Western at Queen's 20091017
Photos from game 7, the University of Western Ontario Mustangs vs. Queen's at Richardson Stadium, Kingston, ON on October 17, 2009 and the final walk-through on October 16, 2009.
All photos are Copyright (c) Jeff Chan 2000-2009, but may be used for personal non-commercial use, and by Queen's University, the CIS and its member conferences, and by the Vanier Cup, so long as photo credits are shown or the photos are otherwise attributed to Jeff Chan. All other rights are reserved.
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Queen's 27, Western 26!!
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For a more passionate, Canadian CFL
Bernie Dobrucki,The Hamilton Spectator
I watched a football game one recent weekend. What a thriller. Back and forth action. Beautifully executed plays. The best football game I watched all weekend and it wasn't a CFL or an NFL game. It was a Canadian university game between Queen's and Western -- featuring two of the country's best quarterbacks -- Danny Brannagan for Queen's, and Michael Faulds for Western.
The game was so exciting and involving, it made me think of all that's wrong with the CFL. Don't get me wrong. I'm no CFL basher. The CFL has its moments. I still catch the odd game. But for me it has lost its significance.
I used to love the Tiger-Cats in my younger days when the team meant something. That is, when I knew the players. There was a time when the players came across as wanting to be here. That doesn't seem to be the case anymore. Now the CFL is a consolation prize for Americans who'd rather be someplace else. It shows in the inconsistent play and an attitude of indifference -- we fans aren't blind.
Back to the Queen's-Western game ... You saw real passion amongst the players. And there was something else you didn't see. Stupid penalties. Throughout the entire game there wasn't one no-yards penalty. In a typical CFL game with American players forgetting the five-yard rule, you see a no-yards call every second punt.
It was a shame there weren't more fans in the stands enjoying this masterpiece. They would have witnessed two powerful teams led by coaches who obviously know the Canadian game, how to exploit the larger field, and featuring two quarterbacks who throw the larger-size CFL ball as well or better than most CFL starters.
But the biggest shame of all? This is the end of the road for many of these players. For Brannagan and Faulds, both fifth-year players, this season will likely be their last. Even though they are star quarterbacks who have mastered the Canadian game, there is no future career for them in Canadian football. What a shame.
My question is this. Why not promote a real CFL game with Canadian kids? I'd love to be able to continue watching kids such as Brannagan and Faulds develop as pro athletes in a Canadian Football League. I'd love to see more of their fellow receivers, running backs and linemen, develop with them.
Would I pay to see them? Absolutely. I'd rather fork over 30 bucks to see Canadian kids play their hearts out than a bunch of malcontent imports who are only here because they couldn't make the cut south of the border, and are merely putting in time until their next NFL tryout.
OK, that's a bit harsh. And maybe I'm exaggerating. But I don't think it's an exaggeration to say our game is missing something. And it could be right here in front of us in the form of more Canadian university talent.
I can already hear the naysayers: A league filled with fewer Americans will greatly decrease the quality of play. But to say that is missing the point. The CFL, with mostly NFL cuts, is already perceived by many to be an inferior game. So why not make it a different game?
Why not restrict imports even further and make it a truly unique Canadian game, comprised primarily of Canadian players? Personally, I think the passion of the players and their love affair with the Canadian game would more than make up for any perceived shortfall in talent.
Last, football is a team sport. It's the players we come to see. If I know the players, in the case of Brannagan, a Burlington kid I've watched play since he was a tyke, I'd pay to see him as a pro, along with his university colleagues from schools across the country.
For me, anyway, it would give me a reason to get out and watch a CFL game once again.
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Blaise of Glory for Gaels
By Mike Koreen, Kingston Whig Standard
Every week at practice, Queen's Golden Gaels coach Pat Sheahan sets his stopwatch to 1:10 and puts his offence at its own 20-yard line. The task for quarterback Danny Brannagan and Co. is to score a touchdown before the clock hits zero. "(Last) week (at practice), both quarterbacks brought our offence down and scored," Sheahan said.
"I had full confidence we'd do well in that drill (in a game situation)." You know what they say -- practice does, indeed, make perfect. Faced with nearly a carbon copy of the practice drill against the Western Mustangs on Saturday at Richardson Stadium, the Gaels turned what looked to be a disheartening defeat into a brilliant, first-place-clinching victory.
Brannagan took the ball at his own 26 with 1:08 left and led the Gaels on the drive of the year, capping it with a 30-yard catch-and- run hook-up with Blaise Morrison with 13.5 seconds left. Make the final Gaels 27, Western Mustangs 26 and make home-field advantage through to the Vanier Cup official for a Queen's team (7-0) that is the only undefeated outfit in Canada. "It's something we were prepared for," Brannagan said of the final drive, which extended the Gaels' regular season win streak to 17 games. "We just went out and executed and did what we had to do. ... It couldn't have worked out much better."
But, oh, how it could have worked out much worse. The Gaels, up 14-3 at halftime, let the Mustangs off the ropes when they failed to punch it in from the one-yard line on the final play of the first half. Running back Marty Gordon was stuffed, though Sheahan said after the game the Gaels mistakenly had only 11 men on the field, leaving an unblocked man to tackle the ball-carrier. After that, momentum shifted to Western and the Mustangs (5- 2) seemed poised to record the big road victory.
Running effectively with Nathan Riva and Da'shawn Thomas and passing nicely with star quarterback Michael Faulds, the Mustangs outscored the Gaels 10-0 in the third quarter and kept up the surge after Gordon found the end zone for Queen's early in the fourth. A seven-yard Faulds touchdown pass to Jesse Bellamy was followed by a 10-yard run to Nathan Riva with 1:16 left, putting the Mustangs up by five after they missed a two-point convert on the Bellamy major.
All was good for the visitors -- except for the amount of time left. "In the fourth quarter," Faulds said, "it did have that feel that the last team that had the ball was going to win." Enter Brannagan, who sure looks like a deserving candidate for the Hec Crighton Trophy as the top player in Canada. He converted a third-and-three early in the drive with an 11-yard pass to Chris Ioannides. Then, disaster seemingly struck when Brannagan overthrew a wide-open Devan Sheahan for what would have been a touchdown. For many other quarterbacks, it would have been a devastating blow. Not for Brannagan, though.
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Quarterback race: Gaels quarterback Danny Brannagan passed for 436 yards to give him 10,424 for his career, just 31 short of the record held by Matt Connell of McGill. Western quarterback Michael Faulds also is in the running after passing for 384 to put him at 10,261.
Kingston flavour: A week after Kingston Area Secondary Schools Athletic Association graduates scored four touchdowns for Queen's, Kingston natives scored three more. Two were on the ground for La Salle graduate Marty Gordon and one was a reception by Bayridge graduate Scott Valberg.
Catching up: Valberg is 17 yards shy of moving into second place on the Gaels career receiving yards list. He has a chance to jump in front of current Toronto Argonaut Brad Smith in the season finale.
Up next: The Gaels travel to Waterloo to face the Laurier Golden Hawks (5-2) in the season finale. Queen's will play host to an OUA semifinal Nov. 7.
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Queen's scores touchdown in final minute to edge Western
By Andy Watson, UWO
The Queen's Gaels remained perfect, holding on for a 27-26 win over the Western Mustangs at Richardson Stadium in front of 3,816 fans on Oct. 17.
Western falls to 5-2 and hosts Toronto Oct. 24 at 1 p.m. at TD Waterhouse Stadium. The Mustangs must defeat Toronto in Week 8 and hope for a McMaster loss against either Windsor or Guelph to earn a first-round bye. If McMaster beats Windsor and Guelph, Western would be in position to host an OUA quarter-final game on Oct. 31 at TD Waterhouse Stadium. With the win, Queen's improves to 7-0 and clinches first place in OUA and a first-round bye for the playoffs. They travel to play Wilfrid Laurier in their final game in Week 8 on Oct. 24 in Waterloo, Ont.
With 13 seconds left, Gaels quarterback Danny Brannagan (Burlington, Ont.) connected with receiver Blaise Morrison (Bedford, N.S.) on a 30-yard catch-and-run scoring play to earn the win. His scoring play capped off an impressive nine-play, 84-yard game-winning drive for the Gaels.
Despite trailing 14-3 at the half, Western had taken a 26-21 lead with just under a minute remaining after a Nathan Riva (LaSalle, Ont.) 10-yard touchdown run. Riva was efficient, running the ball 19 times for 107 yards and one touchdown, adding three catches for 64 yards.
Michael Faulds (Eden Mills, Ont.) had a 385-yard passing effort, going 25/40 and a touchdown on the day despite leaving briefly in the fourth quarter. He now has 10,261 career passing yards, and is just 194 yards off the CIS career passing record entering the Week 8 game against Toronto. The CIS career passing yards record is held by Matt Connell who racked up 10,455 yards in his career at McGill.
Brannagan now has 10,424 career passing yards and was 35/52 for 435 yards, two touchdowns and one interception on the day. He enters Week 8's game at Laurier just 31 yards behind Connell. Queen's extended its regular season winning streak to 17 straight games and hopes home-field advantage can lead them to an improvement of a 1-3 record in their past four playoff games.
The Gaels led 14-3 at the half, and it was the Mustangs who dug themselves a hole, throwing two interceptions when pressing and making mental errors, failing to make tackles when they needed to.
Short methodical passing from Brannagan and two interceptions courtesy of defensive back Jimmy Allin gave Queen's the edge in a thriller.
It was a defensive battle early as both offences struggled to take advantage of good field position. The bright offensive spot for both teams in the opening quarter was Western receiver Zach Bull (Port Colborne, Ont.) who caught a 52-yard Faulds pass on a deep route on the second Western possession, getting open off a fly pattern in behind defensive back Josh Sultana (Etobicoke, Ont.). He would finish with 91 receiving yards in the opening half. But the Gaels defence recovered, and once again Western was forced to punt from midfield. In fact, both punters were busy early.
A 39-yard Bull catch and run got the ball deep into Queen's territory, as Bull earned extra yards after great blocking from Western receivers down field. It set up a Lirim Hajrullahu (St. Catharines, Ont.) 22-yard field go to make it 3-0 with just under five minutes left in the first quarter. The defensive battle continued though with little scoring in the game before Queen`s exploded for 14 points late in the half.
After a great drive starting deep in Queen's territory, the Gaels converted on a third-and-one gamble (entered game 10 for 18 on season) instead of kicking a field goal, as Queen's running back Marty Gordon (Kingston, Ont.) run from 14 yards out to make it 7-3 Queen's. Scott Valberg (Kingston, Ont.) made Western pay for a number of missed tackles, first Aaron Handsor and then Craig Butler for a 53-yard touchdown to make it 14-3 with 2:21 left in the half.
Faulds hit Hegarty to move the ball into Queen's territory on the next Western possession, and then went straight back to Hegarty, but this time the Western receiver fumbled the ball in mid-air and Allin intercepted it for his second pick-off of the game killing a Western spurt of pressure.
A second-down holding call on Conor Elliot with 40 seconds left in the first half gave Queen's a fresh set of downs, instead of being forced to punt, and it resulted in a march to the goal-line which was thwarted by a goal-line stance from the Mustangs defence.
Gordon could not get in from one yard out with three seconds left, and Queen's led 14-3 at the break. Western gave up over 100 receiving yards to one opposition player for the first time this season as Scott Valberg (Kingston, ont.) had 110 yards on seven catches and a toucodwn in the first half.
In the third quarter, Western ran the hurry-up offence and got the ball into Queen's territory with a Riva run, a Thomas catch and a Bull catch. Faulds missed Riva wide open on second down and Hajrullahu missed a 37-yard field goal, but an illegal block on the return off the miss gave Queen's poor field position at their own five-yard line.
Josh Foster (London, Ont.) picked off Brannagan and Western started with the ball at the Queen's 22-yard line. A screen pass to Bull got the ball to the Gaels' 10-yard line but then on a Riva running attempt which took the ball to the one-yard line, a holding call against Western brought the ball back to the Queen's 20-yard line. Western settled for a Hajrullahu 15-yard field goal to make it 14-6 with 7:22 left in the third.
On the next Western possession starting at midfield, Nick Pasic (London, Ont.) made a great catch over top of Allin for a first down. Faulds found a seam connecting with Nick Trevail (London, Ont.) for a 33-yard gain. A few plays later on third and goal, Thomas scored for Western with great movement and push up front from the offensive line to cut the lead to 14-13 for Queen's.
Queen's got the ball at midfield and then a Foster facemasking call got the ball deep in Western terriotory. Gordon scored his second touchdown of the game, hopping over the defensive line with good blocking to make it 21-13 for Gaels with 11:46 left in the fourth quarter.
Faulds left the game briefly in the fourth quarter but returned to lead a great drive. He connected many times with Riva who ran and caught screen passes to set up a Jesse Bellamy (Guelph, Ont.) touchdown catch. A failed two-point conversion on the play kept the score at 21-19 in favour of Queen's with 8:30 left.
Sacks from Scott Fournier (Ottawa, Ont.) and lineman Matt Norman (Montreal) - who played on both sides of the ball in the game - forced a Queen's punt and gave Western life. Riva was magical on the next series, running for two first downs, while Faulds connected with Bull and Trevail for others. Thomas ran the ball up the middle with great blocking for another first down inside the 10-yard line which was capped off by a Riva 10-yard touchdown run, finishing a 93-yard drive on nine plays.
With Western leading 26-21 with 1:16 left in the fourth, Christopher Ioannides (Toronto) made a huge catch to keep hope alive for Queen's on third down and short. Valberg made two big catches for first downs with Western blitzing before Morrison's winning catch-and-run play, Foster's tackle to score and cap off the winning drive with 13 seconds left.
Queen's attempted a two-point converstion up 27-26, but like Western earlier in the second half failed with Conor Elliot knocking down the two-point convert passing attempt. Riva and Thomas tried to create something on the ensuing return, but ended up fumbling the ball in desperation.
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Queen's snatches dramatic victory over Mustangs. QB Brannagan fires winning TD pass in final seconds
By Mike Koreen, Sun Media
KINGSTON — The road to the Vanier Cup goes through Queen's University after the Golden Gaels posted a dramatic come-from-behind victory over the Western Mustangs Saturday at Richardson Stadium. A 30-yard touchdown pass from Danny Brannagan to Blaise Morrison with 13.5 seconds left gave the Gaels a 27-26 win over the Mustangs. The Gaels fell behind by five with 1:16 left when Mustangs running back Nathan Riva scored on a 10-yard run. But Brannagan got the ball back with 1:08 left at the Queen's 26 and drove the Gaels all the way downfield.
“I wanted Nathan to score,” Mustangs coach Greg Marshall said of the touchdown which came with enough time left for Queen's to come back. “We gave our defence a chance. But (Brannagan) did a great job moving them down the stretch.” The Gaels (7-0) have clinched first in Ontario University Athletics with one game left and will have home-field advantage through to the Vanier Cup. Queen's has won 17 regular season games in a row.
The Mustangs (5-2) have to win next week against lowly Toronto in London in the season finale to have a chance for second place and a bye in the first round. “We've won the Yates Cup in two totally different ways, the first year on the road every game (in 2007) and the second year at home every game (in 2008),” Mustangs quarterback Michael Faulds said. “It might be a little in between this year (on the road to the Yates Cup).”
Faulds topped 10,000 career yards passing with 384 yards through the air, giving him 10,261 for his career. Brannagan also hurdled over 10,000 with a 436-yard outing, giving him 10,424. The Canadian Interuniversity Sport record is 10,455 yards by Matt Connell of McGill.
The Mustangs, who trailed most of the game, had a chance to tie it midway through the fourth quarter on a two-point convert. But a Michael Faulds pass to Da'Shawn Thomas did not reach the end zone as the running back fumbled on the two.
Western cut the Gaels lead to 21-19 on the previous play, a seven-yard touchdown pass from Faulds to Jesse Bellamy. That touchdown came right after a Queen's major, a four-yard run by Marty Gordon. The Gaels led 14-3 at halftime, but went to the dressing room on a downer after falling one yard shot of making it 21-3. With 3.5 seconds left and with the ball at the Western one-yard-line, Queen's opted to hand off to Gordon, who was stuffed.
Queen's scored all of their first-half points in the second quarter. On a third-and-one, quarterback Danny Brannagan handed off to Gordon, who rumbled 14 yards into the end zone to make it 7-3. Later, Brannagan completed a short pass to Scott Valberg, who turned into into a 53-yard touchdown reception with some outstanding moves in the open field. Valberg just missed making it 21-3 when he was stopped at the one on a 21-yard reception at the end of the first half.
Western took a 3-0 lead in the opening quarter on a 22-yard field goal by Lirim Harjrullahu. Another field goal by Harjrullahu, this time from 15 yards, cut the Queen's lead to 14-6 midway through the third quarter. The Mustangs then whittled that gap to one when Da'Shawn Thomas leaped in from the one-yard line on a third-and-one late in the third quarter. The third quarter ended with Queen's up 14-13.
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Instant Classic Lives Up To Billing
By Queen’s Athletics
The No. 4 nationally-ranked Queen's Gaels (7-0) remained Canada's only undefeated university football team, holding on for a thrilling 27-26 victory over the No. 5 Western Mustangs (5-2) at Richardson Stadium on Saturday.
With 13 seconds left in regulation, Danny Brannagan connected with receiver Blaise Morrison on a 30-yard catch-and-run scoring play to earn the win. His touchdown capped off an impressive 84-yard game-winning drive for the Gaels. Despite trailing 14-3 at the half, Western had taken a 26-21 lead with just under a minute remaining after a Nathan Riva 10-yard touchdown run.
In the race for 10,000 career passing yards both Brannagan and Western quarterback Michael Faulds surpassed the mark and now sit second and third respectively on the CIS all-time passing list. Brannagan has 10,424 career passing yards and is just 31 yards shy of Matt Connell who racked up 10,455 yards in his career for McGill. Faulds is right behind Brannagan at 10,261.
Brannagan was 35-of-52 passing for 435 yards, two touchdowns and one interception on the day. Faulds finished at 384 going 25-of-40 and two picks. Queen's extended its regular season winning streak to 17 straight games and clinched first place in the OUA along with a first-round bye for the playoffs, and home field advantage right through the playoffs including the Yates Cup, and Mitchell Bowl.
The Gaels led 14-3 at the half but went to the dressing room disappointed after failing to punch in a touchdown from the one-yard line as time expired. Western then exploded for 10-unanswered points in the third quarter to move to within one point (14-13).
Queen's started the fourth quarter with a 47-yard drive, capped by a four-yard Marty Gordon (Kingston, Ont.) touchdown run to make the score 21-13. Western responded with two touchdowns to give themselves a five point cushion with just a one-minute and five seconds to play (26-21).
Gordon finished with two touchdowns and 86 yards on the ground while Scott Valberg (Kingston, Ont.) was Queen's top receiver making 12 catches for 154 yards and a touchdown.
Westerns top rusher was Riva posting 107 yards on the ground and 64 in the air collecting one touchdown. Zach Bull (Colborne, Ont.) recorded five catches netting 131 yards for the Mustangs.
Jimmy Allin (Belleville, Ont.) was the defensive star for Queen's tallying two interceptions giving him a league-leading five interceptions.
Next week Queen's travels to Waterloo, Ont., to face the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks (5-2) in their final regular season match-up of the season. The Gaels are looking to extend their regular season winning streak to 18 games and become only the second team in Queen's history to have back-to-back undefeated regular seasons.
NOTES: Chris Ioannides of Toronto turned one of his best performances in a Gaels uniform against Western tallying 125 yards on 11 catches...Valberg is now 17 yards shy of moving into second place on the Gaels all-time receiving yards list. He is currently third behind James McLean (3,138) and Brad Smith (2,683) having past Jock Climie (2,340) this year...Queen's celebrated Legacy Weekend which saw football alumni from years past honoured at halftime along with a tribute to legendary coaches Hal McCarney and Bill Miklas Sr...Attendance was 3,816.
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SCORING SUMMARY
Quarter #1
Western - FG L.Hajrullahu 22 10:06
Western - FG L.Hajrullahu 22 10:06
Quarter #2
Queen's - TD Gordon, Marty 14 run (Village, Dan convert) 7:14
Queen's - TD Gordon, Marty 14 run (Village, Dan convert) 7:14
Queen's - TD Valberg, Scott 53 pass from Brannagan, D (Village, Dan convert) 12:39
Queen's - TD Valberg, Scott 53 pass from Brannagan, D (Village, Dan convert) 12:39
Quarter #3
Western - FG L.Hajrullahu 15 7:32
Western - FG L.Hajrullahu 15 7:32
Western - TD D.Thomas 1 run (L.Hajrullahu convert) 11:56
Western - TD D.Thomas 1 run (L.Hajrullahu convert) 11:56
Quarter #4
Queen's - TD Gordon, Marty 4 run (Village, Dan convert) 3:14
Queen's - TD Gordon, Marty 4 run (Village, Dan convert) 3:14
Western - TD Jesse Bellamy 7 pass from Michael Faulds 6:30
Western - TD Jesse Bellamy 7 pass from Michael Faulds 6:30
Western - TD Nathan Riva 10 run (L.Hajrullahu convert) 13:44
Western - TD Nathan Riva 10 run (L.Hajrullahu convert) 13:44
Queen's - TD Morrison, B 30 pass from Brannagan, D 14:47
Queen's - TD Morrison, B 30 pass from Brannagan, D 14:47
Read MoreAll photos are Copyright (c) Jeff Chan 2000-2009, but may be used for personal non-commercial use, and by Queen's University, the CIS and its member conferences, and by the Vanier Cup, so long as photo credits are shown or the photos are otherwise attributed to Jeff Chan. All other rights are reserved.
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Queen's 27, Western 26!!
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For a more passionate, Canadian CFL
Bernie Dobrucki,The Hamilton Spectator
I watched a football game one recent weekend. What a thriller. Back and forth action. Beautifully executed plays. The best football game I watched all weekend and it wasn't a CFL or an NFL game. It was a Canadian university game between Queen's and Western -- featuring two of the country's best quarterbacks -- Danny Brannagan for Queen's, and Michael Faulds for Western.
The game was so exciting and involving, it made me think of all that's wrong with the CFL. Don't get me wrong. I'm no CFL basher. The CFL has its moments. I still catch the odd game. But for me it has lost its significance.
I used to love the Tiger-Cats in my younger days when the team meant something. That is, when I knew the players. There was a time when the players came across as wanting to be here. That doesn't seem to be the case anymore. Now the CFL is a consolation prize for Americans who'd rather be someplace else. It shows in the inconsistent play and an attitude of indifference -- we fans aren't blind.
Back to the Queen's-Western game ... You saw real passion amongst the players. And there was something else you didn't see. Stupid penalties. Throughout the entire game there wasn't one no-yards penalty. In a typical CFL game with American players forgetting the five-yard rule, you see a no-yards call every second punt.
It was a shame there weren't more fans in the stands enjoying this masterpiece. They would have witnessed two powerful teams led by coaches who obviously know the Canadian game, how to exploit the larger field, and featuring two quarterbacks who throw the larger-size CFL ball as well or better than most CFL starters.
But the biggest shame of all? This is the end of the road for many of these players. For Brannagan and Faulds, both fifth-year players, this season will likely be their last. Even though they are star quarterbacks who have mastered the Canadian game, there is no future career for them in Canadian football. What a shame.
My question is this. Why not promote a real CFL game with Canadian kids? I'd love to be able to continue watching kids such as Brannagan and Faulds develop as pro athletes in a Canadian Football League. I'd love to see more of their fellow receivers, running backs and linemen, develop with them.
Would I pay to see them? Absolutely. I'd rather fork over 30 bucks to see Canadian kids play their hearts out than a bunch of malcontent imports who are only here because they couldn't make the cut south of the border, and are merely putting in time until their next NFL tryout.
OK, that's a bit harsh. And maybe I'm exaggerating. But I don't think it's an exaggeration to say our game is missing something. And it could be right here in front of us in the form of more Canadian university talent.
I can already hear the naysayers: A league filled with fewer Americans will greatly decrease the quality of play. But to say that is missing the point. The CFL, with mostly NFL cuts, is already perceived by many to be an inferior game. So why not make it a different game?
Why not restrict imports even further and make it a truly unique Canadian game, comprised primarily of Canadian players? Personally, I think the passion of the players and their love affair with the Canadian game would more than make up for any perceived shortfall in talent.
Last, football is a team sport. It's the players we come to see. If I know the players, in the case of Brannagan, a Burlington kid I've watched play since he was a tyke, I'd pay to see him as a pro, along with his university colleagues from schools across the country.
For me, anyway, it would give me a reason to get out and watch a CFL game once again.
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Blaise of Glory for Gaels
By Mike Koreen, Kingston Whig Standard
Every week at practice, Queen's Golden Gaels coach Pat Sheahan sets his stopwatch to 1:10 and puts his offence at its own 20-yard line. The task for quarterback Danny Brannagan and Co. is to score a touchdown before the clock hits zero. "(Last) week (at practice), both quarterbacks brought our offence down and scored," Sheahan said.
"I had full confidence we'd do well in that drill (in a game situation)." You know what they say -- practice does, indeed, make perfect. Faced with nearly a carbon copy of the practice drill against the Western Mustangs on Saturday at Richardson Stadium, the Gaels turned what looked to be a disheartening defeat into a brilliant, first-place-clinching victory.
Brannagan took the ball at his own 26 with 1:08 left and led the Gaels on the drive of the year, capping it with a 30-yard catch-and- run hook-up with Blaise Morrison with 13.5 seconds left. Make the final Gaels 27, Western Mustangs 26 and make home-field advantage through to the Vanier Cup official for a Queen's team (7-0) that is the only undefeated outfit in Canada. "It's something we were prepared for," Brannagan said of the final drive, which extended the Gaels' regular season win streak to 17 games. "We just went out and executed and did what we had to do. ... It couldn't have worked out much better."
But, oh, how it could have worked out much worse. The Gaels, up 14-3 at halftime, let the Mustangs off the ropes when they failed to punch it in from the one-yard line on the final play of the first half. Running back Marty Gordon was stuffed, though Sheahan said after the game the Gaels mistakenly had only 11 men on the field, leaving an unblocked man to tackle the ball-carrier. After that, momentum shifted to Western and the Mustangs (5- 2) seemed poised to record the big road victory.
Running effectively with Nathan Riva and Da'shawn Thomas and passing nicely with star quarterback Michael Faulds, the Mustangs outscored the Gaels 10-0 in the third quarter and kept up the surge after Gordon found the end zone for Queen's early in the fourth. A seven-yard Faulds touchdown pass to Jesse Bellamy was followed by a 10-yard run to Nathan Riva with 1:16 left, putting the Mustangs up by five after they missed a two-point convert on the Bellamy major.
All was good for the visitors -- except for the amount of time left. "In the fourth quarter," Faulds said, "it did have that feel that the last team that had the ball was going to win." Enter Brannagan, who sure looks like a deserving candidate for the Hec Crighton Trophy as the top player in Canada. He converted a third-and-three early in the drive with an 11-yard pass to Chris Ioannides. Then, disaster seemingly struck when Brannagan overthrew a wide-open Devan Sheahan for what would have been a touchdown. For many other quarterbacks, it would have been a devastating blow. Not for Brannagan, though.
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Quarterback race: Gaels quarterback Danny Brannagan passed for 436 yards to give him 10,424 for his career, just 31 short of the record held by Matt Connell of McGill. Western quarterback Michael Faulds also is in the running after passing for 384 to put him at 10,261.
Kingston flavour: A week after Kingston Area Secondary Schools Athletic Association graduates scored four touchdowns for Queen's, Kingston natives scored three more. Two were on the ground for La Salle graduate Marty Gordon and one was a reception by Bayridge graduate Scott Valberg.
Catching up: Valberg is 17 yards shy of moving into second place on the Gaels career receiving yards list. He has a chance to jump in front of current Toronto Argonaut Brad Smith in the season finale.
Up next: The Gaels travel to Waterloo to face the Laurier Golden Hawks (5-2) in the season finale. Queen's will play host to an OUA semifinal Nov. 7.
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Queen's scores touchdown in final minute to edge Western
By Andy Watson, UWO
The Queen's Gaels remained perfect, holding on for a 27-26 win over the Western Mustangs at Richardson Stadium in front of 3,816 fans on Oct. 17.
Western falls to 5-2 and hosts Toronto Oct. 24 at 1 p.m. at TD Waterhouse Stadium. The Mustangs must defeat Toronto in Week 8 and hope for a McMaster loss against either Windsor or Guelph to earn a first-round bye. If McMaster beats Windsor and Guelph, Western would be in position to host an OUA quarter-final game on Oct. 31 at TD Waterhouse Stadium. With the win, Queen's improves to 7-0 and clinches first place in OUA and a first-round bye for the playoffs. They travel to play Wilfrid Laurier in their final game in Week 8 on Oct. 24 in Waterloo, Ont.
With 13 seconds left, Gaels quarterback Danny Brannagan (Burlington, Ont.) connected with receiver Blaise Morrison (Bedford, N.S.) on a 30-yard catch-and-run scoring play to earn the win. His scoring play capped off an impressive nine-play, 84-yard game-winning drive for the Gaels.
Despite trailing 14-3 at the half, Western had taken a 26-21 lead with just under a minute remaining after a Nathan Riva (LaSalle, Ont.) 10-yard touchdown run. Riva was efficient, running the ball 19 times for 107 yards and one touchdown, adding three catches for 64 yards.
Michael Faulds (Eden Mills, Ont.) had a 385-yard passing effort, going 25/40 and a touchdown on the day despite leaving briefly in the fourth quarter. He now has 10,261 career passing yards, and is just 194 yards off the CIS career passing record entering the Week 8 game against Toronto. The CIS career passing yards record is held by Matt Connell who racked up 10,455 yards in his career at McGill.
Brannagan now has 10,424 career passing yards and was 35/52 for 435 yards, two touchdowns and one interception on the day. He enters Week 8's game at Laurier just 31 yards behind Connell. Queen's extended its regular season winning streak to 17 straight games and hopes home-field advantage can lead them to an improvement of a 1-3 record in their past four playoff games.
The Gaels led 14-3 at the half, and it was the Mustangs who dug themselves a hole, throwing two interceptions when pressing and making mental errors, failing to make tackles when they needed to.
Short methodical passing from Brannagan and two interceptions courtesy of defensive back Jimmy Allin gave Queen's the edge in a thriller.
It was a defensive battle early as both offences struggled to take advantage of good field position. The bright offensive spot for both teams in the opening quarter was Western receiver Zach Bull (Port Colborne, Ont.) who caught a 52-yard Faulds pass on a deep route on the second Western possession, getting open off a fly pattern in behind defensive back Josh Sultana (Etobicoke, Ont.). He would finish with 91 receiving yards in the opening half. But the Gaels defence recovered, and once again Western was forced to punt from midfield. In fact, both punters were busy early.
A 39-yard Bull catch and run got the ball deep into Queen's territory, as Bull earned extra yards after great blocking from Western receivers down field. It set up a Lirim Hajrullahu (St. Catharines, Ont.) 22-yard field go to make it 3-0 with just under five minutes left in the first quarter. The defensive battle continued though with little scoring in the game before Queen`s exploded for 14 points late in the half.
After a great drive starting deep in Queen's territory, the Gaels converted on a third-and-one gamble (entered game 10 for 18 on season) instead of kicking a field goal, as Queen's running back Marty Gordon (Kingston, Ont.) run from 14 yards out to make it 7-3 Queen's. Scott Valberg (Kingston, Ont.) made Western pay for a number of missed tackles, first Aaron Handsor and then Craig Butler for a 53-yard touchdown to make it 14-3 with 2:21 left in the half.
Faulds hit Hegarty to move the ball into Queen's territory on the next Western possession, and then went straight back to Hegarty, but this time the Western receiver fumbled the ball in mid-air and Allin intercepted it for his second pick-off of the game killing a Western spurt of pressure.
A second-down holding call on Conor Elliot with 40 seconds left in the first half gave Queen's a fresh set of downs, instead of being forced to punt, and it resulted in a march to the goal-line which was thwarted by a goal-line stance from the Mustangs defence.
Gordon could not get in from one yard out with three seconds left, and Queen's led 14-3 at the break. Western gave up over 100 receiving yards to one opposition player for the first time this season as Scott Valberg (Kingston, ont.) had 110 yards on seven catches and a toucodwn in the first half.
In the third quarter, Western ran the hurry-up offence and got the ball into Queen's territory with a Riva run, a Thomas catch and a Bull catch. Faulds missed Riva wide open on second down and Hajrullahu missed a 37-yard field goal, but an illegal block on the return off the miss gave Queen's poor field position at their own five-yard line.
Josh Foster (London, Ont.) picked off Brannagan and Western started with the ball at the Queen's 22-yard line. A screen pass to Bull got the ball to the Gaels' 10-yard line but then on a Riva running attempt which took the ball to the one-yard line, a holding call against Western brought the ball back to the Queen's 20-yard line. Western settled for a Hajrullahu 15-yard field goal to make it 14-6 with 7:22 left in the third.
On the next Western possession starting at midfield, Nick Pasic (London, Ont.) made a great catch over top of Allin for a first down. Faulds found a seam connecting with Nick Trevail (London, Ont.) for a 33-yard gain. A few plays later on third and goal, Thomas scored for Western with great movement and push up front from the offensive line to cut the lead to 14-13 for Queen's.
Queen's got the ball at midfield and then a Foster facemasking call got the ball deep in Western terriotory. Gordon scored his second touchdown of the game, hopping over the defensive line with good blocking to make it 21-13 for Gaels with 11:46 left in the fourth quarter.
Faulds left the game briefly in the fourth quarter but returned to lead a great drive. He connected many times with Riva who ran and caught screen passes to set up a Jesse Bellamy (Guelph, Ont.) touchdown catch. A failed two-point conversion on the play kept the score at 21-19 in favour of Queen's with 8:30 left.
Sacks from Scott Fournier (Ottawa, Ont.) and lineman Matt Norman (Montreal) - who played on both sides of the ball in the game - forced a Queen's punt and gave Western life. Riva was magical on the next series, running for two first downs, while Faulds connected with Bull and Trevail for others. Thomas ran the ball up the middle with great blocking for another first down inside the 10-yard line which was capped off by a Riva 10-yard touchdown run, finishing a 93-yard drive on nine plays.
With Western leading 26-21 with 1:16 left in the fourth, Christopher Ioannides (Toronto) made a huge catch to keep hope alive for Queen's on third down and short. Valberg made two big catches for first downs with Western blitzing before Morrison's winning catch-and-run play, Foster's tackle to score and cap off the winning drive with 13 seconds left.
Queen's attempted a two-point converstion up 27-26, but like Western earlier in the second half failed with Conor Elliot knocking down the two-point convert passing attempt. Riva and Thomas tried to create something on the ensuing return, but ended up fumbling the ball in desperation.
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Queen's snatches dramatic victory over Mustangs. QB Brannagan fires winning TD pass in final seconds
By Mike Koreen, Sun Media
KINGSTON — The road to the Vanier Cup goes through Queen's University after the Golden Gaels posted a dramatic come-from-behind victory over the Western Mustangs Saturday at Richardson Stadium. A 30-yard touchdown pass from Danny Brannagan to Blaise Morrison with 13.5 seconds left gave the Gaels a 27-26 win over the Mustangs. The Gaels fell behind by five with 1:16 left when Mustangs running back Nathan Riva scored on a 10-yard run. But Brannagan got the ball back with 1:08 left at the Queen's 26 and drove the Gaels all the way downfield.
“I wanted Nathan to score,” Mustangs coach Greg Marshall said of the touchdown which came with enough time left for Queen's to come back. “We gave our defence a chance. But (Brannagan) did a great job moving them down the stretch.” The Gaels (7-0) have clinched first in Ontario University Athletics with one game left and will have home-field advantage through to the Vanier Cup. Queen's has won 17 regular season games in a row.
The Mustangs (5-2) have to win next week against lowly Toronto in London in the season finale to have a chance for second place and a bye in the first round. “We've won the Yates Cup in two totally different ways, the first year on the road every game (in 2007) and the second year at home every game (in 2008),” Mustangs quarterback Michael Faulds said. “It might be a little in between this year (on the road to the Yates Cup).”
Faulds topped 10,000 career yards passing with 384 yards through the air, giving him 10,261 for his career. Brannagan also hurdled over 10,000 with a 436-yard outing, giving him 10,424. The Canadian Interuniversity Sport record is 10,455 yards by Matt Connell of McGill.
The Mustangs, who trailed most of the game, had a chance to tie it midway through the fourth quarter on a two-point convert. But a Michael Faulds pass to Da'Shawn Thomas did not reach the end zone as the running back fumbled on the two.
Western cut the Gaels lead to 21-19 on the previous play, a seven-yard touchdown pass from Faulds to Jesse Bellamy. That touchdown came right after a Queen's major, a four-yard run by Marty Gordon. The Gaels led 14-3 at halftime, but went to the dressing room on a downer after falling one yard shot of making it 21-3. With 3.5 seconds left and with the ball at the Western one-yard-line, Queen's opted to hand off to Gordon, who was stuffed.
Queen's scored all of their first-half points in the second quarter. On a third-and-one, quarterback Danny Brannagan handed off to Gordon, who rumbled 14 yards into the end zone to make it 7-3. Later, Brannagan completed a short pass to Scott Valberg, who turned into into a 53-yard touchdown reception with some outstanding moves in the open field. Valberg just missed making it 21-3 when he was stopped at the one on a 21-yard reception at the end of the first half.
Western took a 3-0 lead in the opening quarter on a 22-yard field goal by Lirim Harjrullahu. Another field goal by Harjrullahu, this time from 15 yards, cut the Queen's lead to 14-6 midway through the third quarter. The Mustangs then whittled that gap to one when Da'Shawn Thomas leaped in from the one-yard line on a third-and-one late in the third quarter. The third quarter ended with Queen's up 14-13.
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Instant Classic Lives Up To Billing
By Queen’s Athletics
The No. 4 nationally-ranked Queen's Gaels (7-0) remained Canada's only undefeated university football team, holding on for a thrilling 27-26 victory over the No. 5 Western Mustangs (5-2) at Richardson Stadium on Saturday.
With 13 seconds left in regulation, Danny Brannagan connected with receiver Blaise Morrison on a 30-yard catch-and-run scoring play to earn the win. His touchdown capped off an impressive 84-yard game-winning drive for the Gaels. Despite trailing 14-3 at the half, Western had taken a 26-21 lead with just under a minute remaining after a Nathan Riva 10-yard touchdown run.
In the race for 10,000 career passing yards both Brannagan and Western quarterback Michael Faulds surpassed the mark and now sit second and third respectively on the CIS all-time passing list. Brannagan has 10,424 career passing yards and is just 31 yards shy of Matt Connell who racked up 10,455 yards in his career for McGill. Faulds is right behind Brannagan at 10,261.
Brannagan was 35-of-52 passing for 435 yards, two touchdowns and one interception on the day. Faulds finished at 384 going 25-of-40 and two picks. Queen's extended its regular season winning streak to 17 straight games and clinched first place in the OUA along with a first-round bye for the playoffs, and home field advantage right through the playoffs including the Yates Cup, and Mitchell Bowl.
The Gaels led 14-3 at the half but went to the dressing room disappointed after failing to punch in a touchdown from the one-yard line as time expired. Western then exploded for 10-unanswered points in the third quarter to move to within one point (14-13).
Queen's started the fourth quarter with a 47-yard drive, capped by a four-yard Marty Gordon (Kingston, Ont.) touchdown run to make the score 21-13. Western responded with two touchdowns to give themselves a five point cushion with just a one-minute and five seconds to play (26-21).
Gordon finished with two touchdowns and 86 yards on the ground while Scott Valberg (Kingston, Ont.) was Queen's top receiver making 12 catches for 154 yards and a touchdown.
Westerns top rusher was Riva posting 107 yards on the ground and 64 in the air collecting one touchdown. Zach Bull (Colborne, Ont.) recorded five catches netting 131 yards for the Mustangs.
Jimmy Allin (Belleville, Ont.) was the defensive star for Queen's tallying two interceptions giving him a league-leading five interceptions.
Next week Queen's travels to Waterloo, Ont., to face the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks (5-2) in their final regular season match-up of the season. The Gaels are looking to extend their regular season winning streak to 18 games and become only the second team in Queen's history to have back-to-back undefeated regular seasons.
NOTES: Chris Ioannides of Toronto turned one of his best performances in a Gaels uniform against Western tallying 125 yards on 11 catches...Valberg is now 17 yards shy of moving into second place on the Gaels all-time receiving yards list. He is currently third behind James McLean (3,138) and Brad Smith (2,683) having past Jock Climie (2,340) this year...Queen's celebrated Legacy Weekend which saw football alumni from years past honoured at halftime along with a tribute to legendary coaches Hal McCarney and Bill Miklas Sr...Attendance was 3,816.
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SCORING SUMMARY
Quarter #1
Western - FG L.Hajrullahu 22 10:06
Western - FG L.Hajrullahu 22 10:06
Quarter #2
Queen's - TD Gordon, Marty 14 run (Village, Dan convert) 7:14
Queen's - TD Gordon, Marty 14 run (Village, Dan convert) 7:14
Queen's - TD Valberg, Scott 53 pass from Brannagan, D (Village, Dan convert) 12:39
Queen's - TD Valberg, Scott 53 pass from Brannagan, D (Village, Dan convert) 12:39
Quarter #3
Western - FG L.Hajrullahu 15 7:32
Western - FG L.Hajrullahu 15 7:32
Western - TD D.Thomas 1 run (L.Hajrullahu convert) 11:56
Western - TD D.Thomas 1 run (L.Hajrullahu convert) 11:56
Quarter #4
Queen's - TD Gordon, Marty 4 run (Village, Dan convert) 3:14
Queen's - TD Gordon, Marty 4 run (Village, Dan convert) 3:14
Western - TD Jesse Bellamy 7 pass from Michael Faulds 6:30
Western - TD Jesse Bellamy 7 pass from Michael Faulds 6:30
Western - TD Nathan Riva 10 run (L.Hajrullahu convert) 13:44
Western - TD Nathan Riva 10 run (L.Hajrullahu convert) 13:44
Queen's - TD Morrison, B 30 pass from Brannagan, D 14:47
Queen's - TD Morrison, B 30 pass from Brannagan, D 14:47
