Men’s football team moves to 2–0 with win vs. Queen’s Golden Gaels
Despite the heavy rain, the Gee-Gees men’s football team delivered a win to their loyal fans in the team’s home opener on Sept. 4 against the Queen’s University Golden Gaels. Though they struggled immensely on the offensive end, the Gees are now 2–0 on the season, and remain in the ninth spot in the U Sports national rankings.
With fifth-year quarterback Victor Twynstra still out with an injury, first-year Alex Laveric was called on to fill in the role. The team played a cautious offensive game under their rookie QB, relying on their defence and fifth-year kicker Lewis Ward for the win.
From the opening kickoff, the Gee-Gees tried to keep the Golden Gaels off balance with an unsuccessful onside kick. The visitors started with great field position, but their offensive attack was stopped in its tracks early on by third-year defensive linebacker Alain Pae, who sacked the opposing QB.
Despite getting four sacks on Queen’s pivot, the Gee-Gees only held a tie going into the second quarter, thanks to Ward, who converted on a long 45-yard field goal.
The Gaels gained a rare first down in this defensive affair, but they were once again stalled by the Gees’ defensive curtain with less than four minutes into the second period. Following a six-play drive that started on the visitors’ 49-yard line, the Queen’s kicker converted a 27-yard kick to make the score 6–3 for the Gaels.
The Gaels had the longest drive of the half, highlighted by a 57-yard throw and catch from their quarterback. The Gaels got to within 20 yards of the Gees’ end zone, but Ottawa’s defence stood tall and limited the Gaels to a field goal, keeping their deficit to six points.
The Gee-Gees’ offence finally came alive in the third quarter, with a string of passes from Lavric, bringing the Gees to Queen’s 24-yard line. Ward came up big for the Gees again with a 31-yard field goal to bring the score to 10–6.
The third quarter ended with two more punts and both teams struggling on the offensive end.
The Gee-Gees looked to get within one point after a good drive that saw receiver Carter Matheson have 43 yards receiving, but Ward missed a 31-yard field goal that went through the end zone for a single, bringing the score to 10–7. It looked like the Gaels had sealed the deal with a late 38-yard field goal that made it through the uprights, but the Gees had other plans.
The kickoff sailed for 54 yards, right into third-year defensive back Jackson Bennett’s hands. He showed off his wheels, juking through the heart of the Queen’s special teams unit to take back the kick 89 yards for the Gee-Gees’ first touchdown of the year.
Two huge sacks on the last drive of the game gave the Gee-Gees a huge win against a tough Queen’s squad who played hard on both sides of the ball.
The Gee-Gees found another way to win. Even though they had nine less first-downs and 133 less total yards on offence, they brought a big win to Gee-Gees field.
The next Gee-Gees home game will take place on Sept. 23 at 1 p.m. at Gee-Gees field. Tickets can be purchased from the Gee-Gees website.
