Game day filled with ups and downs for Gee-Gees

OTTAWA- The University of Ottawa hosted their second home game, pitted against the undefeated Queen's Gaels, at a rainy Gee-Gees Field on Saturday. Despite a fiercely fought second half, the Gaels pulled off a 36-21 victory against the Gee-Gees, who move to 2-3 on the season.

Accompanied by their vibrant band in the stands, the Gaels (4-0) scored two touchdowns in the first half, both thanks to runs by second-year running back Jesse Andrews. The scores stood at 14-2 at halftime as Ottawa's offence struggled and scored only on a safety in the second quarter.

Queen's quarterback Billy McPhee had a 16-32 passing performance in the steady rain, accumulating 305 passing yards. Andrews finished the day with 92 yards rushing.

Gee-Gees head coach Jamie Barresi had a bittersweet feeling when it came to how the game turned out. "I would love to play that one again." He continued, "We are doing a much better job getting to the ball and making tackles."

The defensive success allowed Ottawa to chip away at the Gaels' lead, pulling within two scores, 23-15, at the start of the fourth quarter with an 11-yard Andrew Mullings strike. However, the brief window of opportunity was closed quickly when McPhee connected with Aaron Gazendam for an 85-yard touchdown on the very next drive.

Ottawa pivot Aaron Colbon, who was held under 300 yards passing for the first time this season, is convinced that his team is doing very well defensively and that it was the offence that was lacking today. "We did have some chances to score. We have just got to put up more points than we did today."

The Gee-Gees defensive line had an active day, picking up four sacks on Queen's Billy McPhee, led by two from Ettore Lattanzio, who now ranks fourth in the CIS with five total sacks. Lattanzio also stretched out for a blocked field goal in the fourth quarter, one of three blocked by Ottawa on the day.

Ottawa rounded out the scoring with fifth-year receiver Maxime Mireault's second touchdown of the day with just less than four minutes left in the game.

The team is off to Toronto next Saturday for a game at York University.