIS football matchup between the RSEQ and AUS conferences at MacAuley field, Saturday.
Quebec-based teams won three of four interlocking matchups on the day and improved to 57-22 lifetime since the inter-conference schedule was adopted in 2002.
It was the highest offensive output by the Redmen since a 49-27 conquest at Mt. A on Sept, 26, 2009 and marked the second straight victory for McGill, which improved to 2-1, the first time that they have been over .500 since a 2-1 start in 2004.
McGill, which had a 36-12 advantage in first downs, led 20-14 after the opening quarter, 26-17 at the half and added 22 unanswered points in the second half.
Collin, a 6-foot-4, 218-pound native of Greenfield Park, Que., directed a blitzkrieg that generated a single-game school record 738 yards of net offence, as three Redmen pivots combined to register an aerial attack of 471 yards, to go along with 270 on the ground.
Collin completed 28 of 38 pass attempts for 367 yards and a pair of interceptions. The history and geography senior added 49 rushing yards on nine carries.
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Laurier 41, Waterloo 10
WATERLOO, Ont. – Third year running back Dillon Campbell (Cambridge, Ont.) ran for 180 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Laurier Golden Hawks to a 41-10 battle of Waterloo win on Saturday night on Warrior Field. Campbell had 25 touches and averaged 7.2 yards per touch with a 27-yard major in the early going of the second half to give Laurier their first victory of the season. Kicker Ronnie Pfeffer (Kitchener, Ont.) also got in on the action with four field goals.
Laurier wasted little time with the first major of the game 2:47 into the contest. Dillon Campbell capped off the opening drive with a 13-yard run into the Warrior end zone.
The Hawks padded their lead only two minutes later as kicker Pfeffer drove home a 31-yard field goal to put the visiting side up 10-0.
On the ensuing possession Waterloo would again go two and out and a botched punt would give the Hawks quality field position for the third straight drive. Effective carries by Campbell and quarterback James Fracas (Waterloo, Ont.) setup another major capped off by a 1-yard Fracas rush.
Up 17-0 the Hawks would again start the drive on Waterloo’s side of the field and Pfeffer would once again split the uprights, this time from 32-yards out.
It wouldn’t be until the 10 minute mark of the second quarter that the Warriors would give the home crowd something to cheer about thanks to a 16-yard field goal by Jake Fiorucci (Niagara Falls, Ont.) sending the Warriors into the half down 21-3. Campbell was instrumental in the opening half with 140 of his 180 yards coming in the first two quarters.
Campbell would again be the thorn in Waterloo’s side early in the third quarter running through and around several Warriors for a 27-yard dash into the end zone. Campbell’s second touchdown of the game put the Hawks up 28-3 with Waterloo struggling to find their offensive stride from one week ago.
That offensive stride would be ignited in the fourth quarter with Glorian Ganza (Kitchener, Ont.) and Ryan Di Risio (Burlington, Ont.) leading the charge. A 46-yard catch and run by Di Risio would put the Warriors in the red zone and the black and gold would capitalize on a 5-yard pass tipped by a Hawk defender into the arms of Cody Tapsell (Kitchener, Ont.). The Waterloo major would make the score 31-10 for Laurier with 11:40 to play.
Waterloo’s defence would stand tall and force the Hawks to a two and out but Danny Silvestri (Waterloo, Ont.) would have trouble handling the punt handing back Laurier the ball.
The Hawks would turn the Waterloo turnover into seven points and diminish any hopes of a Warrior comeback. Senior runningback Rashad La Touche (Whitby, Ont.) and Pfeffer’s fourth field goal of the game would seal Laurier’s first victory of the season with the 41-10 triumph.
With the win Laurier improved to 1-3 on the season while the loss gave Waterloo the identical record heading into their bye week.
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Bisons 36, Thunderbirds 32
VANCOUVER – The UBC Thunderbirds saw a 17-point lead slip away with less than six minutes remaining in the game on Saturday, as the CIS No. 8 Manitoba Bisons charged back late behind big days from their trio of offensive stars for a 36-32 win to spoil the Homecoming crowd of over 3600 at David Sidoo Field.
Manitoba quarterback Jordan Yantz threw for 322 yards and three touchdowns, including the game-winner on a 28-yard seam route to Nic Demski with one minute left in the game. Demski had 152 yards receiving and two touchdowns on 10 catches. Running back Anthony Coombs picked up 143 yards rushing on 19 carries, adding four receptions for 35 yards and a touchdown.
“As a team we didn’t make enough plays,” said UBC head coach Shawn Olson. “It was all different phases of the game – on special teams we don’t make a tackle when we should and lose field position, defence maybe misses a tackle or a coverage, and on offense we were hit-and-miss all day. There are times when you win as a team and times when you lose as a team, and this was a team loss, coaches all the way down through our players.”
The ‘Birds seemed to have things well in-hand with a three-score lead and less than six minutes on the clock, but the Bison offence, and the passing game in particular, started firing on all cylinders just in time to spur the comeback.
First it was Demski making an 18-yard touchdown grab to cut the lead down to 32-22 with 5:46 remaining. After a quick defensive stop to force a UBC punt, Yantz drove the Bisons down field again before dumping off a 10-yard touchdown pass to Coombs, making it a three-point game with just over two minutes left.
The T-Birds couldn’t move the ball at all and had to give it right back to the Bisons, who started at the UBC 53 yard-line with 1:25 left in the game. That proved to be plenty of time for Yantz to complete two mid-range passes to move within striking distance before finding Demski for the 28-yard game-winner.
“Sometimes a young team maybe counts the chickens a little bit before they hatch,” Olson said. “I wouldn’t point to just the defence or just the offence though. In all three phases we had little let-downs. It comes down to five or six key plays in a game, and we probably won four of those six, but all plays are not created equal. Some are more important than others and today, when it mattered, we didn’t play well enough on those plays.”
After slogging through a defensively-dominated first half and taking a 12-4 lead into the locker room at halftime, it was the Bisons who were first victimized by a sudden explosion from the opposition, as the ‘Birds struck for three touchdowns in the span of just seven minutes in the third quarter.
The first catalyst for UBC’s scoring run was a fumble on the handoff to Coombs, which was scooped up and returned 30 yards for a major by ‘Birds linebacker Yianni Cabylis, cutting the Bisons lead to 12-11 with 11:43 left in the third quarter.
On Manitoba’s next play from scrimmage, it was Yantz putting the ball on the ground for another turnover, this time recovered by UBC defensive tackle Martin Park at the Manitoba 39. After a pass interference call moved the T-Birds closer, quarterback Tyler Bowcott scored on a 21-yard designed run for UBC’s first offensive points of the entire game, with 9:51 left in the third to give them their first lead at 18-12.
After a defensive stop forced Manitoba to punt on their next possession, Bowcott found Nik Jacobs with a 54-yard bomb over the middle to push back into Bison territory. Bowcott finished the drive with another great touch pass a couple plays later, hitting Micha Theil in stride at the back of the endzone to go up 25-12, completing a run of 21 unanswered points in exactly seven minutes of game time.
“I think sometimes the nerves of players get worked out and you get a handle a little better on schemes,” Olson said regarding the dramatic scoring shift between halves. “It’s been the MO all year in the Canada West so far for the first half to be a little slow and the fireworks start in the second, so this was true to form.”
Bowcott tacked on another touchdown on a six-yard fade route to Josh Kronstrom after the Bisons interrupted the UBC scoring run with a field goal. That made the score 32-15 UBC with 8:39 remaining.
Bowcott, who took over for starter Carson Williams in the second half, provided a big spark for the UBC offence with 164 yards and two touchdown passes while going 11-for-17 and adding a touchdown run. Williams was 4-for-10 for 31 yards.
“We’re going to need both of those quarterbacks,” said Olson. “They are both learning the position and both have some real strengths as well as some things they are working on. Today we took care of the football better than we have been but we weren’t as efficient as we needed to be when it mattered. But they gave everything they have and today it just wasn’t enough.”
UBC running back Brandon Deschamps, who came into the game leading the nation in rushing yards, was held to 68 yards on 16 carries by the stout Manitoba defensive front.
Next week Manitoba will be in Calgary to take on the 2-0 Dinos, who have an early battle for first in the conference with Saskatchewan later on Saturday. The ‘Birds will be on the road to take on the 0-2 Regina Rams, who will square off with Alberta tonight.
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Dinos 36, Huskies 24
CALGARY – A 15-point third quarter broke open a tight game as the No. 5 University of Calgary Dinos defeated the No. 6 Saskatchewan Huskies 36-24 at KICKOFF 2013 at McMahon Stadium Saturday night.
In front of 5,202 fans, the Dinos relied on the running game of Mercer Timmis while quarterback Andrew Buckley had a solid outing as well as the Dinos staked their claim as the only remaining undefeated team in Canada West at 3-0. It was the first loss of Saskatchewan’s (2-1) season.
With a tenuous 14-13 lead for the Dinos at halftime, Buckley came out firing in the third quarter. On their opening drive, he led Calgary on a seven-play, 75-yard drive that was capped off by the first of two Jake Harty touchdowns in the stanza – a spectacular somersaulting effort over the goal line. Two drives later, Harty found the end zone again on a nine-yard pass from Buckley to give Calgary a 29-13 lead, and they didn’t look back from there.
It was an important victory for the youthful Dinos football program as it looks to extend an unprecedented five-year stranglehold atop the conference, and head coach Blake Nill was thrilled with the result.
“We were really motivated to play this game,” said the eighth-year Dinos head coach. “We have a young football team, and all week we worked on our mindset and showed Canada West that we still have something to bring.”
Timmis was particularly impressive, racking up 123 yards on 23 carries along with a 6-yard touchdown run that sealed the victory for the Dinos late in the fourth quarter. Making the second start of his CIS career, Buckley completed 26 of 33 passes for 294 yards and two touchdowns – both to Harty – while running for another of his own. The Buckley touchdown was important for momentum, coming late in the second quarter with the Dinos trailing 13-7. On a third-and-one gamble from the Huskies’ 21-yard line, Buckley went around the right side of the offensive line and rambled unscathed into the end zone to give the Dinos a lead they would never relinquish.
“Andrew played better, he can still play better, and he’s only going to improve and ramp up,” said Nill of his quarterback’s effort.
Harty was the Dinos’ leading receiver on the night with 71 yards on seven catches, while Chris Dobko and Brett Blaszko had six receptions apiece for 79 and 65 yards, respectively. Defensively, Hunter Turnbull and Doctor Cassama led the way for the Dinos with seven tackles each, with Cassama picking up a pair of tackles for loss.
Saskatchewan’s touchdowns came courtesy of quarterback Drew Burko midway through the second quarter along with a 31-yard fumble recovery major by Joel Seutter with less than three minutes to play in the game. Burko finished the night with 24 completions on 35 attempts for 306 yards, but he threw a costly interception late in the second quarter. Adam Laurensse picked off an errant pass just inside the goal line to snuff out a promising Huskies drive and maintain the one-point Calgary lead heading into the half.
Receiver Garrett Burgess had a big night in a losing cause for the Huskies with 127 yards on seven catches. Dexter Janke was their leading rusher with 51 yards on 13 carries, with Shane Buchanan chipping in for 36 yards on nine carries.
Braxton Lawrence had a busy night with 10.5 tackles for Saskatchewan, with Richard Zacharias adding another 6.5 to pace the Huskies defensively.
The win sets up another important match-up for the Dinos as they take on the Manitoba Bisons next Friday night at home. And while the Dinos and Huskies will hook up again in Week 6 in Saskatoon, next week is the only meeting of the season between Calgary and Manitoba – two of the top teams in the nation and quite possibly a Hardy Cup preview.
“Manitoba is an outstanding team with two great athletes that I’ve feared since they got into the league in Demski and Coombs,” said Nill, “We’re going to do our best to try to limit what they can do. We’ll enjoy this win tonight, but tomorrow we start prepping for Manitoba.”
Kickoff goes at 6 p.m. next Friday, Sept. 20 at McMahon Stadium. Saskatchewan also plays next Friday night, hosting the University of Alberta Golden Bears (0-3) at Griffiths Stadium.
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Rams 55, Golden Bears 35
Quarterback Cayman Shutter, who transferred to the Regina Rams this year after three seasons at the University of Hawaii, was simply lethal on Saturday night at Foote Field in Edmonton as he paced the Rams to their first win of the season, a 55-35 victory over the Alberta Golden Bears.
The fourth-year pivot completed 37 of 55 passes, with zero interceptions, for 484 yards and four touchdowns as the Rams torched Alberta for a combined 46 points in the first and fourth quarters. His aerial assault ranks as the 10th best single game passing yards performance in Canada West history, and the Rams continue to lead Canada West this season in passing offence, averaging 402.3 yards per game.
Regina may have started strong on Saturday night, but they finished even stronger. Trailing the Golden Bears 32-31 to start the fourth quarter, and with possession following an Alberta touchdown at the end of the third, the Rams reeled off six plays and moved 70 yards, culminating in a 34-yard touchdown reception by slotback Rory Copithorn, to effectively break Alberta’s back and seal the win for the formerly winless Rams. They would add a rouge, a field goal and two more touchdowns, both scored in the final 50 seconds of the game, to not only ensure the win, but give themselves the best possible points for and points against ratio against Alberta.
Although the rebuilding Bears showed tons of fight, overcoming a 30-6 deficit, they simply weren’t able to continue making plays, while the Rams, who are also rebuilding after losing 20 starters from 2012, had a counter for every Alberta punch.
"Mixed emotions tonight" explained Alberta’s quarterback Ryan Schwartz. "Obviously disappointed with the result, we really wanted a win, especially after last week, but I’m proud of the fight and effort the team showed to rally and come back after our first half. Unfortunately we weren’t able to sustain it, but each week is something to build off."
The fourth-year QB, and first year starter, finished with 397 yards through the air and two touchdown passes. Rookie receiver Tylor Henry, who came in with 242 receiving yards, racked up another big night as he caught eight passes for 101 yards and a TD. The former Edmonton Wildcat also lead all players in all-purpose yards as he finished with 225, and very nearly sparked his team to their first win of the season.
His six yard TD reception at 13:30 of the second quarter gave Alberta their first major of the game, and made the score 30-13. And then, after Alberta forced Regina to punt, Henry ended the first half in the end zone after he took Regina’s punt 97-yards for the major.
It wasn’t enough to undo the damage Shutter and running back Michael Kiapway did in the first half however, as Regina entered the break up 30-20. By then Shutter had amassed 301 passing yards and two touchdowns, while Kiapway rumbled for 103 yards and one TD. Coming into the contest Regina had only gained 69 rushing yards this season, but managed to finish with 117 rush yards against the Bears.
Alberta’s running game, which boasts two of the top six rushers in the conference, combined for just 80 yards on 30 carries on Saturday day night as Alberta were out gunned on offence 631 yards to 457.
The teams traded field goals in the third quarter, and Alberta was also awarded a safety, but the Bears suddenly struck from nowhere when Schwartz hit a streaking Aundrey Webster up the middle, and the first year running back sprinted 60 yards for the major and a surprising 32-31 Alberta lead at the end of the third.
But Shutter, as he did all night, threw a dart through Alberta’s balloon, as he marched the Rams into Bears’ territory and retook the lead with the 34-yard TD strike to Copithorn.
After a field goal, Shutter capped off another drive with a one yard TD plunge at 14:11 of the fourth, and then, following a Regina interception, Shutter hit Jared Janotta with an eight yard TD toss with four seconds on the clock to finish the game at 55-35.
Regina returns home next weekend, when they take on the 1-2 UBC Thunderbirds, while Alberta bounces out to Saskatoon to take on the 2-1 Huskies.
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No. 4 Carabins 29, No. 10 Huskies 10
At Montreal, Sean Thomas-Erlington rushed for 106 yards and touchdown as the Carabins (3-0) defeated Saint Mary’s (1-1).
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Lancers 44, Ravens 14
At Windsor, Ont., Austin Kennedy threw three touchdown passes as the Lancers (2-2) got past winless Carleton (0-3).
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X-Men 35, Stingers 18
At Montreal, Clay Masikewich threw three touchdown passes as St. FX (2-0) defeated Concordia (0-3).