The University of Toronto Varsity Blues football team (1-5) fell to the No.10 McMaster Marauders (4-2), 21-3, at Ron Joyce stadium in Hamilton, Ont. on Thursday, Oct. 8.

It was the tale of two halves and a case of missed opportunities as Toronto held the explosive McMaster offence to 80 yards rushing and only 105 yards receiving through 11 minutes of action in the first half, however, they were unable to contain last week’s Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) offensive player of the week, quarterback Kyle Quinlan (South Woodsley, Ont.), and company in the final two quarters.

The Blues struck first when Andrew Lomasney (Toronto) hit a career-long 40-yard field goal at the 7:32 mark of the opening quarter to give the visitors an early 3-0 advantage.

The Varsity defence did its part and kept Quinlan off balance throughout most of the first quarter, leading to several two-and-out situations and a Matt Morris (Scarborough, Ont.) interception. His 19-yard return gave the Blues great field position with under two minutes left in the opening frame. The end result was not as favourable as Lomasney missed his second field goal attempt from 33 yards out.

The Marauders’ offence moved the ball more effectively in the second quarter. A nine play, three minute drive stalled inside the red zone, setting up an Andrew Waugh (Perth, Ont.) 26-yard chip shot to pull the home team even at 3-3.

The game’s turning point occurred late in the first half as the Blues defensive pressure had the Marauders punting from their end zone. Despite a valiant attempt by Blues all-star defensive back Derek Batchelor to block a Mac punt; he ultimately was penalized for roughing the kicker, giving the Marauders an automatic first down and new life.

A 13-play McMaster drive ensued in the final 2:20 and led to Andrew Waugh’s second field goal of the half, giving Mac a 6-3 at halftime.

The momentum swung one last time early in the third when Quinlan connected on a 51-yard passing play to runningback Jordan Kozina (Brantford, Ont) at the nine minute mark. The reception, set up a 10-yard rushing touchdown from McMaster runningback, Joey Netmet (Burlington, Ont) to put the Marauders up 13-3 and in control of the game.

University of Toronto quarterback, Jansen, Shrubb (Toronto) passed for 250 yards on 20 completions for Blues.

His favourite target on the night was veteran receiver Drew Meerveld (Guelph, Ont) who had 11 receptions for a new career-high 153 yards to lead all players. Meerveld led the OUA in receptions with 28 on the season coming into the game.

McMasters Quinlan finished the game with 275 yards on 19-of-30, including one touchdown and an interception.

Kozina rushed for 63 yards on 14 carries. Nemet finished the game with 38 yards rushing and one touchdown. 

Defensively, the Varsity Blues received a strong individual performances from Batchelor (Mississauga, Ont.), who had nine solo tackles. Wilkerson D’Souza (Mississauga, Ont) had seven tackles, one assisted tackle and a sack, while first-year DB Marco Rodrigues (Oakville, Ont.) had a season-high four tackles.

The Varsity Blues are back at home next Saturday, Oct. 17 as they host the Waterloo Warriors in their final home game of the season.

For more information, scores and highlights on your favourite Toronto teams, please visit the home of the Varsity Blues at http://www.varsityblues.ca