The Queen's Gaels (1-3) are on the road this week as they travel to face their Old Four rivals the No.10 Toronto Varsity Blues (2-1) at Varsity Stadium on Saturday at 1:00 pm.
TORONTO PREVIEW
The No.10 Varsity Blues (2-1) are nationally ranked for the first time since 1997, an achievement largely due to the play of quarterback Clay Sequeira leading the highest-scoring offence (40.7 ppg) this season.
Alongside Sequiera, receivers Will Corby and Nolan Lovegrove sit atop the conference in receiving yards per game and touchdowns. Lovegrove leads in receiving yards per game at 132.7 and Corby trails with 118. Corby leads in touchdowns at five and Lovergrove follows closely behind with four.
The Gaels and Varsity Blues first met on the gridiron on October 15, 1887 when Toronto defeated Queen's 10-8. Toronto holds the slight edge on the all-time record as the Gaels are 86-88-4 against their rivals but have won 17 straight meetings with their last loss coming October 4, 1975 in a 32-10 result for Toronto.
SNYDER ON TORONTO
"They're a really good football team on tape, you talk about the explosive ability of the Windsor offence, the Toronto offence is even more explosive and the quarterback is playing as well as anyone in the country right now, so it's going to be a great challenge," said Gaels head coach Steve Snyder.
QUEEN'S CONNECTION
Varsity Blues head coach Greg Marshall will face his old club for a second time. Before joining Toronto in 2018, he previously served as the defensive coordinator for the Gaels from 2014-17.
Toronto Defensive Coordinator Bob Mullen served as the Gaels defensive coordinator from 1988 to 2000 and played for Queen's before that as well. Toronto quarterbacks coach Tommy Denison, started as quarterback for the Gaels from 2001-2003, winning the Hec Crighton Trophy twice in 2002 and 2003.
KEY PLAYERS TO WATCH
RB Rasheed Tucker - Queen's
Following two consecutive games leading Queen's in carries and yards, Rasheed Tucker will look to continue his hot start since returning from injury. Running the ball often will likely be a strategy employed by Queen's as Toronto has allowed a conference worst 219.7 rushing yards per game.
DB Zack Kealey - Queen's
Against Windsor, Queen's safety Zack Kealey anchored the Gaels defence to keep the high-scoring Lancers offence under 10 points. The Gaels face an even tougher test against Toronto, as the Varsity Blues currently have the top passing attack in the OUA.
QB Clay Sequeira - Toronto
Blues quarterback Clay Sequeira is having a breakout season this year. Sequeira leads the OUA in yards (1257), touchdowns (14) and has thrown only one interception this season.
WR Nolan Lovegrove - Toronto
Lovegrove has emerged as one of the top receivers in the OUA, leading the conference in yards per game and second in touchdowns. Lovegrove also provides Toronto with a deep threat alongside Will Corby, his 79-yard touchdown in Toronto's 54-26 blowout victory over Windsor is the second-longest of the season.
2018 MATCHUP
Queen's earned a blowout victory 43-7 over Toronto at Richardson Stadium last season.
Nate Hobbs had an impressive performance completing 27 of 39 attempts for 386 yards, one touchdown and one interception. The Gaels had two receivers over 100 yards, as Chris Osei-Kusi caught eight receptions for 111 yards and Ben Arhen tallied four receptions for 101 yards.
The Blues offence sputtered in the loss as quarterback Clay Sequiera of Toronto completed 13-28 passes for 141 yards and one interception.
