Toronto (September 20, 2008) – Dan Brannagan of Burlington, Ont. passed for three touchdowns and dashed for another two as the No. 4 Queen's Gaels rolled to a 58-14 win over the Toronto Varsity Blues on Saturday in Toronto.
Brannagan threw for 241-yards completing 13 passes in 22 attempts moving Queen's 2008 record to a perfect 4-0. This record matches the 2007 season start which also saw Queen's post a 4-0 record out of the gate.
With the three touchdowns completion, Brannagan now leads the nation with 11, one ahead of Western's Michael Faulds of Eden Mills, Ont.
Mike Giffin of Kingston, Ont. broke the 200-yard rushing barrier for the second time this season posting a career high 215-yards and recording three touchdowns. With it, he also extended his consecutive game rushing streak of 100-yards or more to 14 games. The streak dates back to 2006.
This game marks only the second time Giffin has pushed over the 200-yard mark in his four year career.
The No. 4 Gaels now face off against the No. 2 Western Mustangs (4-0) in a battle of unbeaten teams on Homecoming weekend in Kingston next Saturday. Queen's bitterly remembers a 27-19 loss to the Mustangs last year in the opening round of the playoffs and have revenge on their mind.
“Coach (Pat Sheahan) has been telling us all week don't look past this game, but for many of us, that Western loss last year really hurt,” said Giffin during post game interviews. “We've all been looking forward to this game since Game No. 1. It doesn't get any better. This is going to be one to remember for sure.”
Early on it appeared that Toronto was going to make a game out of the contest. On the first play of the opening drive, Mark Stinson of Calgary took a handoff from Blues quarterback David Hamilton of Mississauga, Ont. Stinson then proceeded to throw to a wide open Drew Meerveld who runs into the end zone for what looked like a opening touchdown.
The play however was called back on a holding penalty. On the ensuing drive, Giffin took advantage breaking several tackles for a 74-yard dash that would result in a one-yard touchdown run for Brannagan.
Queen's doubled their lead five-minutes later when Giffin added his second major on a crafty 35-yard run.
The Blues responded quickly when Toronto's Stinson capped off a 66-yard drive with a four-yard run to cut the lead in half at the end of the first quarter.
From that point on Queen's rattled off 37 unanswered points to seal the victory. Toronto's other touchdown came at the end of the third quarter when Hamilton connected with Earl Johnson of Baltimore, Md on a 33-yard pass.
NOTES: Officials at the University of Toronto observed a moment of silence for Hal McCarney prior to kickoff. McCarney a member of the Queen's Football Hall of Fame and former player and coach passed away earlier this week at the age of 81… Attendance for the game was 1,851 with a several Queen's alumni attending the game. Next week's matchup will be broadcast on the Score with kickoff scheduled for 1:00pm… With Homecoming next week tickets for the game are limited. Fans are reminded to purchase tickets early by calling 613.533.2500.
