KINGSTON, Ont. (October 14, 2017) – The Queen's Gaels (3-4) defeated the York Lions (1-6) at Richardson Stadium in front of a Homecoming crowd of 7,542 Tricolour faithful on Saturday afternoon. The third consecutive win moves the Gaels to 3-4 on the season.
 
GAME FLOW
The York Lions kicker Dante Mastrogiuseppe picked up the games first two points as he punched a pair of early punts through the side of the end zone to give the Lions a 2-0 lead.
 
With a charged Homecoming crowd, it wasn't long before Queen's responded. Nate Hobbs (Mississauga, Ont.) connected with Matteo Del Brocco (Leamington, Ont.) who took the ball for 46 yards to clinch his third touchdown of the season.
 
Minutes later, the Gaels were on the scoreboard again with a 21-yard field goal from second-year kicker Nick Liberatore (Dartmouth, N.S.).
 
Feeding off the Tricolour crowd, the Gaels kept rolling as Wesley Mann (Almonte, Ont.) snared an interception – his second in as many games - halting York's drive and running for 20 yards into Lions territory. The offence couldn't capitalize however as a field goal attempt missed wide left.
 
Queen's captain and defensive linebacker Nelkas Kwemo (Montreal) came up big for the Gaels with a pick that he carried for 22 yards. On the three-yard line, Hobbs found Del Brocco again to notch his second touchdown of the game and give the Gaels a 17-2 lead.
 
With the Queen's defence standing strong, the Lions weren't able to get an offensive flow going. Gaels lineman Zac Sauer (Ayr, Ont.) bulldozed his way through the Lions line for his third sack of the season.
 
Going into the second frame, York was able to hit a 25-yard field goal to climb within a pair of touchdowns at a 19-5 score. The relentless Gaels drove up the field and answered back with a 23-yard touchdown for homegrown receiver Jeremy Pendergast (Kingston, Ont.). The Gaels defence continued to put on a show at Richardson Stadium. Defensive back Nick Fraser-Greene (Mississauga, Ont.) returned a Lion's fumble 47 yards. From there, Jake Puskas (Thunder Bay, Ont.) took care of business, finishing the play with a Gaels touchdown.
 
With the clock counting down, Hobbs found Rudy Uhl (North Vancouver, B.C.) for another Queen's touchdown to boost the score 40-5.
 
The Lions were able to get a touchdown after Lions quarterback Brett Hunchak found Alex Daley for a 7-yard touchdown followed by a two-point conversion to make it 40-13 going into halftime.
 
The halftime break saw the members of the Tricolour Guard take to the field to march in a special Homecoming parade. The Tricolour Guard is made up of Gaels alumni who graduated from Queen's 50 or more years ago. Alumni celebrating their 50th reunion received a special medal, while Tricolour Guard inductees were given a commemorative pin.
 
As both teams made their way back onto the field for the third quarter, the Queen's defence continued to shine. Kwemo picked up his third sack of the season, taking down Lions quarterback Hunchak for a loss of five yards.
 
On their next drive, Hobbs found Puskas who ran for 68 yards before being tackled on the two-yard line. In scoring territory, powerful Puskas punched it in for his second touchdown of the game.
 
On their next drive, the Lions conceded their second safety of the game. After a few exchanges of possession, Liberatore hit his third and longest field goal of the game from 42-yards out.
 
The fourth frame saw a series of flags from both sides and the Lions were able to notch three touchdowns. With a final score of 52-34, the Gaels secured their third straight win of the season.
 
BY THE NUMBERS
3 – Touchdowns came from three different Gaels on the day
18 – 18th consecutive win over York in the all-time series since 1971
2/2 – A pair of touchdowns each for Del Brocco and Puskas
6 – Kurtis Schaefer led the Gaels with six total tackles
1 – Just one more regular season game left before playoffs
 
FINAL SAY
"The first half was great for the offence, but I think the key to it was the great field position provided by the defence. I think the key for us the past couple of weeks has been to focus on us. We have to keep getting better as a team so that if the playoffs come, we are the best that we can be." - QB Nate Hobbs.
 
UP NEXT
The Gaels will hit the road next weekend when they travel to Toronto to take on the Varsity Blues on Saturday in their final game of the regular season. Game time is set for 1 pm. Watch the game live on OUA.tv.