BOX SCORE HAMILTON – A slow first half doomed the No. 5-ranked Queen's Gaels as they fell, 33-20, to the No. 1-ranked McMaster Marauders in OUA football action at Ron Joyce Stadium, Saturday. The Gaels trailed 26-3 after the first half, as the Marauders scored touchdowns on their first and last possessions of the half, sandwiching four field goals by Tyler Crapigna (Nepean, Ont.)
 
“The first half got away from us,” said Pat Sheahan, the Gaels' head coach. “But we opened it up in the second half and put up nearly 300 yards. We learned some things about our team, and what we have to do.”
 
McMaster opened the scoring at 1:48, as Robert Babic (Oakville, Ont.) caught a 35-yard pass from Kyle Quinlan (South Woodslee, Ont.), completing a five-play, 90-yard opening drive. The Gaels responded with a 42-yard field goal from Dillon Wamsley (London, Ont.), cutting the gap to 7-3. The Marauders stretched their lead throughout the half via the right foot of Crapigna on placements of 31, 21, 40 and 45 yards. The Marauders' other first-half major came with 21 seconds left, as Ben O'Connor (Kingston, Ont.) caught a 50-yard pass from Quinlan for his first career score. The Marauders held a wide edge statistically after the first half, outgaining the Gaels 408-122, and making 17 first downs to only six for the Gaels.
 
After a Quinlan run stretched the lead to 33-3 early in the third, the Gaels mounted a late comeback. A two-yard run by Ryan Granberg (Sherwood Park, Alta.) cut the margin to 33-10 late in the third, his seventh touchdown of the season. After a Wamsley single, Billy McPhee (Burlington, Ont.) hooked up with Justin Chapdelaine (Abbotsford, B.C.) on a nine-yard pass, cutting the gap to 33-18 with four minutes to go. Late, the Gaels had first and goal on the McMaster 7-yard line, but were unable to convert on three pass attempts. A Queen's safety touch on the game's penultimate play rounded out the scoring.
 
Queen's outgained McMaster in the second half, 306 yards to 109, and made 20 second-half first downs, to only nine for the Marauders.
 
Quinlan went 25-for-36 for 340 yards with two touchdowns. He also ran eight times for 76 yards. Kasean Davis-Reynolds (Mississauga, Ont.) led McMaster on the ground with 17 carries for 132 yards. The Marauders' leading receiver was Babic, with nine catches for 104 yards.
 
For Queen's, McPhee went 29-for-46 for 320 yards, his second 300-yard game in three weeks. Giovanni Aprile (Toronto, Ont.) led the Gaels' receivers with 103 receiving yards on six catches, while Chapdelaine has seven catches for 70 yards and Scott Macdonnell (Montreal, Que.) made seven catches for 74 yards. Granberg carried the ball 20 times for 103 yards.
 
Defensively, Ben D'Andrea (Calgary, Alta.) led Queen's with seven tackles, while Derek Wiggan (Toronto, Ont.) had six tackles and a sack. The Gaels sacked Quinlan five times, for 27 yards. Steve Ventresca and Aram Eisho (both Hamilton, Ont.) led McMaster with nine tackles each.
 
The Marauders finished the game with a 517-428 edge in total yards, and with 27 first downs to the Gaels' 26. The Gaels committed five turnovers, four on downs, while McMaster made none.
 
McMaster (4-0) returns to action next week as they visit the No. 6-ranked Western Mustangs (3-1). The Gaels (3-1), meanwhile, return home to face the Ottawa Gee-Gees (0-4). Kickoff at Richardson Stadium is set for 1 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 29.