After a morning of rain in Kingston, the weather cleared for a beautiful evening of football at Richardson Stadium. 

After losing their season opener in Windsor in week 1. Queen's football was looking to find the win column for the first time in 2024 on their home turf, welcoming the McMaster Marauders to town. 

After being forced to punt on their first drive, the Queen's football offence found their rhythm early in the first quarter. An electric 13-yard run from starting quarterback Alex Vreeken put the Gaels deep in McMaster territory. Fourth-year running back, Jared Chisari would end the drive with his first of two touchdowns in the opening quarter. Chisari, on top of the two touchdowns, also ran for over 100 yards in the first quarter. Queen's led 14-0 after quarter number one. 

The Queen's football defence started hot and didn't look back in the first half. Forcing the Marauders to punt on their first three possessions. The only productive McMaster drive in the first two quarters would end after Queen's slammed the door on a third and one from the Gaels three-yard line. 

A Tyler Mullan field goal would be the only points for the majority of the second quarter for Queen's, that is until Chisari recorded his hat-trick. A long Queen's drive would be capped off by a bruising run from number 29 in gold. 

Queen's would take two penalties late in the second quarter, giving McMaster a first down on the Queen's one-yard line. Marauders fullback Isaac Leder pushed through the Queen's football defensive line for 6 points. The point-after attempt would be successful and McMaster would cut the lead to 24-7 heading into halftime.

The Queen's defence would continue to be the storyline in the second half. Linebacker Justin Pace would intercept McMaster quarterback Keagan Hall at the Queen's 50-yard line. The rest of the third quarter would be quiet, with no score from either side. 

McMaster would strike first in the fourth quarter. A deep pass down the sideline from Hall would set up the drive, and Jackson Taylor would finish the drive, slicing his way into the endzone for a Marauders touchdown.

McMaster made it interesting, cutting the Queen's lead down to five points late in the fourth quarter. The Queen's football defence stood tall once again, Justin Pace delivered a booming hit on McMaster's Nathan Denkers, forcing a fumble that Queen's recovered. The Queen's offence would kneel the game away, securing their first win of the 2024 campaign by a final score of 27-22. 

Head coach of the Queen's football team, Steve Snyder spoke with the media after the first win of the season. 

"Overall it was a really good atmosphere and a good win for the guys, I am really pleased with how fast we started," said Snyder.

The head coach also spoke about middle linebacker Justin Pace and his impact on the team's victory against McMaster. 

"Justin has become one of the leaders on the defense…, Justin does a great job with that defense as a whole and that was a massive play at the end of the game forcing the fumble." 

Queen's football will be back at Richardson Stadium on September 7, 2024, when the York Lions make their way to Kingston for a 3:00 pm kickoff. Tickets for that game are on sale now.