WEEK 8 SCHEDULE (all times local)
OCTOBER 10
19:00 Toronto (2-4) at York (2-4) (Rogers TV Toronto & video webcast)
Source: York Sports Info
More than just a win in the OUA standings is up for grabs on
Thursday as city bragging rights are on the line and the winner of
the game will receive the Argo Cup. The Lions won the most recent
match-up between the two teams at Varsity Centre last year,
snapping a four-game winning streak by the Blues. Prior to that,
the Lions had won 12 straight from 1996-07.
Since their first meeting in 1970, the Varsity Blues hold the upper
hand with a 26-17 head-to-head record over the Lions.
"We have to own the city of Toronto," said head coach Warren
Craney. "It's huge for our school, for our kids, for our alumni and
for recruiting. Our team is going to come out swinging because it's
critical for us to win this game for our University."
Red & Blue Bowl History and Records
The two squads have played each other tightly over the last three
years, with the average margin of victory in that stretch sitting
at less than a touchdown. The Lions won last year's game by a score
of 36-24 after jumping out to a commanding 30-9 lead at the half
thanks to a 23-point outburst in the second quarter.
The Lions (2-4) and the Blues (2-4) are currently tied for seventh
place with four points in the OUA standings and one game remaining
after their match-up this week. The two teams each have wins over
the same opponents; the Lions knocked off Laurier 33-20 in Week 3
and Carleton 50-34 in Week 4, while the Varsity Blues defeated the
Golden Hawks 27-20 in Week 2 and the Ravens 50-10 in their most
recent game on Sept. 27.
The Lions have the second-best rushing offence in the OUA with
215.2 yards per game and the sixth best overall at 408.5 yards per
game, while the Varsity Blues have picked up most of their yardage
in the air, ranking fourth in the OUA with 306.2 per game, and are
just behind the Lions in total yards per game, with an average of
389.
Many of York's yards have come courtesy of running back Errol
Brooks (Toronto), who ranks second in the OUA with 113.83 yards per
game on the ground with an impressive 8.2 yards-per-carry average
and three touchdowns. He has also added 151 total receiving
yards and one touchdown to his offensive numbers.
Toronto's most prolific offensive weapon is fifth-year
receiver Paul de Pass (Ajax, Ont.), who is third in the OUA with
583 receiving yards this season and eclipsed the 2,000-yard mark
for his career earlier this year.
Thursday's game is free for all York students. Tickets can be
purchased at the gate on game day. Adult tickets are available for
$10, non-York students, seniors over 55 years of age and York
alumni and staff are $7 and youth under 13 are free.
OCTOBER 11
19:00 Saint Mary’s (3-2) at Acadia (2-3) (video webcast)
19:00 No. 4 Guelph (6-0) at Carleton (0-6)
19:00 No. 5 Queen’s (5-1) at Waterloo (1-5) (video webcast)
OCTOBER 12
13:00 No. 9 McMaster (3-3) at Laurier (1-6) (Rogers TV Waterloo – tape delay& video webcast)
Source: Jamie Howieson, Laurier Sports Info
WATERLOO, Ont. - The Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks men's football team will close out their season this Saturday afternoon when they host the McMaster Marauders on Seniors Day at University Stadium.
Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. and tickets can be purchased at tickets.laurierathletics.com. Fans can also purchase a $5 game ticket on Game Day with the donation of a non-perishable food item. The Laurier box office will open at 11 a.m. on Saturday.
The Hawks will be honouring their four senior players prior to Saturday's kickoff that will see receiver Isaac Dell of Niagara Falls, Ont., running back Rashad La Touche of Whitby, Ont., defensive back Felix Odum of Pickering, Ont., and defensive lineman Thomas Griffiths of Richmond Hill, Ont., play their final games in the purple and gold.
Laurier will be looking to send their graduating seniors off with a victory as they wrap up a tough season season against the Marauders. After a slow start to the year, the Hawks have arguably been one of the best teams through the second half of the season. They started it off with a big win over Waterloo and followed that up with outstanding performances against No. 1 Western, Windsor and No. 5 Queen's. However, the team has come up just short in each of those games, meaning that the Hawks will miss out on the playoffs this year.
Asides from the motivation of playing for the players dressing in their last OUA game, the Hawks will also be looking to put on a show for their former head coach. Gary Jeffries, Laurier's bench boss from 2003 until 2012, returns to University Stadium for the first time as the Special Teams Coordinator with McMaster.
Heading into the final week of their season, two Golden Hawks will be looking to put the finishing touches on what has been a fantastic season. Kick returner William Pitt-Doe of Mississauga, Ont., has already put his stamp on the Laurier record books as he became the Hawks' new single-season record holder for kick return yards last week against Queen's. Entering Week 8 with 560 yards to his name, he is 170 yards shy of breaking the OUA record, currently held by Toronto's Matt D'Souza, who had 729 back in 2006. While it will be tough, it is not out of the realm of possibility has he has already eclipsed that number once this season when he had 194 yards against York on September 7.
The other Hawk looking to close out a great year is running back Dillon Campbell of Whitby, Ont. The third year back has been very impressive this year and currently leads the OUA in rushing yards with 772, a number that is also good enough for second in the country. No Laurier player has led the conference in rushing yards since Mike Montoya accomplished the feat back in 2009 and if Campbell can record his sixth-straight 100 yard rushing game, he has an excellent chance to return a Laurier player to the top of the league.
The Hawks will be trying to accomplish all of these things against a McMaster team that has struggled in 2013 after winning the Yates Cup each of the last two seasons. The Marauders sit at .500 through their first six games of the season and are fighting to maintain the chance to host a playoff game this season. Their group is led by fourth year quarterback Marshall Ferguson of Kingston, Ont., who is third in the conference in passing yards with 2003 and tied for first with 18 touchdown passes. However, the Marauders' pivot has also been intercepted eight times this year, second most in the conference, so look for Laurier's third-ranked pass defence to try and take advantage of any ill-timed throws.
Fans unable to attend Saturday's game will be able to catch the live webcast on Hawk TV or the live audiocast on RadioLaurier.com.
NOTE: Following the game, fans will be able to join the Golden Hawks on the field for the team's annual Autograph Day.
14:00 StFX (3-2) at Mount Allison (1-4) (Eastlink TV & video webcast)