Photos from the OUA Quarterfinal game vs. the University of Western Ontario at Richardson Stadium in Kingston, ON, October 27, 2007.

QUEEN’S FOOTBALL SEASON ENDS WITH 27-19 LOSS TO WESTERN

- Jimmy Allin returns missed field goal by Western for 115-yard touchdown -

The Queen’s Golden Gaels football season came to an abrupt end on Saturday as they lost 27-19 to the Western Mustangs during the opening round of the OUA Playoffs.

Randy McAuely (London, Ont.) ran for two touchdowns and 161 yards while Mustangs quarterback Michael Faulds of Eden Mills, Ont. passed for 253 yards and threw for one touchdown leading Western over the Gaels and to the next round of the playoffs against the No. 2 ranked Ottawa Gee-Gees next week.
Time of possession was the biggest factor in the game with the Mustangs holding the ball for almost 36 minutes while Queen’s handled the ball for just 24. The third quarter was the turning point as Western held the ball well over 12 minutes and ran a daunting 26 offensive plays. “We controlled the ball in the third quarter, that was the huge for us today,” said Western head coach Greg Marshall. “We thought the battle was going to be won on the offensive line and I think we accomplished that. The play of those lineman was the difference in my mind.” For the Gaels, running back Mike Giffin (Kingston, Ont.) was held to just 49 yards and a single touchdown. Prior to the game, Giffin – the country’s second best rusher, had amassed 1,157-yards in 2007 and had collected 10 consecutive games over 100-yards rushing. “Giffin is an outstanding back. I watched a lot of film this week and he can play,” said Marshall. “Our defensive line just didn’t let him get going. That was a challenging task for them this week and holding him back was key to our win.”

Gaels Quarterback Dan Brannagan of Burlington, Ont. finished the day with 285-yards passing on 16 completions and 32 attempts. “They were the better team today. No excuses, they beat us,” said Gaels Head Coach Pat Sheahan. “I think we were two evenly matched teams, but today we couldn’t make the best of our opportunities. The Gaels were facing a much different team then they saw in the opening week when they won 26-20 in overtime against Western in London. While the Gaels cruised to a 6-2 record, Western struggled out of the gate going 0-4 and then rattled off four impressive victories including a dominating effort against Waterloo last week to earn a playoff berth. Today Western opened the scoring in the first quarter on two field goals by Derek Schiavone (Port Colburn, Ont.) making the score 6-0 in favour of the Mustangs.

It looked as if Western would add another field goal but Schiavone missed the uprights left setting up an improbable 115-yard return by defensive back and return specialist Jimmy Allin (Corbyville, Ont.) which put the Gaels up 7-6 at the end of the first. Although stats are not kept in the CIS for returns on missed field goals, Allin’s return ranks as the second longest punt return in playoff history. The other return came in 1975 when John Kelly from the Guelph Gryphons returned a punt 130-yard’s against Laurier. His return if counted as a punt-return would rank as the 12th best all time in CIS history.

In the second, McAuley and Giffin traded 1-yard TD run scores while Western conceded a safety to make the score 16-13 for Queen’s at the half. The third quarter saw McAuley rush for a 3-yard touchdown and Faulds throw an 8-yard pass to tight-end Brad Barkauskas of London, Ont. Gaels kicker Dan Village of Vancouver closed the scoring with a field goal in the fourth.

“I know the guys are disappointed right now and it’s a disappointing end; it’s tough to swallow,” said Sheahan. “However, tomorrow I think they will wake up and realize they had a good season and lots to be proud of. This is a fine bunch of individuals who represented Queen’s well.” Sheahan also added, “It’s going to be hard to see a lot of good athletes move on and that’s an unsettling thing about College sports. You have an intense relationship with so many good athletes and then they move on in a short period of time.”

NOTES: Senior Rob Bagg (Kingston) said following the game he will now turn his focus on trying to make the CFL Saskatchewan Roughriders for the 2008 season. Bagg earned a position on the Roughriders squad in June but chose to return to Queen’s for his fifth and final year of eligibility.


All photos are Copyright (c) Jeff Chan 2007, but may be used for personal non-commercial use, or by Queen's University or the Vanier Cup with appropriate photo credit, unless otherwise authorized.