The Queen's Gaels football team gets their OUA regular season underway this Sunday as they travel to Toronto for a week one matchup with the York Lions. Game time is set for 1pm at Alumni Field and all of the action can be seen live on OUA.tv.
YORK PREVIEW
Both teams played in pre-season action last weekend as the Gaels were victorious over the Waterloo Warriors, meanwhile the Lions fell to the Concordia Stingers.
The Gaels are coming off a 4-4 season where they were able to sneak into the playoffs as the 6
th seed. In their lone playoff game at McMaster, the Gaels were able to keep it close but eventually fell 12-9 eliminating them from the playoffs.
The Lions were 1-7 last season with their lone win coming in a blowout victory at home over the Toronto Varsity Blues. They will have QB Brett Hunchak back for his fourth season. He was fifth in the OUA in 2017 with 1,795 passing yards at just over 60% completion percentage. He was also named to the U SPORTS East-West Bowl along with teammates Colton Hunchak and Nikola Kalinic.
2017 MATCHUP
These two teams met late last season at Richardson Stadium in what was a pivotal game for the Gaels playoff push.
Nate Hobbs' 362 passing yards and four passing touchdowns led the way to a 52-34 win for the Gaels.
Jake Puskas ran for 160 yards with a pair of scores, meanwhile
Matteo Del Brocco led all receivers with 102 receiving yards and a pair of touchdowns as well.
On the defensive end the Gaels came away with four sacks and three interceptions stifling the Lion's offence for the majority of the game.
At one point the Gaels had a game-high lead of 39 points before a trio of Lions touchdowns in the fourth quarter shrunk the gap.
With the win, the Gaels improved to a perfect 17-0-0 all-time against York and will look to remain undefeated with a strong performance on Sunday.
HOME OPENER
The Gaels will return home after week one and prepare for their home opener. They will take on the Laurier Golden Hawks on September 2 at 6:30pm at Richardson Stadium.
FULL TEAM PREVIEW
2017 regular season record: 4-4
2017 regular season standings: 6
th in OUA
2017 playoff record: 0-1
2017 playoff finish: Lost 12-9 to McMaster in OUA quarter-final
The Gaels started their 2017 season with back-to-back heartbreaking losses. First, a last-minute touchdown by the Carleton Ravens handed the Gaels their first loss in their home opener. The following week, a late field goal by the Ottawa Gee-Gees meant they started off 0-2. After two more losses against Laurier and Western the Gaels finished the first half 0-4.
The second half was a completely different story. The Gaels cruised through their final four games with their narrowest margin of victory being 18 in a home win against the York Lions. On the final week of the season, the Gaels clinched the final playoff spot with a win against Toronto along with some help from across the league.
In their playoff game against McMaster, the Gaels were able to keep it close throughout but were never able to find the end zone resulting in a 12-9 loss.
The Gaels are looking to carry over their late-season success from last year into 2018. With most offensive players returning, the Gaels high-scoring offence should take the next step. However, with vital defensive stars not returning for 2018 (Kwemo, Moore, Mann), others will need to step up and fill their spots.
Head Coach: Pat Sheahan
- Number of seasons as head coach with team (including 2018): 19 seasons.
- Number of seasons as head coach in U SPORTS (including 2018): 30 seasons.
- Career regular season record with team: 87-57-0
- Career regular season record in U SPORTS: 135-90-1
- Career overall record with team (reg. season & playoffs only): 99-69-0
- Career overall record in U SPORTS (reg. season & playoffs only): 153-110-1
OFFENCE
Number of returning starters: 8
Key returning players:
QB
Nate Hobbs returns for 5
th season. Second Team OUA All-Star (2017). Led U SPORTS in 2017 TD passes (21). Led OUA and second in U SPORTS in passing yards in 2017 (2,570). Needs 364 passing yards to surpass a career total of 7,000.
REC
Chris Osei-Kusi returns for 4
th season. First Team OUA All-Star (2017). Led OUA and fifth in U SPORTS in 2017 in TD receptions (7). Second in OUA and ninth in U SPORTS in 2017 in receiving yards (723). Led Team East in receiving yards (47) in 2017 East-West Bowl.
RB
Jake Puskas returns for 3
rd season. Fifth in OUA in 2017 in rushing yards (727) and fourth in rushing TDs (6).
FB
Marquis Richards returns for 4
th season. Was selected to Team West in the 2017 East West Bowl. In 2017, returned mid-season and helped the Gaels finish 4-0 in the second half of the season.
Key recruits or transfers:
RB
Rasheed Tucker from from Upper Canada College (Toronto, Ont.). 2015 UCC Athlete of the Year as well as Rookie of the Year. 2016 Durham Dolphins JV team MVP and UCC MVP. Back-to-back CISAA championships in 2015-16.
QB
James Keenan from Sacred Hearts CHS (Ottawa, Ont.). 2017 Fox 40 Prospect Challenge game MVP.
RB
Nathan Langley from Notre Dame CHS (Burlington, Ont.). Member of Team Ontario during the 2017 U-18 Canada Cup.
Key losses:
REC
Alex Zulys had career-highs in receiving in 2017 and found a larger role in the offence. He had 26 receptions for 306 yards to go along with two touchdown receptions.
RB
Jonah Pataki was the lead back for the Gaels in 2016 when he posted 814 rushing yards to go along with 7 TDs. His 2017 campaign was cut short due to injury and in 3 games he gained 203 yards.
DEFENCE
Number of returning starters: 3
Key returning players:
DB
Ejaz Causer returns for 4
th season. Career-high 31 tackles in 2017 to go along with an interception. Was selected to Team East in the 2017 East-West Bowl. Recipient of the Queen's Nixon Academic Leadership Award for his achievements in academics, community service and fair play.
DL
Cam Lawson returns for his 3
rd season. Second Team OUA All-Star (2017). He recorded 3.5 sacks to go along with 24.5 tackles.
LB
Dominic Ciraco returns for his 3
rd season. OUA All-Rookie in 2016. Missed the entirety of the 2017 season with an injury but will return for 2018.
Key recruits or transfers:
DE
Anthony Federico from Saint Michael CHS (Niagara Falls, Ont.). 2017 Defensive MVP and CJFL All-Star with the Hamilton Hurricanes.
LB
Wells Karabin from St. Andrew's College (Aurora, Ont.).
DB
Eric Colonna from St. Marcellinus (Mississauga, Ont.). 2017 CFC All-Canadian and ROPSSAA defensive player of the year. Also a member of the Mississauga Warriors (OPFL).
Key losses:
LB
Nelkas Kwemo was drafted by the Toronto Argonauts in the 2
nd round, 18
th overall in the 2018 CFL Draft. In the 2017 season he was a First Team OUA All-Star as well as a First Team U SPORTS All-Canadian. He amassed 149 career tackles through four seasons and in 2017 he recorded career-highs in sacks (4) and interceptions (3).
LB
Mike Moore was drafted by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the 6
th round, 44
th overall in the 2018 CFL Draft. Was among Queen's team leaders in tackles each of his four seasons. Averaged 5.8 tackles per game throughout his career.
DB
Wesley Mann capped off his four-year Gaels career with a First Team OUA All-Star selection. He picked off seven interceptions throughout his career, however five of those came in 2016 where he tied for the OUA lead in the category.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Key returning players: Liberatore, Arhen
K/P
Nick Liberatore returns for 3
rd season. Went 13/19 on Field Goals last season and was 34/34 on PATs.
REC/KR
Benjamin Arhen returns for 2
nd season. During his six games played he was the team's primary kick returner. He netted 259 yards on 16 returns.
RB/PR
Nolan Bedard returns for 2
nd season. During his seven games played he was the team's primary punt returner. He netted 342 yards on 25 returns.
