OTTAWA CLAIMS 99th YATES CUP, LIVE ON UNIVERSITY RUSH
Hamilton, Ontario - On a day the third-ranked University of Ottawa was remembering its first Yates Cup win from 99 years ago, they hoisted the provincial crown once again after a dominating 32-14 win over the visiting Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks. The new Ontario University Athletics (OUA) title holder ensures that a new national champion will be declared in two weeks. The 2006 Yates Cup presented by Pioneer Petroleums marked the first time since 1973 that the Gee-Gees and Golden Hawks met in the OUA championship game and the only playoff game between these two teams that Ottawa came out on top.
The rain fell throughout most of the day in the nation's capital but it didn't stop Joshua Sacobie from having a banner day. The third-year quarterback from Fredericton, New Brunswick finished the title game 23-for-38 with 220 yards and one touchdown. Sacobie, an OUA first-team All-Star, not only secured the first Yates Cup for the Gee-Gees since 1976, he also was selected as the Dalt White Trophy winner as the game's most valuable player. He found four different receivers, including Wayne Desmond (Montreal), who caught a game-high six catches for 54 yards.
The Golden Hawks led 14-2 after a pair of rushing touchdowns from third-year running back Ryan Lynch in the second quarter. Just 93 seconds after Laurier's second major, Sacobie found Jean-Phillippe Asselin (Quebec City) from nine yards to bring the Gee-Gees to within five points before the break. Ottawa would not give up another point, outscoring Laurier 30-0 the rest of the game.
"When we scored our first touchdown and trailed by just 14-9, everyone looked each other in the eyes and we knew the game was going to be ours," explained Sacobie. "We carried that momentum into the lockerroom at halftime and came out fired up for the second half. The touchdown helped us focus for the rest of the game and gave us a confidence that was not to be broken. Homefield advantage was something special as the crowd really pumped us up."
One of the top running backs in the OUA, Lynch had nine carries for 43 yards in the first half but was limited to just four carries and four yards in the second half. His counterpart, Gee-Gees tail back Michael Donnelly (Ottawa), rushed for nine carries and 94 yards, all in the second half. Rookie tailback Dave Mason (Brampton, Ontario) had 20 carries for 85 yards, while fourth-year fullback Marc Lindell (Nepean, Ontario) scored twice on just three carries and 26 yards to ice the game for Ottawa. The Gee-Gees totalled 232 yards on the ground and 420 yards overall, compared to just 134 total yards by the Golden Hawks. Ottawa dominated the game clock as well, owning 38:42 minutes of possession.
Despite torrential downpour throughout most of the afternoon, a rowdy 4,159 fans attended the Yates Cup at Frank Clair Stadium, including a strong contingent in purple and gold from Wilfrid Laurier. Ottawa will now host Saskatchewan next Saturday (3:30 p.m.) for the Mitchell Bowl and a chance to advance to the PotashCorp Vanier Cup.
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