The Gees play the Gaels in a playoff dress rehearsal, but come away without the win
The Gee-Gees final game of the OUA regular season kicked off against Queen’s on Oct. 28 at Richardson Stadium. A win for either team meant a 4th-place finish and home-field advantage for next week’s quarter-final rematch between the two schools. Conversely, a loss for either team secured a 5th-place finish on the season.
Coming into the game the Gees were hot — two wins in their last three games; the one loss coming from a tight 38-30 loss to the second-place Laurier Golden Hawks. Unfortunately for the Gee-Gees, Queen’s was also on a hot streak. The Gaels were entering the game having won all of their last three games.
The first quarter began with a short kickoff return by the U of O running back Charles Asselin, who brought possession to the Gee’s 23-yard line. The first possession started off strong with a sideline pass by quarterback Josh Janssen to his slotback, Nicholas Gendron, for a gain of 6 yards. Shortly after, on second and four, Janssen went back to the sideline and found Asselin who ran out of bounds at the Gee-Gee’s 53.
With the ball around midfield, the Gees were just outside of kicker Campbell Fair’s range — but not too far outside. On first down at the 53, Janssen gave Gendron his second catch of the game, and after breaking two tackles Gendron ran out for a first down at Queen’s 45-yard line. Nevertheless, this drive ended without the strength it began with; one blocked pass and a fast sack by Gaels lineman Silas Hubert meant it was time for a punt to end the game’s first possession.
The Gee-Gees defence did well to force a quick two and out on the Gaels’ first possession. A standout play on the drive was made by U of O linebacker Emmanuel Aboragye-Gane, who ended a Queen’s running play with a tackle on second down, forcing a Gaels punt.
Anothe two-and-out was forced by the Gaels on the Gee’s second possession. However, the forced third down resulted in punter Zachary Copeland making a standout play pinning Queen’s on their 35-yard line.
It wasn’t until the Gaels’ second possession of the game that either team had a scoring opportunity. After a quick blitz by Gees cornerback Kevin Victome on second down, the Gales were faced with a third and goal opportunity. Queen’s elected to go for the touchdown; a decision that defensive tackle Riley Hildebrant made them regret with a tackle to stop a potential touchdown. A turnover on downs resulted in a short drive by the Gees, ending with Janssen taking a knee in Ottawa’s end zone on third down — 2-0 Gaels.
The second quarter began with two strong plays by the Gee-Gees; a 20-yard reception to Gendron, followed by a 10-yard run by running back Camara placed the U of O at Queen’s 15-yard line. Nevertheless, on second down Janssen was picked off on a throw into the end zone — Gaels took possession deep in their end. Just a few short plays later though Victome came up with another big play — an interception giving Ottawa the ball at midfield.
With under one minute to go in the first half, the Gees had another opportunity to score. A second and nine on the Queen’s 15-yard line, resulted in Janssen being picked off in the endzone for a second time — that made for three interceptions in the second quarter.
With under one minute left in the first half, the Gaels traded possession with the Gees once again. With the ball at midfield, Fair was given an opportunity to give Ottawa the lead heading into halftime. With 0.2 seconds on the clock, Fair narrowly missed wide right on a 54-yard field goal — a rare miss kept the score 2-0 Queen’s going into halftime.
The third quarter began with a successful Queen’s drive where they scored the game’s first offensive points — a 29-yard field goal added three to the score, 5-0 Gales.
Shortly after, another two and out allowed Copland to make a second standout punt — this time going out of bounds at Queen’s 25 yard-line. On second and ten deep in Queen’s end, Gees defensive end Baptiste Pollier made a tackle which forced Queen’s to make a familiar play. A knee in the Gaels’ endzone ended Queen’s second drive of the quarter — Gees were on the board, 5-2.
One of the final plays of the third quarter was an 11-yard run by Gaels running back Jared Chisari, who added to his regular season total of 1,178 rushing yards. With this third quarter pickup, Chisari became the all-time single-season leading rusher for Queen’s, overtaking a record from the 2007 season.
Playing conditions began to change at the start of the fourth quarter after heavy rain forced fans to clear the stands. The introduction of the rain made an immediate impact, with both the Gees and Gaels sharing unsuccessful fourth-quarter drives characterised by short passes and downhill runs.
The game’s first touchdown was scored with under five minutes to go in the fourth quarter. A handoff to Gael’s running back, Osa Osaseri, resulted in a run into the endzone. After a successful field goal conversion, the Gaels had a 10-point lead, 12-2.
A late effort by the Gees resulted in the final play of the game — an Ottawa third and goal on the Queen’s four-yard line. Janssen found his receiver, Max Malenfant, in the endzone for Ottawa’s only touchdown of the game. An unsuccessful 2-point conversion concluded the game at 12-8 for the Gaels.
Ottawa faces off against Queen’s once again for their quarter-final matchup next Saturday, Nov. 4 at Richardson Stadium.
