Mac gears up for the Gaels

Brandon Meawasige

Assistant Sports Editor

The McMaster Marauders are one game away from the Yates Cup, thanks to a six game winning streak that has Mac ranked third in the CIS top ten .

On Saturday, Mac will host the Queen’s university Golden Gaels at Ron Joyce Stadium for the OUA semifinal game. The contest kicks off at 4:30 pm and will be broadcast on The Score.

Quarterback Kyle Quinlan and the McMaster offense, nine weeks removed from their 26- 2 victory over the Gaels in the season’s first game, lead the country in yards per game with an average of 530.5.

Saturday will surely have a different look than the first time these two teams played; Gael’s running back Ryan Granberg, who carried the ball nine times for 27 yards in that game, finished the season as the nations leading with 1068 yards, averaging 152.6 each game, also chipping in the winning touchdown against Laurier in the OUA quarterfinal game.

In addition,

The Gaels boast the stingiest brand of defense in the OUA allowing a conference low 308.9 yards per game with 14 interceptions and 19 quarterback sacks.

Quite the suitor for McMaster’s offensive unit ranked #1 in Canada, moving the ball for 530.5 yards per game, over 300 of them coming through the air.

Both teams come into the contest on six game winning streaks, poised for a chance to hoist the Yates Cup, which the Gaels got a chance to do in 2009 and McMaster has not been able to do since 2003.

A true clash of the titans, Saturday’s game will feature many key matchups including Michael Dicroce, the nation’s top receiver lining up across from a Gaels secondary who shut down a juggernaut Laurier receiving core last week,

Ryan Granberg will also have a tough test facing a stout McMaster run defense that has conceded only two 100 yard rushing performances this entire season.

It will be interesting to see the winner of each match up this game will offer.

By the time the final whistle blows,

a variety of strategic moves from the coaching staff of each team and highlight real plays by the many OUA all-stars on both sides will ultimately determine who will play in the Yates Cup championship game. ‘

The winner of this game will face the winner of Windsor and Western which will also be broadcast on The Score at 1 pm.

Benjamin Deans

Queen’s Journal

Queen's

The Gaels’ season isn’t the only thing on the line at Saturday’s OUA semi-final at McMaster. Given the Gaels’ 26-2 home opener loss to the Marauders, there’s a good deal of pride at stake as well.

“We got embarrassed at home in front of a big crowd, so we need to rectify that,” CIS-leading running back Ryan Granberg said. “We want a little revenge.”

The Gaels beat the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks 14-10 at Richardson Stadium in the OUA quarter-final last Saturday, Oct. 29.

The game will be the Gaels’ first OUA semifinal since 2009. They also faced the Marauders in the semi-final that season, pounding them 32-6 en route to winning the Vanier Cup.

Following the 2009 playoffs blowout, the Gaels traveled to McMaster for the school’s 2010 home opener. With their championship players lost to graduation, the Gaels lost 18-23.

The two teams faced off again in the first round of the 2010 playoffs and the Marauders ended the Gaels’ season with a 40-19 defeat in Hamilton.

The game that still stings is that Queen’s 2011 home opener. In quarterback Billy McPhee’s first start, an offence straight out of training camp failed to score a touchdown, but was missing leading receiver Giovanni Aprile. The loss seemed to forecast another disappointing season for the Gaels.

Two weeks later, they turned it around.

Head coach Pat Sheahan focused the offence on Granberg. The defence stopped allowing points and started catching interceptions. The team started winning and hasn’t stopped for seven straight games.

But the Marauders have some stories of their own.

Two weeks after his 349-yard performance at Queen’s, McMaster quarterback Kyle Quinlan was suspended from his team for three games after a fight at campus bar.

He returned as good as ever and leads the CIS in passing yards per game.

The Marauders will be coming off two weeks of rest on Saturday. They finished the regular season second in the OUA with a 7-1 record the Gaels were third with 6-2 and earned a bye week.

The Gaels have struggled with injuries late in the season.

McPhee was on the sidelines last weekend with an undisclosed injury.

Backup Ryan Mitchell wasn’t at McPhee’s level, but was good enough to lead the Gaels to a win over the Golden Hawks.