A national championship is chaos. It’s a foreign city, a strange stadium, a constant stream of media attention and a swirl of pomp and circumstance that threatens to derail your task at every turn. That’s why the Marauders have preached focus and execution as a mantra this week, as they size up the 50th Vanier Cup.
McMaster enters the national championship on the back of two defensive showcases that saw the Marauders hold the Guelph Gryphons to 264 yards of total offence in a 20-15 Yates Cup victory, before stifling Mount Allison even further in a 24-12 Mitchell Bowl triumph. Whether it be their front seven β which mustered nine sacks against Mount Allison β or the secondary that has intercepted quarterbacks seven times in these playoffs, McMaster boasts game-breaking talent across its defensive unit.
Holding quarterback Gabriel Cousineau and Montreal’s offence at bay will be particularly important given the quality of the Carabins own defence. Montreal made CIS juggernaut Laval settle for just nine points in their thrilling overtime win in the Dunsmore Cup, and crucially stopped the Manitoba Bisons in the midst of a late Mitchell Bowl comeback effort when safety Anthony Coady stripped Bison quarterback Jordan Yantz of the ball.
“They’re big, they’re fast and they’re old,” said Marauder defensive halfback Steven Ventresca of the Carabins. “They played the best team in the country in Laval and beat them twice.
“Having said that, I think our conference set us up for success, and I think we matchup well against these guys.”
Ventresca’s squad mate in the defensive backfield, Scott Martin placed Montreal’s strength in their ability to execute at a high level.
“They don’t throw anything too crazy at you, but they do it very well,” he said.
CFL scouts have been legion throughout the week of practice leading to the Vanier Cup, and Montreal boasts several defensive players who would rank highly on many of those evaluator’s lists, including RSEQ President’s Trophy nominee, linebacker Byron Archambault. But McMaster quarterback Marshall Ferguson is unfazed by the hype surrounding the Carabins.
“Every defence is the same to me,” said Ferguson. “Some guys might run faster 40s, which entices scouts to be here, or bench more. But I’m not interested in stats and numbers and scouting.
“I’m interested in trying to beat guys with throws into windows, in making sure that we’re running the right play. My job is pretty elementary, I just have to execute at a high level in order for us to have a chance to succeed.”
How McMaster hopes to succeed is in much the same way as they did a week ago. The Marauders dominated ball possession and field position against the Mounties β holding the football for a whopping 41 minutes β and used the combination of a methodical running game headed by Wayne Moore and a high-pressure defence to squeeze Mount Allison out of competition.
If the Marauders can impose their will on the Vanier Cup game in a similar fashion, they can not only hold off the Carabins, but dishearten the Montreal crowd at the same time.
Ferguson, as an avid NFL fan, had an apt comparison on hand.
“I’ve been to Buffalo games against New England where all people want to do is hate Tom Brady, but in the first quarter Brady holds the ball for 10 minutes of the 15 and all of a sudden everyone is tired and drunk and don’t enjoy themselves very much.”
The quarterback knows as well as any member of his unit that managing a similar feat on the sport’s biggest stage will require top drawer execution on offence, the kind that McMaster hasn’t enjoyed in recent weeks. The Marauders make no secret of the fact that defence has held them in football games in the past month.
But advancing to the national championship means one last chance to fit the puzzle pieces together for Ferguson and his teammates.
“We have one more chance to play our absolute best football, and that’s a blessing, because there are so many great players who are sitting at home and setting their PVR for Saturday at 1, instead of putting their pads on.”
Source: Β Fraser Caldwell, McMaster Marauders Sports Information
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