The 2013 Gee-Gees football team will take to the field for the first time on Sunday, travelling to Hamilton to challenge the 2012 Yates Cup champions from McMaster. The 4 p.m. kick-off is the last of five OUA conference games on Sunday which mark the opening of the CIS football season.
Ottawa returns 18 starters from the team which went 2-6 a year ago, including 2012 OUA All-Stars Brendan Gillanders at running back and Ettore Lattanzio at defensive end. The team also features a long list of fifth-year players, including Gillanders, centre Shavin Fernando, receivers Simon Le Marquand and Maxime Mireault, and Aaron Colbon back as quarterback.
βOur roster is basically intact from last year,β affirmed Colbon, who is embarking on his third season as the first-string field general.Β βGuys are good together and weβre ready to get at it. You face adversity and learn from your mistakes, but we have a fresh start and we want to bounce back. We feel we have something to prove.β
The defensive corps also features five-year Gee-Gees in the form of linebacker Rob Griffiths and defensive backs Matt Bond, Soonbum Cha, and Ty Rusznak. The defence will have to contend with a Marauder offence which ranked second in the nation last year. In last yearβs meeting, the Marauders hung up 404 passing yards on the Gee-Gees.
Although McMasterβs Hec Crighton winning quarterback Kyle Quinlan has graduated, the defence is prepared for the McMaster airshow to continue under Marshall Ferguson who enters his fourth year and is an experienced player in his own right. He entered five regular season games in 2012, throwing for three touchdowns and posting a 70 per cent completion rate.
Sunday will be the first CIS game as a head coach for Jamie Barresi, who grew up in Hamilton before attending uOttawa. Nearing the end of training camp, he has a better picture of how his team can compete.
βTheyβre pretty motivated as it is β thatβs not an issue,β said head coach Jamie Barresi, who has been focussing his efforts during camp on establishing speed and discipline with his troops. βI know each person individually but getting in a game is going to be the test.β
McMaster has won the last two meetings between the teams, and holds a 17-10 advantage in the all-time head-to-head matchup. Ottawa last visited Ron Joyce Stadium in 2011, losing 51-24 to the eventual Vanier Cup champions.
Fans can watch theΒ game live on the web,Β courtesy of Cogeco Hamilton.
Photo credit: Β Richard A Whittaker
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