KINGSTON, Ont. (September 23, 2009) – With three wins in their first three games, the No. 5 Queen's Gaels look to remain unbeaten in 2009 as they welcome the York Lions to town.
The Gaels are coming off an impressive 20-8 victory over the Ottawa Gee Gees last weekend in Ottawa. The win marked just the third time that Queen's has defeated Ottawa in the last 10 seasons.
With fifth-year quarterback
Danny Brannagan of Burlington, Ont. not in the lineup due to a shoulder injury, the Gaels defence stepped up for the second week in a row.
Shomari Williams of Brampton, Ont. had a big game in his debut with the Gaels. The transfer student from the University of Houston had 7.5 tackles, two sacks and a fumble recovery in helping Queen's shutdown the talented Ottawa duo of Brad Sinopoli and Jordan Wilson-Ross. Williams' strong performance earned him both the OUA and CIS Defensive Player of the Week honour.
As for the Lions, they have struggled to start the season, losing their first three games to Windsor, Guelph and McMaster. Last week against the Marauders, the Lions could not stop running back Jordan Kozina who caught two touchdowns and ran for another as the Marauders defeated York 49-8.
In that game, Lions quarterback Nick Coutu of St. Catharines, Ont. threw for 73 yards and a touchdown while running back Jacob Appiah of Etobicoke, Ont. ran for 75 yards.
One bright spot for the Lions so far this season has been the play of linebacker Steven Reading. Reading of Fenelon Falls, Ont. leads the CIS in total tackles with 34 on the season. The Lions will rely on Reading to try and stop Gaels running back
Jimmy Therrien of Montreal, Que. who is averaging over 100 yards rushing per game this season.
When these two teams last met, the Gaels walked away with a convincing 80-0 victory. In that game, Brannagan threw for four touchdowns while fifth-year receiver
Scott Valberg of Kingston, Ont. had 192 receiving yards and four touchdowns.
Kickoff between the Gaels and Lions is scheduled for 1:00 pm on Saturday afternoon at Richardson Stadium.
