<<BOXSCORE>>

KINGSTON, Ont. (September 12, 2009) –The No. 7 Queen's Gaels (2-0) held the McMaster Marauders (1-1) to a total of 158 offensive yards as the Gaels edged the Marauders 8-7 on Saturday afternoon at Richardson Stadium.

Jimmy Therrien of Montreal rushed for career high 181-yards carrying the ball 29 times in the Gaels win. Danny Brannagan of Burlington, Ont., threw the game's only touchdown to Chris Ioannides of Toronto before leaving the game with an injury mid-way through the second quarter.

With Brannagan on the sidelines, the Gaels' defensive unit suffocated McMaster's offense from that point on relinquishing only a single point in the fourth quarter.

McMaster's Andrew Waugh of Perth, Ont., recorded 24 and 38-yard field goals as well as rouge in the Marauders loss

After the rouge which pulled McMaster back to within a single point, the game came down to the final couple of possessions. With under four-minutes to play in the game, McMaster appeared to get inside the Gaels red zone with a great reception from WR Sean Fahey of Mississauga, Ont., but a costly McMaster penalty would wipe out the gain. The Marauders would not get another chance as the Gaels defense held up and preserved their second close win of the season.

Linebacker T.J. Leeper of London, Ont., who played a big role in the Gaels defensive effort recording 4.5 tackles, said the defence was out to make a point against McMaster.

“We were anxious to get back out of their and prove to everyone, and ourselves, that we are a good defense,” said Leeper. “This week we really went out and showed we are the defense we thought we were.”

Following the game head coach Pat Sheahan awarded the game ball to the entire defensive unit.

Next week, the Gaels travel to the nation's capital to battle the Ottawa Gee Gees on September 19. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:00 pm at Frank Clair Stadium. Ottawa upset the Gaels in the playoffs last year.

Notes: Chris Smith's (Toronto) first quarter interception was the Gaels first of the season…QB Justin Chapdelaine (Abbotsford, B.C.) completed his first CIS pass to Blaise Morrison (Bedford, N.S) for a first down in the 2nd quarter… Therrien's 181 rushing yards were a single-game career high…Therrien's previous high of 75 rushing yards came again York on Oct. 4, 2008 …Attendance at the game was 2,378.