The York University Lions football team suffered a heart-wrenching 10-8 loss to the Toronto Varsity Blues in the 42nd annual Red & Blue Bowl held on Saturday (Sep. 10) in front of 1,217 fans in attendance at York Stadium.
It was the lowest scoring game in Red & Blue Bowl history. The previous record was 20 points, which came in a 14-6 Lions win in the 33rd Red & Blue Bowl.
Fans of mixed allegiance in attendance for the game were treated to an evenly contested affair that saw three different lead changes, and a late Lions comeback that ultimately fell short. The Lions are now 0-2 to start the season, but continue to offer fans hope that a win is within arms reach.
Nick Coutu (St. Catharines, Ont.) and Dimitar Sevdin (Toronto) split duties at quarterback for the Lions. Coutu went 4-9 for 21 yards before being replaced late in the second quarter by Sevdin, who went 9-22 for 131 yards on the day.
Blair Yachetti (Burlington, Ont.) led the Lions in rushing with 83 yards on 20 carries, and Nathaniel Griffith (Brampton, Ont.) led all Lions receivers with three catches for 75 yards, his longest reception a game-high 48 yards.
On defence, rookie defensive back Marcus Grandison (Toronto) led the Lions in tackles for the second straight game with 6.5, followed by second-year defensive back Cory Bellerdine (Ottawa) and rookie linebacker Hussein Hazime (Toronto), who both collected six tackles on the day.
Blues quarterback Andrew Gillis (Toronto) went 19-39 for 268 yards with one interception on the day. Alex Pierzchalski (London, Ont.) led all receivers with nine receptions for 127 yards, and Aaron Milton (Whitby, Ont.) ran for a game-high 118 yards on nine carries. Adam Fehler (Toronto) led the team in tackles with 6.5. James Bodanis (Toronto) recorded the only sack of the game.
The Lions had the only real scoring chance in a scoreless first quarter. After Milton was stuffed by rookie linebacker Hazime on an early third-and-one gamble by the Blues, fourth-year kicker Dror David (Richmond Hill, Ont.) had a chance to put the Lions up three with a 37-yard field goal, but he couldn’t capitalize, sending his kick wide left of the uprights. Neither team would come close to finding the scoreboard again before the end of the quarter, keeping the score deadlocked at zeroes heading into the break.
The Blues opened the scoring early in the second quarter, earning a single point on a rouge. Andrew Lomasney (Toronto) added a 17-yard field goal moments later to put the Blues up 4-0.
The Lions had a chance to pull within one late in the quarter, but David could not convert on a 33-yard field goal, missing wide right and sending the Lions into halftime down by four.
The first half was an evenly contested affair both in terms of possession and offensive production. The Blues held the ball just one and a half minutes longer than the Lions β 15:45 versus 14:15 β and gathered just 41 more yards of total offence β 166 versus 125.
The Blues would strike first following the half. After missing wide left on his first field goal opportunity of the third quarter, Lomasney quickly made amends, hitting a 24-yard field goal that put the Blues up 7-0.
With less than three minutes remaining in the quarter, however, the Lions flipped the script and took control of the game. With the Blues facing third-and-long from deep within their own territory, the Lions defence forced a safety, earning two points and cutting the Blues lead to 7-2.
Carrying momentum into the fourth quarter, the Lions drove deep into Blues territory on their second possession of the quarter, setting up a 41-yard field goal attempt for David. David stepped up and converted his first field goal of the game, cutting the Blues lead to just 7-5.
Rookie defensive end Zack Davis (Niagara Falls, Ont.) brought an abrupt end to the Blues’ following possession, forcing a fumble from the hands of Rolli Adenmosun (Prince George’s, Md.) and recovering the pigskin deep within Blues territory. David would capitalize on Davis’s great defensive play with his second field goal of the game, this time from just 17 yards out, to give the Lions an 8-7 lead.
With less than one minute remaining in the game, however, the Blues regained the lead on a 37-yard field goal from Lomasney. The Lions were unable to respond on their following possession, giving the Blues the 10-8 win and their fourth straight Argo Cup.
The Lions will be looking for their first win of the season next Saturday (Sept. 17) when they visit the Waterloo Warriors (0-2). Kickoff is at 1pm.
By Cody Powell, sport writing assistant
Andrew Lomasney kicked a 37-yard field goal with 56 seconds remaining to secure a 10-8 Varsity Blues win in the 42nd annual Red & Blue Bowl on Saturday afternoon at York Stadium.
With the win, the Blues improve to 1-1, while the York Lions remain pointless with a 0-2 record. Toronto now holds a 26-16-0 head-to-head record over their York counterparts.
The game, which saw a total of five field goals, a safety and a rouge, broke the record for the lowest scoring Red & Blue Bowl in history, previously held by a 14-6 York victory in 2002.
Lomasney hit 3-of-4 field goal attempts of 17, 24 and 37 yards in the second, third and fourth quarters, respectively.
Fifth-year quarterback Andrew Gillis of Toronto was 19-of-39 for 268 yards, while sophomore running back Aaron Milton (Whitby, Ont.) led all players with 114 yards on 19 carries. Fellow second-year receiver and London, Ont., native Alex Pierzchalski was Gillisβs prime target for the day, with nine receptions for a game-high 127 yards in the win.
Veteran defensive lineman Adam Fehler (Toronto) led the Blues with 6.5 tackles and fourth-year transfer Dorian Munroe of Miami, Fla., had six tackles on the day.
Leading 7-2 heading into the fourth quarter, the Lions came from behind and hit back-to-back field goals of 41 and 17 yards. The home team built a one-point lead (8-7) with 4:47 remaining in the game.
U of T started to charge down the field with just over two minutes to go and got in field-goal range thanks in large part to Pierzchalski, who had three catches for 22 yards in the series.
The Varsity Blues return to the field next Saturday, September 17 when they host the Guelph Gryphons in their 2011 home opener at Varsity Centre. Kick off is scheduled for 1 p.m. and the game will be nationally televised on University Rush on theScore.
Advance ticket sales for Saturdayβs game are available here or by calling Zack Sholdra at 416-946-3811.
For more information, scores and highlights on your favourite U of T athletes and teams, please visit www.varsityblues.ca. Donβt forget to follow us on Twitter or Facebook for the latest and greatest in Varsity Blues intercollegiate athletics.
| Toronto 10 |
York Lions 8 |
| York Lions (0-2) | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 8 |
| Toronto (1-1) | 0 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 10 |
| Toronto | York Stadium |
Box Score Drive Summary Play by Play
| 2 | 10:46 | Toronto – W Sharpe rouge point. | 1 – 0 |
| 2 | 06:51 | Toronto – A Lomasney 17 yd field goal. | 4 – 0 |
| 3 | 03:22 | Toronto – A Lomasney 24 yd field goal. | 7 – 0 |
| 3 | 00:44 | York Lions – Team safety | 7 – 2 |
| 4 | 06:38 | York Lions – D David 41 yd field goal. | 7 – 5 |
| 4 | 04:47 | York Lions – D David 17 yd field goal. | 7 – 8 |
| 4 | 00:54 | Toronto – A Lomasney 37 yd field goal. | 10 – 8 |
| 20 | FIRST DOWNS | 11 |
| 13 4 3 |
Passing Rushing Penalty |
5 6 0 |
| 366 | TOTAL NET YARDS | 274 |
| 65 5.6 |
Total Offensive Plays Average gain per play |
56 4.9 |
| 268 | NET YARDS PASSING | 152 |
| 19-39 6.9 0 for 0 1 |
Completions-Attempts Net yards per pass play Sacked:Number-Yards Had intercepted |
13-31 4.9 1 for 2 0 |
| 98 | NET YARDS RUSHING | 122 |
| 26 3.8 |
Rushing Attempts Average gain per rush |
25 4.9 |
| 9 for 345 | PUNTS: Number-Yards | 13 for 480 |
| 38.3 | Average | 36.9 |
| 66 | TOTAL RETURN YARDS | 56 |
| 11 for 50 2 for 16 0 for 0 |
Punt Returns:No-Yards Kickof Returns:No-Yards Int. Returns:No-Yards |
8 for 51 3 for 4 1 for 1 |
| 12 for 103 | PENALTIES: Number-Yards | 11 for 145 |
| 1-1 | FUMBLES: Number-Lost | 0-0 |
| 1 for 2 | SACKS: Number-Yards | 0 for 0 |
| 0 for 0 | INTERCEPTIONS: Number-Yards | 1 for 1 |
| 32:09 | TIME OF POSSESSION | 27:51 |
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| 3 | D Munroe | 6 | 0 | 6 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 14 | M Rodrigues | 2 | 0 | 2 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 15 | A Lomasney | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 16 | W Sharpe | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 23 | E Williams | 2 | 0 | 2 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 24 | T Harvey | – | – | – | – | 1 | ||||||
| 26 | K Asare | 4 | 0 | 4 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 28 | B Elliott | 3 | 0 | 3 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 31 | K Kinahan | 5 | 0 | 5 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 36 | E Barzegar | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 40 | D Howes | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 41 | C Johnson | 3 | 0 | 3 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 43 | W DeSouza | 3 | 0 | 3 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 55 | A Fehler | 6 | 1 | 6.5 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 88 | J Marra | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 90 | J Bodanis | 3 | 1 | 3.5 | 1 – 2 | 1 – 2 | – | – | ||||
| 99 | Z Lukings | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| TOTALS | 43 | 2 | 44 | 1 – 2 | 1 – 2 | – | – | 1 | ||||
| 3 | J Nugent | 3 | 1 | 3.5 | – | – | – | 1-1 | 1 | |||
| 5 | M Grandison | 6 | 1 | 6.5 | – | – | – | – | 1 | |||
| 8 | H Hazime | 5 | 2 | 6 | – | 0.5 – 2 | – | – | ||||
| 9 | P Russell | 4 | 2 | 5 | – | 1 – 5 | – | – | 1 | |||
| 14 | N Nkansah | 0 | 1 | 0.5 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 16 | A Bugdahn | 1 | 1 | 1.5 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 17 | N Craig | 2 | 0 | 2 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 20 | R Poroznik | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 26 | C Bellerdine | 5 | 2 | 6 | – | – | – | – | 4 | |||
| 28 | A McMillan | 1 | 1 | 1.5 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 31 | M Deans | 0 | 1 | 0.5 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 37 | J Tuck | 2 | 2 | 3 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 44 | T de Moel | 0 | 1 | 0.5 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 51 | E Morassutti | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 52 | D Philip | 3 | 3 | 4.5 | – | 0.5 – 1 | – | – | 1 | |||
| 55 | S Reading | 3 | 0 | 3 | – | 3 – 8 | – | – | ||||
| 77 | M Livingston | 3 | 2 | 4 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 89 | J Murton | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 97 | Z Davis | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | 1 – 2 | 1 | 1-0 | – | |||
| TM | TEAM | – | – | – | – | |||||||
| TOTALS | 42 | 20 | 52 | 0 – 0 | 6 – 18 | 1 | 1-0 | 1-1 | 8 |
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