U of O racks up 600 yards of total offence in 53-21 win
Following the big Panda Game win against crosstown rival Carleton, the Gee-Gees football team headed to the Big Smoke to take on the University of Toronto Varsity Blues on Oct. 4.
It was a quick turnaround for the U of O, having just played their last game five days prior, but this didn’t seem too daunting, as they rolled on to a fifth straight win over the U of T.
Starting for the fifth week in a row was rookie quarterback Sawyer Buettner, who beat his total from last week by more than 150 yards, also remaining unbeaten as a starter this season.
Despite the Gee-Gees win, the U of T would strike first when Blues quarterback Connor Ellis found receiver Nolan Lovegrove in the endzone to give his team a 7-0 lead early on.
Down by a major score, Jamie Barresi’s squad would fail to score on the next drive, despite a big 37-yard pass from Buettner to receiver Carter Matheson.
However, the U of O managed to turn it around after an interception caught by Gee-Gees defensive back Luke French. Failing to score a touchdown on the subsequent drive, they were forced to bring in rookie kicker Raphael Cote, who gave the U of O their first points of the game, cutting the Blues’ lead to four points.
Buettner would find the end zone later in the quarter, connecting with Matheson again for his third touchdown of the season to grab their first lead of the match.
Matheson would prove to be the biggest aerial threat in this one, scoring three touchdowns and gaining a whopping 258 yards in by far his best game of the season.
The Gee-Gees wouldn’t look back from there on out, tacking on two more touchdowns on passes from Buettner to Dawson Odei and Matheson, and a field goal from Cote. The U of T would answer with a touchdown, giving the Gees a 29-14 lead into halftime.
Odei would find the endzone once more in the third quarter, this time on the ground. Once again he would prove himself a dynamic weapon for the Gee-Gees, gaining nearly 150 yards of total offence throughout the game.
In the fourth quarter, the boys in Garnet and Grey put the game away, adding two more touchdowns and a field goal. The U of T would score a late touchdown, but it was too late, and the Gees would hold on to their big lead to win the game 53-21 and move on to 5-1 on the season.
It was the Gees’ largest game offensively of the year, racking up more than 600 yards of total offence between Odei on the ground, and Buettner and Matheson through the air.
Following the University of Western Ontario’s 66-14 win against the Windsor Lancers on the same day, the Gees are still second place in the OUA standings, hanging on to their fifth-place national ranking.
Up next, the Garnet and Grey will play the defending Vanier Cup champion Mustangs at Gee-Gees Field on Oct.13th at 1 p.m., in what will be their toughest and most significant game of the season. With a win, the Gees would overtake Western atop the OUA standings and be in great position for the playoffs. Grab tickets to this showdown here.
