It’ll be a night to remember as the Varsity Blues football team hosts the Queen’s Gaels for the 174th time since 1887 under Friday night lights at Varsity Centre.
The Blues introduce the first of many Hall of Fame games and who better to do that with than one of their oldest opponents in the Gaels. U of T will honour two of the best OUA quarterbacks in history, Toronto’s Dan Feraday (1976-78, 1980-81) and Queen’s pivot Tom Denison (2001-03), in a special halftime ceremony.
NFL Canada will also be on hand to add a spectacular modern-day touch. There will be Madden PS3 stations, interactive games and a chance to win a Bills in Toronto prize pack, including tickets to the Bills vs. Redskins game on Oct. 30 at the Rogers Centre. All this and much more getting underway when gates open at 6 p.m. on Friday!
The game will be streamed live on SSN Canada through varsityblues.ca. Advance tickets are on sale: click here or call 416-946-3811.
Toronto, who narrowly leads the head-to-head series with an 88-82-4 record, is home and ready to rebound after a road loss to the Ottawa Gee-Gees last Saturday. The Gaels on the other hand will look to continue their success in Toronto after a lopsided 63-3 victory over the York Lions in Week 3 action. Both teams are 2-2 on the season and tied for fifth place in the OUA standings.
Fourth-year linebacker Wilkerson DeSouza of Mississauga, Ont., will be a key contributor in stopping a hot Queen’s offence that posted 625 yards versus York. DeSouza ranks seventh in the CIS with 25 solo tackles in four games.
Quarterback and Toronto native Andrew Gillis is hungry for his third win of the season. The fifth-year pivot has thrown for 818 yards so far in 2011 and looks to be the sixth Blues quarterback to reach over 4,000 career passing yards.
The Gaels are led by second-year quarterback Billy McPhee. The Burlington, Ont., native ranks third among OUA quarterbacks, averaging 263 passing yards per game.
Justin Chapdelaine has been McPhee’s favourite target with 17 catches for 301 yards, while Ryan Granberg is tied for second with 366 rushing yards on the season.
POINTS OF INTEREST:
Until 1981, Feraday was the only CIS quarterback to throw for over 7,000 career yards…Feraday still holds the Varsity Blues records for most passing yards in 8-of-10 categories…He held the OUA record for single-season passing yardage until 2002… Denison was the first quarterback to surpass Feraday’s OUA record for single-season passing yardage…Feraday attended that game at Queen’s and helped to honour Denison in a halftime ceremony…Denison was the first CIS quarterback to break the 3,000-yard passing mark in a single season.
For more information, scores and highlights on your favourite U of T athletes and teams, please visit [url]www.varsityblues.ca.
Source: Toronto Sports Info
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