OUA FOOTBALL RETURNS TO EIGHT WEEK SCHEDULE IN 2011

HAMILTON, Ont. – The road to the 104[SUP]th[/SUP] Yates Cup begins on Labour Day as the 2011 Ontario University Athletics (OUA) football season returns to an eight week schedule.

The reigning champions, the Western Mustangs, begin the defence of their title on Monday, September 5 as they play host to the visiting Waterloo Warriors in one of five OUA contests. The game marks the return of the Warriors to OUA Football after a university ordered one-year suspension.
The much anticipated Yates Cup rematch between Western and Ottawa will take place Week 3. After falling 26-25 in the final seconds to the Mustangs at home, the Gee-Gees will look for revenge on the road at TD Waterhouse Stadium in London, Ont.
Some other match-ups of interest:

• The McMaster Marauders visit the Queen’s Gales Week 1 in a rematch from last year’s quarter-final. The Gaels will look to come back from a 40-19 stinging handed down by the Marauders in 2010.

• The Battle of Toronto takes place Week 2. The Toronto Varsity Blues will head across town to take on the York Lions on Saturday, September 10 in the 42[SUP]nd[/SUP] Annual Red & Blue Bowl.

• Week 3 finds the Guelph Gryphons visiting the Toronto Varsity Blues. The Blues suffered a heart-breaking loss in the first week of 2010 in Guelph after a Gryphon field goal was kicked with six seconds remaining in the game.
• On September 24, Waterloo hosts the Windsor Lancers in a repeat of the 2009 schedule. When the teams met in Week 4 two years ago, the Warriors blanked the Lancers 49-0.

• In another playoff rematch, the Ottawa Gee-Gees visit the Laurier Golden Hawks at University Stadium on Saturday, October 1. Last year’s semifinal came down to one point with Ottawa narrowly escaping 32-31.

• Another regional battle will take place Thanksgiving weekend as the Waterloo Warriors and Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks battle at Warrior Field on Thursday, October 6.
• 2010’s third and fourth place teams, McMaster and Laurier, will meet in Waterloo in Week 7. When they played each other last year the Marauders took the 26-24 decision.

The OUA regular season concludes on Saturday, Oct. 22 with five games that will no doubt have playoff implications. Last season, even after the final games were played a three-way tie had to be broken to determine playoff seeding.

The OUA quarter-finals will take place on Saturday, Oct. 29 followed by the OUA semifinals on Saturday, Nov. 5. The OUA football season concludes at the 104th Yates Cup presented by Pioneer Petroleums on Saturday, Nov. 12.

2011 OUA FOOTBALL SCHEDULE

Week 1
Monday, Sept. 5
1 p.m. – McMaster @ Queen’s
1 p.m. – Toronto @ Windsor
1 p.m. – Ottawa @ Guelph
1 p.m. – Laurier @ York
7 p.m. – Waterloo @ Western

Week 2
Saturday, Sept. 10
1 p.m. – Western @ McMaster
1 p.m. – Guelph @ Waterloo
1 p.m. – Toronto @ York
1 p.m.- Queen’s @ Ottawa
7 p.m. – Windsor @ Laurier

Week 3
Saturday, Sept. 17
1 p.m. – Guelph @ Toronto
1 p.m. – Laurier @ Queen’s
1 p.m. – York @ Waterloo
1 p.m. – Ottawa @ Western
7 p.m. – McMaster @ Windsor

Week 4
Saturday, Sept. 24
1 p.m. – McMaster @ Guelph
1 p.m. – Toronto @ Ottawa
1 p.m. – Windsor @ Waterloo
1 p.m. – Western @ Laurier
1 p.m. – Queen’s @ York

Week 5
Friday, Sept. 30
7 p.m. – Queen’s @ Toronto
Saturday, Oct. 1
1 p.m. – Ottawa @ Laurier
1 p.m. – York @ Western
1 p.m. – Waterloo @ McMaster
7 p.m. – Guelph @ Windsor

Week 6
Thursday, October 6
7 p.m. – Toronto @ McMaster
7 p.m. – Laurier @ Waterloo
Saturday, Oct. 8
1 p.m. – Guelph @ Western
1 p.m. – York @ Ottawa
7 p.m. – Queen’s @ Windsor

Week 7
Saturday, Oct. 15
1 p.m. – McMaster @ Laurier
1 p.m. – Western @ Toronto
1 p.m. – Windsor @ Ottawa
1 p.m. – York @ Guelph
1 p.m. – Waterloo @ Queen’s

Week 8
Saturday, Oct. 22
1 p.m. – Ottawa @ McMaster
1 p.m. – Western @ Queen’s
1 p.m. – Windsor @ York
1 p.m. – Laurier @ Guelph
1 p.m. – Waterloo @ Toronto
OUA Quarter-Finals
Saturday, Oct. 29
6th place @ 3rd place
5th place @ 4th place
Bye – 1st and 2nd place

OUA Semifinals
Saturday, Nov. 5
Lowest Remaining Seed @ 1st place
Second-Lowest Remaining Seed @ 2nd place

104th Yates Cup presented by Pioneer Petroleums
Saturday, Nov. 12
Lowest Remaining Seed @ Highest Remaining Seed