Box Score With a birth into the OUA Quarterfinals on the line on Saturday (Oct. 22) afternoon in Hamilton, the Toronto Varsity Blues (4-4) came up big with 13-10 come-from-behind victory over the McMaster Marauders (2-5), their first win over Marauders since 1996.
With the win the Blues improve their record to 4-4, clinching a playoff birth in the OUA Quarterfinals in the process.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
In their first drive of the game, McMaster opened the scoring through second-year receiver Nicholas Adair. However, with four minutes remaining in the quarter, Toronto's rookie kicker Sam Henke responded with a 27-yard field goal to narrow the Marauders lead to four.
Building off the momentum generated by the Blues special teams, the Blues defence forced the Marauders off the field with a quick two-and-out. The defensive effort was capped off with a sack from third-year linebacker Dawson Elliott.
Four-minutes into the second quarter, Henke would strike again. Preempted by a drive that saw the Blues end on the Marauder three-yard line, the Franklin, Tenn. native made good on an 11-yard attempt. In the very next drive Henke would add to his perfect afternoon with an 18-yard field goal to pull the Blues into the lead (9-7).
In a near deja-vu scenario, on the ensuing drive the Marauders we're stopped on the Blues three-yard line and were forced to settle for the field goal.
Heading into the third quarter, McMaster held a 10-9 lead.
The Blues set the tone early in the second half, pinning the Marauders on their own nine-yard line and forcing the two-and-out to open the third quarter. Following two-straight safeties to give the Blues a 13-10 lead, defensive standout Elliott intercepted Dueck and placed the Blues offence on the McMaster 17-yard line. With nothing coming from the ensuing drive, the Blues defence closed out the third quarter with the lead intact.
With 1:34 remaining in the game, Blues second-year defensive back Ryan Collins intercepted Dueck to put the Blues offence in control for the final minutes of play. Holding the Marauders to just 35 yards of offence in the fourth quarter, the Blues held their lead to defeat the McMaster Marauders 13-10.
Exploiting the Marauders pressure, Blues second-year quarterback Kinsale Phillips rushed for a career-high 53 yards. Defensively, the Blues had multiple members step up to the occasion. Elliott had a game of OUA career-first recording both his first sack and interception as collegiate athlete. Varsity Blues veteran linebacker, James Grieg also finished the game with sack and added six tackles in the process. Second-year safety Owen Cassie continued his outstanding debut season with 5.5 tackles. On special teams, Henke went three-for-three on the afternoon to lead the Blues in scoring with nine.
WHAT'S NEXT: The Blues await the conclusion of today's games to determine who and where they will play the OUA Quarterfinal. The game is set for October 29
th with the time to be determined.
