First half quick strikes lead Queen’s Gaels over Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks (VIDEO)

Quarterback Billy McPhee (Burlington,Ont.) was masterful, completing 22 of 28 passes for 333 yards, his third career 300-yard passing game, and two touchdowns. His favourite target was Chapdelaine, who had seven catches for 176 yards and a touchdown.

“We had a bit of a slow start. I was a little bit surprised that we were not able to run inside a little better than we did,” said Gaels’ head coach Pat Sheahan. “Laurier did a pretty good job managing the run game, so we went to the air and it was very effective.”

The first 28 minutes were a titanic defensive struggle, and it was a defensive play that turned the tide for Queen’s. With 1:45 left in the half, Justin Baronaitis (Rexdale, Ont.) intercepted a Travis Eman (Brampton, Ont.) pass down the middle at the Laurier 53, and ran it back 40 yards, giving the Gaels their first red-zone chance of the night.

Three plays later, Granberg cruised into the end zone, putting Queen’s up 15-2 with 1:15 to go. The Gaels forced a two-and-out on the next Laurier possession, and took over with 49 seconds left. One play later, McPhee connected with Chapdelaine on a 66-yard pass and run that settled matters and quieted what had been a raucous gathering of 3,802 fans.

“Baronaitis’ interception kind of ignited us, because we went down and scored quickly,” said Sheahan. “We used our time outs effectively on the next series and I thought we were going to play that last [drive] for a field goal but we got the big play.”

The Gaels extended their lead with a pair of third-quarter touchdowns as Tim Godber (Montreal, Que.) scored first career major, and Granberg picked up his second touchdown of the night to give Queen’s a 36-9 lead. The fourth-year running back finished with 55 rushing yards on 18 carries, including the pair of scores.

Rookie kicker Dillon Wamsley (London, Ont.) hit four field goals and five conversions overall, and a first-quarter safety touch rounded out the Gaels’ scoring.

Laurier replied with a third-quarter touchdown catch by Alex Anthony (Victoria, B.C.), a one-yard catch by Alex Sanchez (Toronto, Ont.) with 1:19 to go, and a first-quarter safety touch.  Eman had a difficult day going 9-for-21 for 87 yards. He was replaced by Steve Fantham (London, Ont.) in the fourth quarter, who went 5-for-12 for 75 yards.

Defensively, Sam Sabourin (Stittsville,Ont.) led Queen’s with 6.5 tackles, including a tackle for loss. Baronaitis finished with five tackles and his interception. Mitchell Bosch (Langley, B.C.) led Laurier with 7.5 tackles and a tackle for loss. The Gaels made two sacks, while Laurier brought down McPhee four times.

Queen’s outgained Laurier 405-278, and made 22 first downs to the Golden Hawks’ 20. Laurier committed two turnovers, while Queen’s had one. Both teams scored seven points off turnovers

“For 26 minutes we played our guts out,” said Head Coach Gary Jeffries after the game. “It was an even football game until we turned it over. We kept fighting in the second half and competed hard and that’s all I can ask of them.”

Laurier (0-2) hosts the York Lions (1-1) on Saturday. The Gaels (2-0) also return to action on Saturday, as they host the Western Mustangs (2-0). Kickoff at Richardson Stadium is set for 1 p.m., and the game will be carried live on The Score.  Up next for the Hawks, they will take on the York  Lions (1-1) at home next Saturday afternoon. Game time is set for 1 p.m. at Knight-Newbrough Field.

NOTES: The win was the 100th career victory for Gaels’ defensive coordinator Pat Tracey, his 68th at Queen’s.  The Gaels are now 9-7 all-time against Laurier, dating back to their win over Waterloo Lutheran in the 1968 College Bowl.  Dillon Wamsley is now 7-for-7 on field goal attempts this season. He averaged 44 yards on eight punts.  The Gaels have now gone 693:02 since conceding a regular-season rushing touchdown, dating back to October 16, 2010.  Golden Hawks linebacker Mitchell Bosch of Langley, B.C., finished the game with 7.5 tackles to lead all players.  He now just sits four tackles shy of former Golden Hawk Kevin MacNeill for the all-time lead at Laurier.  The Hawks defence finished with four sacks for the second week in a row.  Ese Mrabure-Ajufo of Mississauga, Ont., led the team with two sacks in the game.

(From Queen’s Gaels Sports Information and Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks Sports Information