Hawks fall in OUA Quarter-finals to Gaels (video)

Laurier Sports Info:

The Gaels used a 17-point first quarter to grab control of the game and they cruised from there, ending Laurier’s playoff aspirations for the second straight year.

“Obviously we didn’t want it to end this way,” commented veteran fullback Isaac Dell of Niagara Falls, Ont., after the game. “The Queen’s defensive side wasn’t doing anything we didn’t expect, but we couldn’t get it rolling [on offence].”

After taking the lead on the opening kickoff thanks to a rouge from Dillon Wamsley of London, Ont., the two teams traded defensive stops before the Ga els took over the game late in the quarter. First, Chris Patrician of Toronto, returned a punt 94 yards for the games opening major before Giovanni Aprile of Scarborough, Ont., found the endzone just three minutes later. The Hawks conceded a safety at the end of the quarter to give Queen’s a 17-0 lead.

Although neither team provided much in the way of offence in the second quarter, the Gaels added to their lead thanks to another conceded safety and a 40 field goal from Wamsley at the end of the quarter to take a 22-0 lead into halftime.

Laurier’s defence stepped up their play in the third quarter shutting down Queen’s offence but James Fracas of Waterloo, Ont., and the Hawks offence could not cut into the Gaels lead.

Queen’s put the game out of reach in the fourth thanks to Wamsley’s second field goal of the game and a two-yard rushing touchdown from quarterback Billy McPhee of Burl ington, Ont.

Queen’s was led on the day by backup running back Jesse Andrews of Arnprior, Ont., who finished the game with 135 yards. As for McPhee, he finished 21-of-31 for 225 yards and a touchdown.

Meanwhile, for the Hawks, Fracas, who came in the first quarter to replace injured starter Steve Fantham of London, Ont., had a solid game finishing 17-of-31 for 161 yards.  His favourite target was Gregory Nyhof of Georgetown, Ont., who had three receptions for 35 yards.

Andrew McWhinnie of Waterloo, Ont., led Laurier’s defensive effort with 6.5 tackles to go along with a sack.

“I hate it use it as an excuse, but youth and inexperience made things difficult this year,” said Dell on what can only be described as a tough season for the Hawks. “I know on the offensive side of the ball, I was the only returning starter so its tough getting cohesion with a young group. That being said, our future looks very bright. I know on the offensive side of the ball probably about 90-95 per cent of the team is coming back. I guess this season we really just had to get some experience and build from that.”

NOTES: The Hawks were shutout for the second straight game and the third time this season…Laurier also finished the season without scoring a touchdown for 18 straight quarters…Queen’s eliminated the Hawks in last year’s quarter-final game with a 14-10 victory…Attendance at Richardson Stadium was 1,787

Source: Queen’s Sports Info

KINGSTON, Ont. – A 135-yard rushing performance by Jesse Andrews (Arnprior, Ont.) and a stifling defensive performance led the No. 6-ranked Queen’s Gaels to a 34-0 win over the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks in an OUA quarter-final at Richardson Stadium, Saturday.

The redshirt freshman running back, making his first career start, carried 22 times, and averaged 6.1 yards per carry, as the Gaels raced out to a 17-0 first-quarter lead and never looked back.

Defensively, the Gaels held Laurier to only 179 total yards and kept the Hawks pinned in their own territory for most of the game. Laurier’s furthest advance was the Queen’s 36-yard line. The defence was led by Derek Wiggan (Toronto, Ont.), who had a pair of sacks, Matt Webster (Calgary, Alta.), who had 5.5 tackles and Sam Sabourin (Stittsville, Ont.), who had six tackles – two for losses.

The Gaels took the lead on the opening kickoff, a 74-yard effort by Dillon Wamsley (London, Ont.). They extended their lead to 8-0 on a 94-yard punt return by Chris Patrician (Toronto, Ont.). The runback was the Gaels’ fourth punt return touchdown of the year, and the second-longest in school history. A 17-yard reception by Giovanni Aprile (Toronto, Ont.) and a safety touch put Queen’s up 17-0 after 15 minutes.
A second safety touch and a 40-yard Wamsley field goal on the last play of the half gave the Gaels their 22-0 halftime lead. After a scoreless third quarter, the Gaels got a rushing touchdown from quarterback Billy McPhee (Burlington, Ont.), along with another field goal and a third safety touch to round out the scoring.
McPhee went 21-for-31 for 225 and the touchdown and gained 22 yards on the ground, while Ryan Mitchell (Toronto, Ont.) went 2-for-3 in a brief fourth-quarter relief appearance. Scott MacDonell (Montreal, Que.) led the Gaels receivers with nine carries for 101 yards.

Patrician finished with nine punt returns for 140 yards, including the 94-yard return. Wamsley was good on both of his field goal attempts, and punted 13 times for a 36.2-yard average.

For Laurier, James Fracas went 17-for-31 for 161 yards and an interception. The Hawks used ten different receivers, led by Greg Nyhof, who had three carries for 35 yards.

With the win, the Gaels (5-3, 1-0) advance to the OUA semifinal, to be held next Saturday at No. 5-ranked Guelph. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.