October 13, 2012
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No. 1 McMaster grabs home field in playoffs with win over Windsor

HAMILTON – The No. 1 McMaster Marauders secured home field throughout the 2012 OUA playoffs by dumping the Windsor Lancers 39-18 at Ron Joyce Stadium in Hamilton, on Saturday.
BOXSCORE
 McMaster Sports Information:
McMaster sits atop of the OUA standings with a perfect 7-0 record and extends their winning streak to 17 games which dates back to September 17, 2011. They need just two more wins to equal Laval’s record 19 victories which they accomplished between the 2004 and 2005 seasons.
In the win, McMaster’s Ben D’Aguilar of Hamilton became the CIS single season record holder in sacks by posting his 12.5 sack on Windsor’s Austin Kennedy. He passed Bishop’s great Leroy Blugh (1988) and Queen’s Jim Aru (1996) who previously held the mark of 11.5.
Hec Creighton candidate Kyle Quinlan of South Woodslee, Ont. was 24 of 27 passing for 401 yards and three touchdowns with two interceptions in the win while Windsor’s Austin Kennedy was 27 of 40 for 380 yards tossing two touchdowns. Kennedy also had four interceptions in the loss.
Quinlan’s top target was Max Cameron of St. Catharines, Ont. who was named the “McDonald’s Big MAC” player of the game, finishing as the day’s top receiver with seven catches on 209 yards. Spencer Moore of Hamilton, Dahlin Brooks and Tyler Loveday of Kitchener, Ont., all registered a touchdown in the win for the Marauders.
Evan Pszczonak of Amherstburg, Ont., was Windsor’s top receiver brining down 135 yards including an 80 reception from Kennedy which was Windsor’s only score in the second half.
Defensively, McMaster’s Shane Beaton Brampton, Ont., led the way for the Marauders registering eight total tackles and a sack. Linebacker Michael Kashak of Courtice, Ont. recorded a touchdown in the fourth quarter on a fumble recovery in the end zone. Overall, the Marauders recorded five sacks and forced five turnovers on Windsor’s offence.
After going down 1-0 on a rouge in the first quarter, McMaster got on the board at 7:03 when Quinlan found Moore on a two-yard throw to make the score 7-1 at the time. Windsor pushed ahead 11-7 after Kennedy connected with Dylan Whifield (Windsor, Ont.) on a 17-yard pass and then tacked on a 16-yard field goal by Dan Cerino of Stoney Creek, Ont.
The Marauders would go on to score 20 unanswered points building a 27-11 lead in the second and third quarters behind two Quinlan touchdowns to Brooks and Loveday as well as two field goals from Tyler Crapigna of Nepean, Ont.
The Lancers final score came after Kennedy found a streaking Pszczonak for an 80-yard strike making the score 27-18. The Marauders would close the scoring in the fourth quarter with another Crapigna field goal, the Kashak fumble recovery touchdown and a team safety with 2:54 remaining.
The Marauders posted 140-yards lost on 16 penalties while Windsor also had 16 penalties for 125-yards lost.
In other OUA action on Saturday, Guelph captured sole possession of second place in a 33-28 comeback win over Queen’s, while Ottawa dumped Waterloo 61-0. Western beat Laurier 56-3 and York beat Toronto 36-24.
Next week, McMaster hosts the 3-4 Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks next Saturday (Oct. 20) while Windsor contends against Waterloo Warriors (1-6) in Waterloo.
RECORD WATCH: D’Aguilar set the new CIS single season sack record 90 seconds into the fourth quarter when he tackled Kennedy at the Windsor 20 for a nine-yard loss… Quinlan is now tied with Ben Chapdelain with 59 passing touchdowns for McMaster’s all-time career leader… Robert Babic of Oakville, Ont. moved past Kevin D’Hollander for 10th place on McMaster’s all-time reception list.
NOTES: Quinlan’s first quarter interception was his first after going 186 attempts without throwing a pick to open the season… McMaster honoured the 2002 and 2003 Yates Cup championship teams at during halftime… Attendance during McMaster’s Homecoming was announced as 5,714.
Windsor Sports Information:
Kyle Quinlan passed for 401 yards and three touchdowns, and Max Cameron caught seven passes for a game-high 209 yards, and the defending national champion McMaster Marauders notched a 37-18 victory over the Windsor Lancers on Saturday afternoon.
Austin Kennedy threw for 350 yards and two majors, but was intercepted on four occasions throughout the contest at Ron Joyce Stadium. The Lancers turned the ball over six times on Saturday and were held to under 100 yards on the ground. Evan Pszczonak led Windsor’s receivers with 135 yards on four catches while Matt McGarva picked up eight tackles on the day.
The loss drops the Lancers (3-4) under .500 for the first time this season, and they now sit tied for fifth in the conference with Laurer (3-4). The Marauders (7-0) remain the only undefeated team in the country and also clinch a first-round bye with the victory.
The Lancers drew first blood on their opening drive by scoring a Rouge after a 45-yard punt from Dan Cerino (Stoney Creek, Ont.) could not be brought out of the Marauders end zone. However, McMaster answered with a 61-yard scoring drive, using less than two minutes to go up 7-1.
Midway through the quarter, Kennedy (Windsor) became the Lancers all-time passing leader after Pszczonak (Amherstburg, Ont.) made a circus catch for 32 yards, moving his team into Marauder territory. Kennedy continued to march his team down the field, and polished off a 90-yard drive by finding Dylan Whitfield (Windsor) for a 17-yard touchdown reception.
The Lancers defence came alive soon after, as McGarva (Surrey, B.C.) picked off McMaster quarterback Quinlan to give Windsor possession with great field position. It was Quinlan’s first interception of the season. That led to a 16-yard Cerino field goal which put the Lancers up 11-7 at the end of the opening quarter.
The lead was short-lived as the Marauders struck once again at the 7:06 mark of the second quarter. Needing just two and a half minutes to go 91 yards, Quinlan’s TD strike to Dahlin Brooks would put the home team up by three points. The Lancers looked like they were about to tie things up, moving into field goal range. However, an untimely interception thrown by Kennedy allowed the Marauders to take over the ball and negate the threat.
Kennedy would get another opportunity late in the half to even the contest, but was picked off for the second time in the quarter and third time in the half. This allowed the Marauders to add a field goal, as they would go into the half up 17-11.
The Marauders looked dangerous early on in the third quarter, but after moving down the field, the Lancers defence came up with a big play as Josh Burns (LaSalle, Ont.) intercepted what looked to be a sure touchdown pass from Quinlan in the Windsor end zone.
However, after a quick three and out by Windsor, the Marauders quickly moved the ball into Lancers territory looking to extend the lead. A touchdown pass was negated by an offside penalty assessed to McMaster, and they would have to settle for a field goal, extending the lead to nine. The CIS champions continued to find their stride in the quarter, using six plays and 69 yards to find the Lancers end zone and putting the game seemingly out of reach.
However, Windsor quickly answered on their next drive as Kennedy found Pszczonak for an 80-yard touchdown catch that allowed the Lancers to stay within striking distance heading into the final quarter.
The Marauders added another field-goal early in the final period to move the lead up to 12. The McMaster defense would then put the contest on ice, forcing a Kennedy fumble deep in Windsor territory and recovering the ball in the end zone, adding seven more points to their advantage.
Windsor will wrap up the regular season next Saturday, October 20 when they travel to the University of Waterloo for an afternoon match-up with the Warriors. Kick-off is set for 1:00 p.m.
Photo:  Lindsay Franco

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