Rams clinch postseason berth, home playoff game with win over UBC 

REGINA, Sask. - The No. 8-ranked University of Regina Rams clinched a postseason berth and the right to host a Canada West semifinal game after outlasting the UBC Thunderbirds for a 35-33 win on Friday night at Mosaic Stadium.

After increasing their lead to nine points with a late 70-yard touchdown pass from Noah Picton to Mitchell Picton with 1:36 left, the Rams (5-2) surrendered a major to UBC just 56 seconds later after the Thunderbirds went on an eight-play, 79-yard scoring drive. But the Rams were able to recover the ensuing onside kick, with Riley Wilson coming down with the ball to seal the win for Regina.

"We've got a lot to learn on special teams and that helped make it a lot closer tonight than I wanted it to be," Rams head coach Steve Bryce said. "But I was happy with how resilient we are and what we did in the fourth quarter to stay in the game. There were plenty of times we could have let down, but we didn't."

Noah Picton was 29-for-40 in the win, giving him 197 completions for the year. That breaks the Canada West single-season completions record, which was originally set at 182 by former Rams quarterback Marc Mueller in 2010 and matched last year by Saskatchewan's Drew Burko.

Picton finished with 329 passing yards and threw four touchdowns in the win, two of which went to his cousin Mitchell Picton. Khalid Kornegay and Atlee Simon caught the other scores, with Picton finishing as the team's top receiver with six catches for 134 yards. Kornegay had a team-leading seven receptions for 51 yards, while Simon rushed 19 times for a total of 111 yards as he hits triple digits in rushing for the third consecutive game. 

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Source: University of Regina Sports Information

Mounties clinch playoff spot with 39-9 win over Huskies 

(SACKVILLE, N.B.) - The Mount Allison Mounties are headed back to the AUS football playoffs for the fifth straight season. 

The Mounties, who won AUS championships in 2013 and 2014, defeated Saint Mary's 39-9 on Seniors' Day at Alumni Field. 

The real story of the game came late in the second quarter when the Mounties scored 21 points in less than two minutes to take control of the game. 

Both sides battled to a scoreless first quarter as teams traded punts and vied for field position.

The Mounties held much of the time of possession and eventually were able to set up junior kicker Ryan Lambert for a 37-yard field at 13:19 of the second quarter. 

The score remained 3-0 until there were six minutes remaining in the first half, when the Mounties defence forced a Saint Mary's safety to make it 5-0. 

The Mounties then exploded for 21 points in less than two minutes during the final two and a half minutes of the second quarter. 

Mount Allison drove 73 yards before being stopped on third and goal to turn the ball over on downs. 

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Source: Mount Allison Athletics Communications

X-Men rally in second half to top Axemen 33-29

(WOLFVILLE, N.S.) – Twenty-two points in the second half gave the CIS No. 10-ranked StFX X-Men (6-1) a 33-29 win over the host Acadia Axemen (1-6).  

Trailing 25-11 at the half, the X-Men posted two majors, a field goal, two safeties and a rouge to grab a come-from-behind win—their third against the Axemen this season. 

Acadia jumped on the scoreboard on the opening kickoff with a safety to take a 2-0 lead, but StFX answered back on their second play from the line of scrimmage when Jordan Socholotiuk (Fort McMurray, Alta.) scampered 71 yards for the only X-Men major of the first half. 

Acadia picked up two safeties in the first quarter as both teams battled for good field position and Brandon Jennings (St. Albert, Alta.) added a field goal in the closing minute of the opening quarter to give the Axemen an 8-7 advantage.  

Jonathan Heidebrecht (Camrose, Atla.) tied the game at eight on a missed 27-yard field goal that added a rouge to the X-Men tally. 

Brandon Jennings added a 42-yard field goal, his first of a two field goal day, to give Acadia a 11-8 lead. Heidebrecht added yet another rouge to narrow the gap to 11-10. 

Jennings was called on again to kick his second and final field goal from 30 yards out, before the Axemen struck with their first of two first half touchdowns.  

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Source: Acadia Sports Communications

Queen's season ends after 42-41 OT loss to No. 9 Ottawa 

KINGSTON, Ont. (October 22, 2016) – The Gaels lost a heartbreaker against No.9 Ottawa in overtime on the last day of the regular season at Richardson Stadium in cold, wet, and windy conditions. The Gee-Gees took their only lead of the day on the last play of the game to win 42-41.
 
Ending the season at 3-5, Queen's finishes level with Guelph in the standings. The Gaels fall out of a playoff spot because the Gryphons won the head-to-head tie-break.
 
GAME FLOW
The first quarter started with a strong sack for the Gaels defence, with Nick Dowd (Gananoque, Ont.) taking down Ottawa quarterback Derek Wendel on the first offensive play of the game. The Gee-Gees went two-and-out, and punted into the wind from their own goal line. Jonah Pataki (Wallaceburg, Ont.) started a career day with three runs on the Gaels first three plays, including a 27-yarder that set up a first and goal on the one yard line. Nate Hobbs (Mississauga, Ont.) put Queen's up 7-0 with a quarterback sneak early in the first quarter. The next two Gaels possessions ended on the Ottawa one and two yard lines, but yielded no points after Queen's turned the ball over on downs. Kyle Gouveia (Brampton, Ont.) checked into the game for a few plays at the end of the first quarter after Hobbs went down favouring his ankle.
 
After Nicholas Fraser-Greene (Mississauga, Ont.) grabbed his first interception of the day at the Ottawa 19 yard line, the Gaels switched to fullback Eric Dodwell (Kingston, Ont.) at the goal line, who ran through the line from two yards out to score. With Queen's up 16-0, Gouveia took over the Gaels quarterbacking duties for good with 10 minutes to play in the second. After Ottawa got on the board with a 32 yard field goal,Niclas Bembenek (Winnipeg, Man.) responded for the Gaels with his only field goal of the day. The Gee-Gees went into halftime with a touchdown on the final play of second quarter, which was set up by a mishandled field goal return by Queen's.

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Source: Queen's Gaels

Golden Hawks clinch second place in OUA with 38-9 win over Windsor

WINDSOR, Ont. (October 22, 2016) – The No. 7 Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks men's football team clinched second place in the OUA and a first-round playoff bye on Saturday afternoon as they defeated the Windsor Lancers 38-9 at Alumni Field.

The victory gives the Hawks a 7-1 record on the year, giving them their best finish since 2007, and marks a turnaround for the program that saw the team improve from 1-7 under head coach Michael Faulds' first season in 2013.

"The success we've enjoyed this season is extra special because of where we were," said Faulds after the victory. "It's a testament to all our players and staff. The message we brought to the program back in 2013 was to stay the course. The players knew it was going to be a process that would take time. Our guys truly bought into that and have trusted in the staff. We're finally seeing the rewards of all our hard work that we put in."

As they have done all season, Laurier used a balanced rushing attack and a stout defence to knock off the Lancers. However, the Hawks also threw an accurate passing game at their opponents to round out a performance that saw the purple and gold end a four-game losing streak against Windsor. 

Quarterback Michael Knevel of Brantford, Ont., was the star of the game for Laurier as he had a career-afternoon, completing 15-of-20 passes for 298 yards and a touchdown in windy conditions. Knevel's 15 completions matched his career-best while his 298 yards through the air were a new career record.

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Source: Laurier Golden Hawks

Gryphons beat Lions and grab final spot in Yates Cup playoffs 

GUELPH, ON – The defending Yates Cup champions are playoff-bound. In cold and windy conditions on Saturday afternoon at Alumni Stadium, the Gryphons (3-5) won 52-8 over the visiting York Lions (2-6).

With that victory, combined with losses by both Queen's and Windsor, the Gryphons locked up the sixth and final spot in the OUA playoffs. The Gryphons will now head to Hamilton next Saturday (Oct. 29) to face the No. 3-seeded McMaster Marauders (6-2) in an OUA Quarterfinal matchup. Both Guelph and Queen's finished the regular season with identical 3-5 records, but it was the Gryphons advancing on the tiebreak after having won their head-to-head meeting with the Gaels back in Week 3.

By halftime on Saturday, the Gryphons held a 27-0 lead over York. After three quarters of play, they led 37-8. Although the end result between Guelph and York was never really in doubt, the Gryphons playoff hopes certainly were. In order for the Gryphons to advance to the postseason, they needed some help on the out-of-town scoreboard as either a Queen's or Windsor win would have put an end to the Gryphons 2016 season. Windsor was thumped 38-9 by Laurier. The problem was with the Queen's result. The Gaels played at home against the No. 9-ranked Ottawa Gee-Gees in a thrilling, high-scoring affair that needed overtime with both teams tied at 34-34 after four quarters. After Queen's opened overtime with a touchdown and extra point, the Gee-Gees answered with a TD of their own. However, instead of kicking an extra point and heading to a second overtime, Ottawa elected to go for a two-point conversion to end the game right then and there. Gee-Gees receiver Mitchell Baines, the brother of Gryphons linebacker Riley Baines, made a circus catch which not only sealed the win for the Gee-Gees, but also allowed the Gryphons to grab the sixth and final playoff spot.
 
After the game, Riley received a text from his brother with a message that was meant to be relayed to the rest of the Gryphons team. The text consisted of only two words:

"You're welcome."

While the Gryphons were certainly appreciative of the Gee-Gees overtime heroics, Guelph had to make sure to do their job on Saturday and take care of business against the York Lions. The Gryphons did just that.

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Source: Guelph Gryphons

No. 3 Mustangs sneak past No. 5 Marauders to claim first place

LONDON, Ont. – A strong defence and three field goals from Marc Liegghio helped the Western Mustangs finish out the regular season with a 19-18 win over the McMaster Marauders on Saturday afternoon at TD Stadium.
 
The win gives the Mustangs a 7-1 record, and secures not only a bye into the provincial semi-finals, but grants Western home field advantage throughout the OUA playoffs. McMaster moves to 6-2 on the year, good for third place in the standings, and the Marauders will host the sixth seeded Guelph Gryphons in a quarterfinal contest next week at Ron Joyce Stadium.
 
"That was a great defensive effort," said Mustangs head coach Greg Marshall after the win. "They did a good job in those third down scenarios." 
 
Western's defence limited McMaster to only 281 yards of total offence and 17 first downs. They also made big plays in critical times including stopping McMaster on each of their four third down attempts. Western was led in tackles by linebacker Jean-Gabriel Poulin with 5.5, with both Philippe Dion and Malcom Brown close behind with 5 and 4.5 stops respectively.
 
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Source: Western Mustangs

Ravens defeat Warriors to set up Panda Game rematch with crosstown rival Gee-Gees

WATERLOO, ON — The Ravens are headed to playoffs as the fourth ranked seed after defeating the Waterloo Warriors, 43-15, in the final regular season game.

"We were hoping at this point we would be in the conversation for the Yates Cup, but almost more importantly, we were hoping to get that first playoff game on campus," said head coach Steve Sumarah about the team's progress. "It shows that we really have come a long way."

BOX SCORE

Carleton started off the scoring against the Warriors mid-first quarter with a 65-yard connection from Mills to Behar. With 4:16 left on the clock, Jayde Rowe (Scarborough, ON) had an 8-yard run for a touchdown, bringing the Ravens lead up to 14. Mike Domagala (St. Catharines, ON) finished off the first quarter with a 27-yard field goal.

The Ravens continued to add to their score early in the second quarter, as Mills found receiver Dexter Brown (Sherwood Park, AB) on a 40-yard pass for another touchdown. The Ravens brought their lead to 24, while the Warriors remained scoreless.

A Carleton fumble put the Warriors in great scoring position, as they picked up the ball at the one-yard line. Waterloo pushed their way into the end zone, and found themselves on the board.

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Source: Carleton Ravens

Brown's boot bests 'Bees, as Redmen now in driver's seat for post-season

MONTREAL -- Rookie kicker Findlay Brown of Winnipeg, Man., made four field goals and tallied 13 points as McGill coasted to a 21-8 road victory at Concordia on a rain-soaked afternoon of RSEQ football, Saturday.

The result snapped Concordia's five-game win streak over the Redmen and the eight points scored was their lowest offensive output against McGill since a 10-6 loss in the 2002 Dunsmore Cup game.

McGill, which improved to 4-3, moved into the driver's seat for a probable playoff berth with one week remaining on their schedule. It is the most victories by a McGill squad since the 2004 season when they posted a 4-4 fourth-place finish.

Despite a constant drizzle, the 18-year-old Brown nailed all four of his field-goal attempts, connecting from distances of 20, 20, 19 and 36, respectively. A measure of consistency, the 5-foot-10, 175-pound management freshman averaged 37.8 yards on nine punts and 45.0 on a pair of kickoffs. Brown also converted quarterback Frederic Paquette-Perrault's one-yard touchdown plunge that put the Redmen ahead 10-0 on the first play of the second quarter, capping a 12-play, 109-yard scoring drive. Brown has been successful on 14 of 16 field-goal attempts this season and is ranked third in the conference scoring race with an average of 9.1 points per game.

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SOURCE:
Earl Zukerman
McGill Sports Info Office

Bisons beat Bears in septuple overtime stunner

EDMONTON – Septuplet overtime finish? Check. Longest football game in Canada West football history? Done. A quarterback catching a two-point convert in an overtime session? Got it. More points scored in overtime than in regulation time? Of course. Second highest scoring game in conference history, but a defensive play to seal the win? Naturally. You could confidently argue that the Oct. 22nd afternoon tilt between the one-win University of Alberta Golden Bears and the two-win Manitoba Bisons had it all, and in fact was one of the most exciting games of the Canada West football season. The only story line missing? A win for the home team in the final home game of the season, as the Bears dropped a thrilling and heartbreaking 67-59 seven OT loss to the Bisons at Foote Field.

Despite all the offensive fireworks, it was rookie defensive back Tanner Hamade who picked the perfect moment to be the unlikely hero as the Bisons defender stepped in front of a Ben Kopczynski pass at the Manitoba 2-yard line in the seventh OT to end the offensive outpouring. By the time the Abbotsford, B.C. native recorded his first INT of the season, the teams had combined for 1,334 yards of offence and 126 points, including 69 points in the seven overtime sessions. The receiver he was covering? None other than Alberta's Tylor Henry, who had banked a Canada West record 19 catches for 298 yards to that point, which was just five yards shy of breaking the conference single game receiving yards record.

It was a wildly unpredictable finish to a wildly unpredictable game played between two teams on the outside of the Canada West playoff picture. The loss, in fact, officially eliminated the Golden Bears from post-season contention, as they drop to a 1-6 record. Manitoba, meanwhile, entered the contest with a 2-4 record, and in second last. While the win propels them to 3-4, and back into the mix for the final playoff position, they are now tied with the UBC Thunderbirds for the fourth spot in the standings with one game remaining. Should Manitoba and UBC finish with identical records (3-5 or 4-4), UBC owns the head-to-head tie break based on UBC's 53-50 win over Manitoba this season in the lone meeting between the two.

However, with the Saskatchewan Huskies win over Calgary on Saturday afternoon, the Huskies, Bisons and Birds could all end up at 4-4 to end the season, and if all three teams finish 4-4, Manitoba and Saskatchewan will advance to the playoffs based on the tie-breakers. 

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Source: Matt Gutsch - Golden Bears and Pandas Athletics

Huskies pounce on Dinos, clinch playoff spot

CALGARY – The Saskatchewan Huskies took full advantage of their opportunities Saturday afternoon, handing the fourth-ranked Calgary Dinos their first on-field regular season home loss in more than six years with a 38-35 triumph at McMahon Stadium.

The loss snaps a nine-game win streak for the Dinos over Saskatchewan and was the first regular season defeat at home since the first game of the 2010 season, notwithstanding a forfeit in early 2014. The loss drops the Dinos to 5-2 on the year with one game to play, while Saskatchewan improves to 4-3, clinching a playoff spot.

Kyle Siemens completed 25 of 38 passes for 359 yards and two touchdowns for the Huskies in a back-and-forth game that got more interesting than it maybe should have been down the stretch.

On the final play of the third quarter, Siemens ran in a one-yard touchdown following a 62-yard passing play to Chad Braun on which the Dinos were unable to overcome sloppy tackling – a theme to the contest. A roughing the passer was tacked on – orange nylon being another theme – to set up the ball on the one-yard line, and Siemens' TD gave Saskatchewan the lead at 23-22.

Through the next 10 minutes, the Huskies found the end zone twice more thanks to a nine-play, 78-yard drive capped off by Tyler Chow's five-yard run, with Chow scoring a one-yard TD on Saskatchewan's next possession. That TD, however, was a field goal until an unnecessary roughness penalty on Calgary with Sean Stenger out to split the uprights turned third down into first and Chow waltzed in.

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Source: Ben Matchett; Dinos Assistant AD (Communications)

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