It's rivalry week for the York University Lions football team as the Toronto Varsity Blues will be at York Stadium on Friday night (Oct. 2) for the 46^th annual Red & Blue Bowl.
 
Kick-off is set for 7pm, and the game can also be seen live online on OUA.tv. Tickets can be purchased online here or at the gate on game day.
 
The two teams will battle on the field for more than just a win in the OUA standings as football supremacy in the City of Toronto is also on the line. In addition to the action on the field, fans in attendance can win $200 for Pizza Pizza as part of the Rock Your Red contest and the fan of the game will win Big Macs for a year. There will also be a $10,000 Pass, Punt, Kick contest at halftime.
 
Both squads enter Friday night's game with one win so far this season. The Lions earned theirs in Week 3 with a 23-14 victory over the Waterloo Warriors, while the Varsity Blues picked up theirs in Week 2 by edging the Windsor Lancers 8-7. Overall, the Lions are 1-4 on the year and the Blues are 1-3.
 
The Varsity Blues hold a 28-17 head-to-head record over their uptown counterparts since the first meeting in 1970 and have won six of the last seven since York won 12 in a row from 1996-07. The Blues won convincingly on their home turf last year by a score of 70-0.
 
The Lions have had a tough schedule to date, falling to the OUA's top three teams in their first five games in the No. 3 nationally-ranked Western Mustangs in Week 2, the No. 5 Guelph Gryphons in Week 3 and, most recently, the No. 7 McMaster Marauders in Week 5.
 
Their offence continues to make strides compared to last year and is currently averaging 335 yards and 17.2 points per game, an improvement of 82 yards and nearly 10 points per game. On the other side of the ball, the defence is starting to show the aggressiveness that head coach Warren Craney is known for. The unit is ranked third in the OUA in takeaways with 10 (already more than all of last season) and is sixth in sacks (10).
 
The defence is being led by fifth-year end Hussein Hazime (Toronto), who has blossomed into one of the top defensive players in the OUA and ranks second in both total tackles (36.5) and sacks (five). In addition, defensive backs Ian Lawrence (Paris, Ont.), Rees Paterson (Sherwood Park, Alta.) and Connor Pritty (Markham, Ont.) all have two interceptions, tied for third in the conference.
 
On offence, it's a number of new faces making their mark. Rookie starting quarterback Brett Hunchak (Calgary) has taken over the offence under centre, fellow rookie running back Jesse Amankwaa (Etobicoke, Ont.) is the team's leading rusher and ranks eighth in the OUA with 70.4 yards per game, and the team's top four receivers are all in their first year with the program.
 
The Varsity Blues opened the season with a 55-33 loss to the nationally-ranked Marauders before their win over Windsor, and since then have lost two in a row to Carleton and Queen's. They have a veteran quarterback leading the team in Simon Nassar, a fifth-year pivot who is completing 52.5% of his passes (83-of-158) and averaging 230.3 yards per game. Defensively, their top player has been linebacker Adrian Bernard with 26 tackles and 2.5 sacks.