OTTAWA – Quarterback Brad Sinopoli led the no. 4 nationally ranked University of Ottawa Gee-Gees to a 32-31 victory over the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks in front of 2,370 fans at Frank Clair Stadium.
The win advances the Gee-Gees to the Yates Cup while Laurier’s year ends for the second year in a row in the semifinals.
Sinopoli played a solid game leading the garnet-and-grey to 412 yards of offence including several big plays on route to his 315-passing yard performance.
In what was one of the most exciting contests of the season, the Hawks and Gee-Gees swapped touchdowns several times both with significant drives but the game came down to the final minutes.
“The kids made plays back and forth and we just ran out of time today,” commented manager of football operations and head coach Gary Jeffries. “I just have the utmost respect for our football team at how resilient they are and the stuff they’ve gone through this year battling to the last seconds of the clock.”
Laurier had two chances to go ahead in the final minute of the game but quarterback Evan Pawliuk of Kingston, Ont. couldn’t get the completions the team needed to put them in field goal range.
Starting quarterback Shane Kelly of Basking Ridge, N.J. was knocked out of the game late in the second quarter with a suspected concussion after completing 11 of 18 for 134 yards. Pawliuk, who was already playing in red-zone situations, took the helm to add 137 passing yards in the second half of the contest making several key plays to match each of Ottawa’s scores.
Pawliuk completed to a variety of receivers including Dillon Heap of Waterloo, Ont. and Alex Anthony of Victoria, B.C. who each caught six passes for 76 and 69 yards respectively.
“We just couldn’t come together in the end and get what we needed to do,” commented Pawliuk post-game. “I was a bit nervous at first but as soon as I got out there it was what every football player dreams of, you can’t ask for anything better then a game like this and sometimes in the end it doesn’t work out for you.”
The Hawks were behind at the end of the first 14-7, but then outscored Ottawa 17-2 in the second with two majors from Kelly to Jeff Emberley (Oakville, Ont.) and Anton Bennett (Toronto, Ont.). Linebacker and place kicker Giancarlo Rapanaro of Niagara Falls, Ont. hit a 36-yard field goal after recovering his own punt before the team conceded a safety to end the half. The third quarter saw a pair of touchdowns swapped and the fourth is when Ottawa scored a touchdown and then Gee-Gee Matthew Falvo hit the 31-yard field goal, which ended up as the game winning points.
Veteran lineman Stephen Cormack of Waterloo, Ont., who had six tackles as well as two sacks in the contest, led Laurier’s defence. Defensive back Scott McCahill of Kingston, Ont. had some key plays including a late interception.
“We said all week we were going to down swinging and we brought as much pressure as we could,” said Cormack, when asked about the game. “That’s all you can really ask for, is the effort we had.”
Laurier has had trouble in the nation’s capital before. The team is 2-2 over the last four contests including the 44-21 loss earlier this season.
The game is the final one for several veterans including Cormack, Emberley, Rapanaro as well as Vince Lunciani of Oakville.
Laurier sports info: Ari Grossman
OTTAWA – Today, two teams begun their quest for the Yates Cup and beyond at Frank Clair Stadium in Ottawa. The uOttawa Gee-Gees were hosting the Laurier Golden Hawks in the OUA Semi-Final game. Emotions ran high, the intensity was fierce, and the nerves were apparent as the Gee-Gees storied season was on the line for the first time this season. The first quarter saw Laurier jump out to an early 7-0 lead as the Gee-Gees could not withstand some early pressure deep in their zone. Yet, with a little luck on their side, the Gee-Gees’ ensuing drive would see Brad Sinopoli, Peterborough, Ont., connect with third-year receiver Alex Fortier-Labonte, Gatineau, Qué., even after the ball was tipped by a Laurier defender. The score remained tied at seven a piece.
Laurier would try to answer back until fifth-year defensive back Chayce Elliott, Burnaby, B.C., intercepted a Laurier pass to regain possession of the ball. Then on second down, Brad Sinopoli would find fifth-year receiver Matt Bolduc, Ottawa, Ont., way down field. This would then setup Sinopoli’s second touchdown pass of the quarter as he connected with fifth-year receiver Cyril Adjeitey, Ghana, to go up 14-7.
In the second quarter, Laurier would comeback fairly quickly to tie the game 14-14. Then midway through the third, following an unnecessary roughing penalty against the Gee-Gees on Laurier’s punter; the Golden Hawks would get the ball back deep in Gee-Gees territory and would go on to score a touchdown for a 21-14 lead.
The Gee-Gees woes would continue unfortunately. Later in the quarter off a Laurier punt, second-year defensive back Soonbum Cha, Burlington, Ont., misplayed the kick and the ball was subsequently recovered by the Golden Hawks. This would prove to be costly as Laurier would then manage to make a field goal and stretch their lead 24-14. However, the Gee-Gees would get back on the board as Laurier conceded a safety, putting the score at 24-16 Laurier lead. And with the Gee-Gees missing a field goal attempt, the score would remain as such through halftime.
The third quarter would remain fairly quiet until Chayce Elliott would make a 41 yard punt return to reignite his team. On the ensuing drive, Brad Sinopoli went long to find third-year receiver Ezra Millington, Newmarket, Ont., who pulled it down with a Laurier defender on him for an amazing 53 yard touchdown reception; Gee-Gees pull within one, the score now 24-23. Still Laurier would make a couple plays of their own to get in close enough for second-year quarterback Evan Pawliuk, Kingston, Ont., to rush in for a touchdown.
Now with the score at 31-23, the Gee-Gees would carry a first and goal into the fourth quarter. And they would make no mistake as Sinopoli would hand off to first-year running back Frank Ngandui, Laval, Que., and he would dive into the end zone for a touchdown. Unfortunately, the Gee-Gees would be denied however on the two point conversion attempt and so the score would remain 31-29 for Laurier.
It was now up to the Gee-Gees defense to hold strong. Feeding off a loud and rambunctious crowd, they would do just that, and create a turnover at Laurier’s own 50 yard line. Still, the garnet and grey would be unable to capitalize. And so again the Gee-Gees defense would be called upon to keep Laurier from stretching their lead as fifth-year defensive back Lee Shaver, Ottawa, Ont., and fellow third-year defensive back Chris Daly, Burlington, Ont., would make a valiant effort to stop what looked like an almost sure Laurier touchdown pass midway through the fourth quarter.
The Gee-Gees would finally take the lead as third year Aaron Colbon, Orleans, Ont., would need some good hands to make up for a bad snap and place the ball in time for third-year kicker Matthew Falvo, Welland, Ont., to kick the go ahead field goal at 2:59 in the fourth quarter. The Gee-Gees now lead 32-31.
This game would go down to the wire as Sinopoli would throw an untimely interception to give Laurier some life in the final minute. But credit to the Gee-Gees defense who, with the crowd behind them, were able to finish strong and secure the one point victory. And with that, the Gee-Gees advance to next week’s Yates Cup game to be played here in Ottawa at Frank Clair Stadium.
Head coach Jean Philippe-Asselin was more than pleased to get the win, and credited his players being able to keep their cool under pressure: “I think we showed we were resilient all year. Whether we did it before or not doesn’t change anything; we will fight every minute and we showed that again today.”
With defense being a big story in this game, assistant head coach and defensive coordinator Sean Hall knew his boys were capable of being the difference: “We’ve preached it all year that you got to just keep believing and keep doing what you do and when the time comes we just want to be in a position to win games. We’ve talked about that from day one, and today we were in that situation and the guys pulled through. Kudos to our team; our guys never quit, they never stop believing and just keep playing.”
When asked about the game winning field goal and a low snap, Colbon and Falvo were thankful they were able to execute in that pressure situation: “These are the best parts about kicking; coming through for your team in a big moment. I knew we had to get those points, and it was a great job by Aaron (Colbon) to put it down,” said Falvo.
The Gee-Gees can now shift their focus to the 103rd Yates Cup to be held next weekend at Frank Clair Stadium in Ottawa. The garnet and grey will await the results of Western and McMaster who are playing in their OUA Semi-Final game today as well.
Source: Ottawa Sports Info
Photo credit Ottawa Sports Info
| Laurier 31 |
Ottawa 32 |
| Ottawa () | 14 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 32 |
| Laurier () | 7 | 17 | 7 | 0 | 31 |
| Ottawa | Frank Clair |
| 1 | 09:33 | Laurier – Dillon Heap 30 yd pass from Evan Pawliuk. (G. Rapanaro kick is good). Drive: 6 plays, 36 yards in 2:17. |
7 – 0 |
| 1 | 06:11 | Ottawa – A. F -Labonté 53 yd pass from B. Sinopoli. (M. Falvo kick is good). Drive: 8 plays, 87 yards in 3:18. |
7 – 7 |
| 1 | 01:58 | Ottawa – C. Adjeitey 11 yd pass from B. Sinopoli. (M. Falvo kick is good). Drive: 5 plays, 78 yards in 2:10. |
7 – 14 |
| 2 | 11:48 | Laurier – Jeff Emberley 8 yd pass from Shane Kelly. (G. Rapanaro kick is good). Drive: 12 plays, 80 yards in 5:05. |
14 – 14 |
| 2 | 06:59 | Laurier – Anton Bennett 15 yd pass from Shane Kelly. (G. Rapanaro kick is good). Drive: 7 plays, 53 yards in 3:27. |
21 – 14 |
| 2 | 03:00 | Laurier – G. Rapanaro 36 yd field goal. | 24 – 14 |
| 2 | 01:14 | Ottawa – Team safety | 24 – 16 |
| 3 | 08:12 | Ottawa – E. Millington 53 yd pass from B. Sinopoli. (M. Falvo kick is good). Drive: 1 plays, 43 yards in 0:38. |
24 – 23 |
| 3 | 05:50 | Laurier – Evan Pawliuk 3 yd run. (G. Rapanaro kick is good). Drive: 5 plays, 82 yards in 2:17. |
31 – 23 |
| 4 | 14:49 | Ottawa – F. Ngandui 1 yd run. (2pt conversion pass by B. Sinopoli failed). Drive: 10 plays, 69 yards in 3:02. |
31 – 29 |
| 4 | 02:59 | Ottawa – M. Falvo 31 yd field goal. | 31 – 32 |
| 24 | FIRST DOWNS | 20 |
| 14 8 2 |
Passing Rushing Penalty |
13 5 2 |
| 0% (0 of 4) | THIRD DOWN EFFICIENCY | 100% (1 of 1) |
| 0% (0 of 0) | FOURTH DOWN EFFICIENCY | 0% (0 of 0) |
| 386 | TOTAL NET YARDS | 425 |
| 65 5.9 |
Total Offensive Plays Average gain per play |
59 7.2 |
| 309 | NET YARDS PASSING | 315 |
| 25-41 7.5 6 for 27 1 |
Completions-Attempts Net yards per pass play Sacked:Number-Yards Had intercepted |
16-32 9.8 2 for 13 1 |
| 77 | NET YARDS RUSHING | 110 |
| 24 3.2 |
Rushing Attempts Average gain per rush |
27 4.1 |
| 7 for 235 | PUNTS: Number-Yards | 10 for 325 |
| 33.6 | Average | 32.5 |
| 179 | TOTAL RETURN YARDS | 153 |
| 9 for 41 6 for 118 1 for 20 |
Punt Returns:No-Yards Kickof Returns:No-Yards Int. Returns:No-Yards |
7 for 78 5 for 75 1 for 0 |
| 8 for 80 | PENALTIES: Number-Yards | 15 for 113 |
| 3-0 | FUMBLES: Number-Lost | 1-0 |
| 32:24 | TIME OF POSSESSION | 27:36 |
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| 3 | Shane Herbert | 2 | 0 | 2 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 9 | Shane Burns | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – | 1 | |||
| 13 | Giancarlo Rapanaro | 3 | 1 | 4 | – | – | – | – | 2 | |||
| 16 | Scott McCahill | 2 | 1 | 3 | – | – | – | 1-20 | ||||
| 21 | Vince Luciani | 2 | 0 | 2 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 24 | Peter Mcdougall | 0 | 1 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 28 | Rashad La Touche | 0 | 1 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 30 | Patrick McGarry | 2 | 1 | 3 | – | 1-3 | – | – | ||||
| 32 | Josh Pirie | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 33 | Mitchell Bosch | 3 | 1 | 4 | – | 1-2 | – | – | ||||
| 35 | Mitch Nicholson | 2 | 1 | 3 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 42 | Spencer Troop | 3 | 1 | 4 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 44 | Simon Ryder-Burbidge | 0 | 1 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 48 | Ben Ivany | 1 | 1 | 2 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 51 | Drew Galpin | 2 | 2 | 4 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 52 | Daniel Bishop | 2 | 2 | 4 | – | 1-1 | – | – | ||||
| 91 | George Kourtesiotis | 2 | 0 | 2 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 99 | Stephen Cormack | 6 | 0 | 6 | 2-13 | 3-14 | – | – | ||||
| TM | TEAM | 2 | 0 | 2 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| TOTALS | 36 | 14 | 50 | 2-13 | 6-20 | – | 1-20 | 3 | ||||
| 1 | D. Aramouni | 4 | 1 | 5 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 2 | C. Elliott | 3 | 0 | 3 | – | – | – | 1-0 | ||||
| 3 | L. Shaver | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – | 2 | |||
| 5 | S. Hughes | 0 | 1 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 6 | B. Willan | 5 | 0 | 5 | 4-18 | 4-18 | – | – | ||||
| 8 | M. Bolduc | 0 | 1 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 9 | S. Tétreault | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 10 | C. Adjeitey | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 14 | P. Lavergne | 2 | 1 | 3 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 17 | J. Beck | 0 | 3 | 3 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 18 | S. Cha | 4 | 0 | 4 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 19 | M. Falvo | 0 | 1 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 21 | Z. Raynor | 6 | 1 | 7 | – | – | – | – | 1 | |||
| 22 | F. Rodrigue | 2 | 1 | 3 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 24 | C. Daly | 2 | 1 | 3 | – | 0-2 | – | – | ||||
| 29 | M. B-Lapointe | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 34 | D. Levell | 0 | 1 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 42 | J. McNaughton | 3 | 0 | 3 | – | 1-2 | – | – | ||||
| 44 | N. Lecour | 6 | 3 | 9 | – | – | – | – | 1 | |||
| 45 | A. Lothian | 3 | 1 | 4 | 1-5 | 1-5 | – | – | 1 | |||
| 50 | A. Randall | 0 | 1 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 52 | T. Sawyer | 6 | 3 | 9 | 1-4 | 1-5 | 1 | – | – | |||
| 92 | E. Chibuluzo | – | – | – | – | 1 | ||||||
| 97 | K. Magee | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| TM | TEAM | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| TOTALS | 52 | 20 | 72 | 6-27 | 7-32 | 1 | – | 1-0 | 6 |
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