Bio

2000 Game Results:

35-1 win at Queen's

24-0 win at Bishop's

14-9 loss vs Laval

38-19 win vs Concordia

45-0 win vs Queen's

52-7 win at Windsor

63-4 win vs Toronto

25-8 win at McGill

50-3 win in OQIFC Semifinal vs McGill

26-9 win in OQIFC Dunsmore Cup Championship at Laval

20-15 win in Churchill Bowl vs McMaster

42-39 win in Vanier Cup vs Regina

The 2000 team roster: 1 Lukas Shaver, 2 Michael Shaver, 3 Mark Pretzlaff, 4 Mike Di Battista, 6 Christopher Schuld, 7 Maxime Dufault, 8 Phillippe Côté, 9 Mark Thompson, 10 Todd Seely, 11 Patrick Paradis, 12 James Baker, 13 Ted Stote, 14 Jeffery Lee-Yaw, 15 Pierre Ianniciello, 16 Nathan Malley, 17 Nathan Thompson, 18 Jeremy White, 19 Daniel Peterson, 20 McArthur Anglade, 21 Frantz Jacques, 22 Mathias Moïse Denadou, 23 Matthew Rogers, 24 Ali Ajram, 25 Alexandre Normandin, 26 Brad German, 28 Michaël N’goran, 30 Gary Jean-Louis, 31 Brandon Van Hooydonk, 32 Coridon Kesner, 33 Jean-Phillippe Goulet, 34 Richard Belleau, 35 Mike Kwiatkowski, 39 Teddy Neptune, 40 Marc Larouche, 41 Justin Bell, 42 Scott Gordon, 43 Kris Lajeunesse, 44 Alexandre Mathieu, 45 Byron Allan, 48 Scott Gagnon, 50 Frédéric Dancose, 51 Randy Peters, 52 Mike Voordenhout, 53 Luc Gilbert, 54 Phillippe Bergeron, 55 Steve Alexandre, 56 Guillaume Cloutier, 57 Kevin Gagnon, 58 Michel Dupuis, 59 Jocelyn Frenette, 60 Courtney Simpson, 61 James Adams, 62 Clint Currie, 63 Benoit Boulais, 64 Darryl Hazenberg, 65 Matthew Berry, 66 Christopher Mercer, 67 Greg Stevenson, 68 Allen Daggett, 72 Greg Decloux, 74 Emmanuel Gauthier, 75 Walter Fox, 77 Andrew Chouinard, 78 Chadwick Gelin, 80 Adam Maheu, 81 Daniel Mann, 85 Darryl Ray, 87 Chad Watson, 88 Patrice Aubriot, 90 Mike Drysdale, 92 Matthew Goreski, 95 Phillip Homewood, 99 Nick Johansson

Coaching and support staff members: Andy McEvoy (offensive coordinator), Mike White (defensive coordinator), Denis Piche (running backs), Danny Laramee (linebackers), Gord Hudson (receivers), Paul Connery (defensive assistant), Randy Fournier (defensive line), Mike Doucette (special teams), Steve Campagna (offensive line), Ian Hoyte (special teams), Ray Perras (mental training), George Chiappa (strength and conditioning)

2000 Vanier Cup Game Recap - Ottawa 42, Regina 39

BOXSCORE AND STATISTICS

The University of Ottawa Gee-Gees captured the 36th Vanier Cup with an entertaining 42-39 victory over the University of Regina Rams in front of a crowd of 18,209 fans at Toronto's SkyDome.

The Rams reached the final in only their second season in the CIS. The game was being touted as a 'battle of the quarterbacks' and two of the nation's best, Ottawa's Phil Côté and Regina's Darryl Leason, did not disappoint. Côté orchestrated two first quarter drives for the Gee-Gees, calling his own number both times for the score. His touchdown runs of four and three yards gave Ottawa a 14-0 opening quarter lead that they would never relinquish.

The fifth-year Ottawa pivot was near perfect for the Gee-Gees, collecting the Ted Morris Trophy as the game's MVP. Côté connected on 16 of his 18 attempts for 275 yards and three touchdowns. On the ground, Côté was his typically elusive self, scampering for another 91 yards and two TDs.

Regina quarterback Darryl Leason put together some equally impressive numbers, but a 35-10 halftime deficit proved too much for his Rams. In the losing effort, Leason rushed for 116 yards and two touchdowns, while going to the air for 356 yards, two TDs and two INTs. His second touchdown pass and two point conversion coming as time expired to cut Ottawa's margin of victory to three.

The 42-39 score, a combined 81-point effort, is the highest scoring regulation time game in Vanier Cup history.

CHURCHILL BOWL RECAP: Gee-Gees pass another test - next stop Vanier Cup after Ottawa stuffs McMaster's offence

By Tom Casey – Hamilton, Ont.

All the pregame hype surrounded the McMaster Marauders and their high-octane offence. How powerful? McMaster's offence scored 44 touchdowns during the regular season and 72 points in two playoffs games.

None of that bothered University of Ottawa Gee-Gees coach Marcel Bellefeuille. But it did motivate his players, especially the defence, which forced five fumbles and intercepted three passes, in leading Ottawa to a 20-15 win over McMaster in the Churchill Bowl.

McMaster's vaunted offence couldn't score a touchdown on the Gee-Gees' relentless defence until the final two minutes of the game before 6,000 fans at jam-packed Les Prince Stadium yesterday.

The Gee-Gees advance to the Vanier Cup on Dec. 2 at SkyDome, where they will meet the University of Regina Rams, who upset the Saint Mary's Huskies 40-36 to win the Atlantic Bowl in the other semifinal. Ottawa last played in the Vanier Cup in 1997, losing 39-23 to the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds.

Although Gee-Gees star quarterback Phill Côté couldn't play because of a sprained ankle, Bellefeuille still had a special feeling about his team.

"We're clearly the underdogs, but that's OK," Bellefeuille said yesterday after the team breakfast. "We're ready. I can feel it. This team is focused. Plus, this team isn't just about Phill Côté."

Bellefeuille also was heartened by a team meeting Friday night where ex-Gee-Gee star Neil Lumsden, Gee-Gees receiver Adam Maheu, who suffered a career-ending neck injury earlier this season, and fifth-year defensive back Mark Thompson addressed the team.

"It was a very emotional evening," said Gee-Gees linebacker Kevin Gagnon. "Thompson is usually the jokester on the team, but he was very serious. He reminded us we still had some work to do and another page to write to our season."

The Gee-Gees were also upset the Marauders didn't pay them more respect in media interviews, especially since Côté couldn't play. That provided Ottawa with more incentive.

Gee-Gees linebacker Todd Seely set the tone on the opening kickoff when he dropped McMaster's David Linton with a thundering tackle. Although the Gee-Gees' offence sputtered in the first quarter, the Marauders' offence ran into a brick wall.

Kojo Aidoo, who had rushed for 20 touchdowns and an OUA record 1,329 yards, couldn't get untracked. He had only 52 yards on 11 carries in the first half and finished with 78 yards on 18 carries.

Ryan Janzen, the leading receiver in Canadian university football this season, didn't catch a pass until late in the third quarter.

"We always had confidence in our defence," said U of O all-star safety Lukas Shaver. "We promised ourselves that we weren't going to be outworked, outhustled or outhit."

Gee-Gees defensive co-ordinator Mike White also developed a clever plan by adding two big linebackers, Todd Seely and Guillaume Cloutier, while dropping a defensive lineman and deep back to counter Aidoo's inside running. In passing situations, he would replace them.

"That confused us for a while," said McMaster quarterback Ben Chapdelaine. "Usually when someone stops our running game, it opens up our passing."

McMaster head coach Greg Marshall said his club couldn't generate any offence because the Gee-Gees controlled the line of scrimmage.

Still, the Gee-Gees managed only a 7-6 halftime lead. The Gee-Gees had a field goal partially blocked from the McMaster 19 in the final minute of the half. Chris Rankin returned the ball 110 yards to the Ottawa 10, where Gagnon made a touchdown-saving tackle.

Bellefeuille said the tackle was one of the key plays of the game. The Gee-Gees' defence held firm, forcing McMaster's Derek Livingstone to kick a 13-yard field goal, his second of the half.

A pass interception by Scott Gordon led to Ottawa's first touchdown, a 17-yard pass from quarterback James Baker to Mike Di Battista late in the second quarter.

"We had to feel good to be ahead considering all the mistakes and missed opportunities we had," Bellefeuille said. "The guys agreed with me that we could play better."

Ottawa's offence came to life in the third quarter, as Jeff Lee-Yaw kicked two field goals. Early in the fourth, Baker, who completed 15 of 29 passes for 201 yards, scored on a quarterback sneak to give the Gee-Gees a 20-6 lead, set up by fullback Michael Shaver's 30-yard run.

"I was a little frustrated in the first quarter because we couldn't move the ball," said Baker, the game's most valuable player. "We had good stretches, but we weren't consistent."

After McMaster blocked a Gee-Gees punt early in the fourth for a safety, the Marauders struck for their only touchdown when Chapdelaine connected with Janzen with two minutes left in the game.

"Ottawa played soft defensively not to allow the big play," said Chapdelaine. "We took what they gave us, but we ran out of time."

CHURCHILL BOWL RECAP: Finding the keys to Ottawa's success

By Gare Joyce – Hamilton, Ont.

On the Ottawa Gee-Gees' roster for yesterday's Churchill Bowl against McMaster James Baker was listed as "QB" and Kevin Gagnon ambiguously as "rush". Although accurate, Baker's listing was incomplete, Gagnon's massively understated. Both were key players in the Ottawa's 20-15 triumph, the passer for his performance all afternoon and Gagnon for one extraordinary play that saved the game.

Start with Baker, because that is precisely what the Gee-Gees had to do with regular starter and two-time Hee Creighton Trophy winner Phil! Côté hobbled by a badly sprained ankle. Thus Baker was not just "QB" but "QBD" or "quarterback by default".

Many in Hamilton yesterday believed that Baker had enjoyed his one Cinderella afternoon last week in the upset of top-ranked Laval and that the host Marauders would make his day too miserable for words. Cool, windy and slippery, it was a lousy day for passing and with a hostile crowd, it should have been especially so for the visiting quarterback.

Yet against McMaster you never would have guessed that Baker was a Phill-in. In the first half, Baker outshone the home team's wonderboy Ben Chapdelaine, the nation's fourth-ranked passer.

With McMaster leading 3-0, you could almost see Baker and his teammates swell with confidence as he led them on what would turn out to be a six-play, 81-yard drive. Baker completed four passes for most of the real estate on the series. Three times he completed tosses to Mike Di Battista, including the 18-yard corner pattern that produced six points and a lead that Ottawa would not relinquish.

Baker's statistics (15-for-30 passing, 201 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions) were decent enough, but the ultimate numbers - those on the scoreboard - won him the game's MVP award. It was only fitting that he scored the clinching touchdown on a dive from inside the Marauders' one-yard line.

"It might have been a bit harder to come in this week with all the press and build up than going in cold against Laval last week," Baker said. "Still, I got in a lot of reps this week and felt good. We have a lot of guys on this team who can step in when someone goes down. That's part of the personality of our team, that we have guys who are interchangeable."

True enough, and nothing made the point better that this team, with the nation's two-time university player of the year injured, knocked off two Vanier Cup favorites on their own fields on consecutive Saturdays.

Everyone knew what Baker was in for and that his afternoon would have a lot to do with Ottawa's chances of making the Vanier Cup. Yet one play by Gagnon that won't show up in the summaries might well have decided the contest yesterday.

It came in the second quarter with Ottawa lining up for a field goal looking to extend a 7-3 lead. Jeffrey Lee-Yaw hooked his kick and McMaster return man Chris Rankin caught the ball just a couple of yards inside the end line. It looked like Rankin might take a knee and concede the rouge. Instead, he tried to run it out of the end zone. He could have had no idea what he was embarking upon.

Near the goal-line Rankin feinted linebacker Mark Pretzlaff and was off to the races. He covered whole acres of turf, running a tortuous route from one sideline to another and after he crossed midfield it seemed he was either losing steam or freezing to death. It recalled the unforgettable run by Rough Rider slotback Pat Stoqua years back at Ivor Wynne when a few fans dozed off in the middle of the transcontinental return and eyewitnesses swore Stoqua stopped for a smoke on the way.

At the Ottawa 10-yard line, linebacker Kevin Gagnon rushed in from out of the frame and ran down Rankin, preventing a touchdown. "I figure I ran about 200 yards, but at about midfield, I saw I had an angle and he was slowing down," the 225-pound Gagnon said. "That's when I started smiling."

McMaster had to settle for a field goal to make it 7-6. "It could have been a lot worse for us," coach Marcel Bellefeuille said. "That play by Gagnon picked us up."

Stepping in from the background, rushing up from the wake, two Gee-Gees had an impact yesterday only hinted at by their positions on the roster.

DUNSMORE CUP RECAP: No stopping the Gee-Gees

STE-FOY, Que. - The University of Ottawa Gee-Gees proved to the Laval Rouge et Or that there's much more to them than just Phill Côté. The Gee-Gees lost their all-star quarterback with an ankle injury late in the first quarter, but his teammates never skipped a beat.

They showed the No. 1-ranked Laval just how much balance they have in defeating the defending national champions 26-9 in the rain to with the Ontario-Quebec Conference championship and Dunsmore Cup before an overflow crowd of 10,063 fans yesteray at PEPS Stadium.

The Gee-Gees were relentless on defence. Their special teams play was strong and backup quarterback James Baker did a sound job as Côté's replacement.

The Gee-Gees will play the McMaster Marauders next Saturday in Hamilton for the Churchill Bowl, with the winner advancing to the Vanier Cup on Dec. 2 at SkyDome. McMaster defeated the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks 48-23 yesterday in the Ontario Interuniversities Football Conference championship game.

Côté insisted there's a chance he will play next week despite leaving the field on crutches. Côté was the target of the Rouge et Or.

"When you look at Ottawa, you think the responsibility of winning falls on the shoulders of one young man - Côté," said Laval coach Jacques Chapdelaine, who saw his team's winning streak snapped at 16. "They proved us wrong. Each (Gee-Gee) player took upon themselves to make the big play."

Côté was injured when he tried to break a tackle by Laval defensive lineman Sébastien Dupuis, who seemed to twist the Gee-Gee quarterback's ankle while he was on the ground. Côté said he heard something pop, but Ottawa head coach Marcel Bellefeuille refused to comment on the tackle until he sees the replay.

"There was a sense of wow when Phill got hurt," said Gee-Gee free safety Lukas Shaver. "We asked ourselves: 'What are we going to do?' We met at the bench as a team, and we all said we had to take our game up a notch."

The Gee-Gees' defence allwed Laval to cross centre field only once in the first 50 minutes. It also forced five turnovers, four of them interceptions. Shaver led by example. He had two interceptions, his first setting up the game's first touchdown, a flea-flicker that saw receiver Nathan Thompson (also a backup quarterback) hit Darryl Ray with a 54-yard TD pass.

"We worked on that play all week," said Thompson. "We saw their safety (Patrick Boies) always would bite on the pitch. Once he took the bite, I threw the ball to his area."

That was all the Gee-Gees needed. Their defence, led by linebacker Kevin Gagnon, who had 10 tackles, stymied the high-powered Laval offence the rest of the afternoon. "Our defence has been underrated all season," said Bellefeuille. "I knew they could play like this. Laval plays a finesse offence. We kept coming at them in waves and we wore them down."

The Gee-Gees stuffed the Laval running game, forcing the Rouge et Or to pass more than they had intended. The Gee-Gees led 13-2 at halftime as a pass interception by Ottawa cornerback Frantz Plant late in the second quarter set up Jeffrey Lee-Yaw's second of two field goals.

Laval's only scoring in the first half came on a conceded saftey late in the second quarter. Its lone touchdown, a four-yard pass from quarterback Pascal Trudeau to Jean François Tremblay, was scored late in the fourth quarter.

Scott Gordon's 49-yard punt return set up the Gee-Gees' second touchdown, a two-yard run by Michael Shaver.

Then Baker put the game away when he hit Mike Di Battista with a 37-yard touchdown pass midway through the fourth. Baker started slowly, but he played with more confidence as the game progressed. He completed 13 of 22 passes for 139 yards and didn't hrow any interceptions.

"We didn't give him much work last week in practice," said Bellefeuille. "When Phill got hurt, I told the offence that this guy can play. We helped him out and went back to plays we used a couple of weeks ago."

Although he had not played more than a quarter in six games this season, Baker felt he had his teammates' respect.

"I've always felt part of this team," said Baker, who played his minor football with the East Gloucester Bengals. "I was nervous when I came in because I know how much the team dpends on Phill. I've won championships at other levels, but I've never felt like this."

Note: this article was originally published by the Ottawa Citizen on November 12, 2000. It was written by Tom Casey.

PLAYOFF RECAP: Defence jump-starts Gee-Gees to semifinal win

All-star quarterback Phill Côté and the big-play offence have been the impetus behind the Ottawa Gee-Gees' No. 3 national ranking.

But it was the defence that jump-started the Gee-Gees to a 50-3 win over the McGill Redmen in the Ontario Quebec Interuniversity Football Conference semifinal yesterday before 2,500 fans at Frank Clair Stadium.

Ottawa (8-1) meets the defending Vanier Cup champion Laval Rouge et Or next Saturday afternoon in Quebec City in a repeat of last year's final. Laval, undefeated in its past 16 games, held on to defeat the Bishop's Gaiters 17-14 before 10,000 fans at Laval to win the other conference semifinal.

The underrated U of O defence is no longer playing in the shadows of the offence. It has allowed only four offensive touchdowns all season and only 21 points in its past five games. They bough time for their high-powered offence to get on track yesterday.

McGill's defence had Côté on the run to start the game. Redmen linebacker Mike Mahoney intercepted Côté's second pass of the game, which led to their only score. The Redmen had cut off his favourite running lanes and disrupted his timing and the Gee-Gees failed to generate a first down in the first quarter.

Although the Redmen controlled the ball in the first quarter, the Gee-Gees still had 1 7-3 lead. U of O cornerback Brad German alertly stepped in front of McGill receiver Paul Chenier to pick off Josh Sommerfeldt's pass and return it 41 yards for a TD in the final minute.

It was all downhill after that for the Redmen, who were without all-star receiver Ben Wearing and who lost Sommerfeldt with a broken jaw in the second quarter. Wearing didn't dress because of a concussion he suffered las week.

"Whie Côté is an important element for the Gee-Gees, we also realized what great balance they have as a team, and that includes a great defence," said McGill's all-star defensive tackle Randy Chevrier. "Their defence made the play that broke our backs."

German's interception gave the Gee-Gees' offence an emotional boost. "Ottawa is a very good team, and if you can keep the score close, a team usually plays above its level," said Charlie Baillie, who retired after the game, ending a 29-year stint as McGill's head coach. "That touchdown was the play that turned the game around."

U of O coach Marcel Bellefeuille siad his defence has been the Gee-Gees' backbone all season.

"We knew McGill would come at us with everything they had early in the game," said Bellefeuille. "They were an excited team, but our defence is an experienced group and they held on. Our offence is younger, and we were running around blindly and not reading the plays. Then we started executing on offence."

Côté settled down in the second quarter, hitting slotback Jeremy White with two touchdown passes. Côté, who rushed for 68 yards and passed for 168, also scrambled for another score as Ottawa jumped to a 29-3 halftime lead. 

Patrice Aubriot, Nathan Malley and fullback Michael Shaver, who had 40 yards on eight carries, all scored touchdowns in the second half for Ottawa. The Gee-Gees racked up 375 yards on offence and held the Redmen to 156 yards and 11 first downs.

While German and Frantz Jacques, who also had an interception, might be the best cornerbacks in Canadian university football, Ottawa's linebacking corps of Teddy Neptune, Mark Pretzlaff, and Michel Dupuis accounted for 19 tackles and four plays that resulted in loss yardage.

"We play a very basic defence," said Dupuis. "We've been together for two or three years, and we have very good communication on the field. The system also fits the talent. On offence you can say that Phill Côté is great because he's making all the plays by either passing or running the ball, but on defence it's more difficult to come out from the group. But we have very good players on our defence."

Note: this article was originally published by the Ottawa Citizen on November 5, 2000. It was written by Tom Casey.