Gee Gees remain undefeated

OTTAWA, On.- The University of Ottawa Gee Gees improved their record to 2-0 with a solid 19-6 win versus the now winless Queen’s Golden Gaels (0-2) in the Mike O’Connor memorial game on Saturday afternoon.

The Gaels’ Dan Village kicked off the scoring with a 47-yard field goal 2:30 into the first quarter. Though able to make his first try, Village would go on to have a difficult day, unable to convert any of his next three attempts.

Gee Gees kicker Matt Falvo and Village would then trade singles on successive missed field goals. Ottawa QB Aaron Colbon showed great touch when he found 6’2″ Brogdan Raic on a corner route before Raic broke a tackle and scored to give the Garnet and Grey their first lead of the game in the second quarter with a 47-yard catch and run. The Gee Gees pivot then lead his team down the field at the end of the half with a great balanced drive utilizing Orleans native Brendan Gillanders on the ground and the acrobatic talents of Simon Le Marquand through the air as the latter would cap off the 75 yard drive to give his team an eleven point lead (15-4).

The home team would not look back as their defense’s stellar performance continued in the second half and proved too much for the Kingston squad. Causing four fumbles while accumulating eleven tackles behind the line of scrimmage (4 sacks, 7 TFL) and an impressive eight knock-downs, Queen’s QB Billy McPhee was unable to solve coach Cory McDiarmid’s defense. Alternating between sending seven men in a plus 1 defense, and a mixed zone where Gaels receivers were allowed to catch short passes for minimal yardage before getting leveled by Ottawa defenders, McDiarmid’s defense held the Gaels to 238 total yards of offense.

Standing out on the offensive side of the ball for the Ottawa team were Brendan Gillanders, who rushed for hard-earned 161 yards on 25 carries for a healthy average of 6.7 yards per carry, and Simon Le Marquand, who caught 5 passes for 74 yards including a 21 yard touchdown. The Gatineau native Le Marquand pulled in a gravity-defying one-handed catch to extend Ottawa’s second touchdown drive. Defensively, hard-hitting half-back Chris Daly made 6 tackles including a forced fumble, while LB Tyler Sawyer had 5.5 and half-back Soonbum Cha had 4.5.

On the Queen’s side of the ball, quarterback Ben Mcphee (20-40 for 208 yards) spread the ball to seven different players who each made at least one reception, however, they were unable to generate anything on the ground. Defensively Ottawa native linebacker Stephen Laporte lead the Gaels with 6.5 tackles.

The Gee Gees now sit in a tie for first in the OUA with the University Western Ontario Mustangs (2) who have scored an impressive 134 points in two games, while the Gaels fall to the basement of the league with their 0-2 record. The tie for first will be broken next week as Ottawa travels to London to take on Western on Saturday, September 17th at 1:00pm, while the Gaels head home to take on the Golden Hawks (1-0).