Big Day for Dagher in 44-32 win

Ottawa's offence clicked into gear on Labour Day Monday, posting a 44-32 win over the Waterloo Warriors in week two of OUA football action. Brendan Gillanders ran for 144 yards and Aaron Colbon amassed 452 passing yards but it was the play of first-year receiver Nicolas Dagher which stood out for Ottawa.

Two big strikes in the middle of the field by Dagher powered a seven-play, 85-yard Ottawa scoring drive in the third quarter. The two receptions by Dagher, 32 yards and 21 yards apiece, set up space for first-year Trevor Kennedy to catch a ball on the sideline and cut back to the middle, advancing the ball to the six yard line. Dagher then finished off the drive with a six-yard catch at the back of the endzone which put Ottawa ahead 32-18.

On the day, Dagher totalled 145 yards on nine catches to lead all receivers. Nick Anapolsky led the Warriors with 112 yards, also on nine catches.

Waterloo clawed back within reach after Dagher's score, showing that they are a much different team than the one which suffered a 61-0 beating in Ottawa last season. The Warriors recorded 297 passing yards and 409 total yards of offence, along with two interceptions and one sack. Ottawa held an 18-11 lead at halftime.

The visitors quickly silenced the home-opener crowd of black and gold faithful by scoring on the first drive of the game thanks to a 78-yard reception by second-year Ben Fisher which set up a one-yard quarterback sneak by Colbon. Three plays later, a blocked punt by Kevin Moncion and Simon Le Marquand appeared to give Ottawa complete control, but the Warrior defence limited the damage to a field goal.

That allowed the Warriors to storm back and take an 11-10 lead at the beginning of the second quarter, capitalizing on another Gee-Gees special teams turnover when a punt snap sailed over the head of Dominic Bellardini. Ottawa recovered the lead thanks to the first big run of the day by Gillanders, which he followed up with a three-yard touchdown catch.

Waterloo relied heavily on their ground game but found success with passing out of a no-huddle offence late in the first half, driving all the way to the Ottawa red zone before the defence buckled down and made three straight stops as the clock ran out on the first half.

Colbon aired out a 25-yard pass to Andrew Mullings in the end zone to start the second half, and later added a 52-yard touchdown pass to Le Marquand. The fifth-year pivot was consistently looking downfield for big gains, stretching the Warrior defence. Colbon also added 75 yards rushing to the offensive look.

The Gee-Gees improve their record to 1-1 while the Warriors fall to 0-2. Ottawa will next take the field for the grand opening game at Gee-Gees Field. Kickoff is 1 p.m. on Saturday, September 7 and tickets are available through the Gee-Gees box office at 613-562-5800 x 4337 or online at CapitalTickets.ca.