Exactly one week after their last matchup, Queen's Football and the Ottawa Gee-Gees faced off at Richardson Stadium again, this time in the OUA Playoffs, and Queen's managed to come out on top again. Queen's grabbed another victory, edging the Gee-Gees 15-10, to advance to the OUA semifinals.
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"Obviously, playing them last week, we kind of have a key of what they were doing but they definitely changed it up this week in regards to their protection and what the H-backs were doing, so at halftime, we made a big adjustment," said Head Coach
Steve Snyder.
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After a slow start offensively for both teams in the first quarter, Queen's put together a strong drive that resulted in points.
Benoit Cormier (Moncton, N.B.) keyed the drive with an impressive 34-yard reception from
Russell Weir (Oakville, Ont.), while
Jared Chisari (Naples, ME) and
Anthony Soles (Pointe Claire, Que.) joined forces in a strong rushing attack. Ultimately, Soles scored a touchdown with a five-yard rush, giving Queen's a 7-0 lead.
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Gallery: (10-28-2023) Queen's Football vs. Ottawa (Oct. 28)
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Queen's increased their lead to 8-0 after a rouge by punter
Aayden Callan (Medicine Hat, Alta.). The Gee-Gees responded with two field goals to cut the gap to 8-6.
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Justin Pace (St-Lambert, Que.) and
Eric Colonna (Mississauga, Ont.) led Queen's continued strong defensive effort, and
Van Wishart (Courtice, Ont.) delivered a crucial sack to Ottawa's quarterback.
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Tyler Mullan (North Bay, Ont.) added another point for Queen's with a rouge, but Ottawa responded minutes later, securing a rouge point of their own, resulting in a tight 9-7 score at half time.
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The third quarter was another defensive battle, with linebacker Pace spearheading the effort against the Gee-Gees' offence.
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Weir got the offence moving later in the corner, executing a remarkable 48-yard pass to Jack
Ashby-Jacobs (Ottawa, Ont.), and Queen's would add another point on a rouge. Later, Weir connected with
Cedric Smith (Oakville, Ont.) on a 38-yard bomb, and Mullan added another three points to the board with a 30-yard field goal, solidifying Queen's lead to 13-7.
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In the final quarter, Ottawa notched an early field goal, reducing Queen's lead to 13-10. When the Gee-Gees got the ball back,
Darien Newell (Brampton, Ont.) contributed two crucial points to the scoreboard by sacking Ottawa's quarterback in their end zone, resulting in an 8-yard loss and safety.
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Queen's defence sealed the game the rest of the way for the five-point win.
Queen's will face the Western Mustangs next week London, Ont. in the OUA semifinals. After the big game, Newell said the team is ready to prepare this week for a game with high stakes next Saturday.
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"It's playoff football, so you know it's gonna be physical regardless," Newell said. "So the week coming up, it's more of a physical practice and preparing ourselves mentally for what we're about to do."
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Weir had a strong game behind centre, going 13-19 for 222 yards. Chisari gained 140 yards for Queen's on the ground.
Aidan O'Neal (Sackville, N.B.) led Queen's in receptions with six for a total of 52 yards.
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Pace led Queen's defence with 4.5 tackles, (two solo and five assisted).
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This season, Queen's has placed a significant emphasis on their ground game and robust defensive strategies. Synder the team's identity is well-established heading into the next round of the playoffs, stating, "we are who we are."
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"The big thing in football is you build off what you do well, and you try to improve your weaknesses," said Coach Synder.
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"It was a great day today to win at Richardson and give the seniors a great game here at home. Really proud of our football team and what we had today."
