The York University Lions football team was defeated by a score of 54-20 by the No. 9 nationally-ranked Ottawa Gee-Gees at Gee-Gees Field in Ottawa on Friday night (Oct. 7).
 
The two squads came into the game with two of the top offences in the OUA and they did not disappoint, combining for more than 1,150 yards on the night.
 
The conferences top two quarterbacks, Ottawa's Derek Wendel and York's Brett Hunchak (Calgary) were both strong throughout the night. Wendel finished 31-of-42 for 514 yards and three touchdowns, while Hunchak finished 26-of-40 for 329 yards and two scores. Neither quarterback threw an interception or was sacked.
 
Both squads scored on their opening drives, with the Gee-Gees getting three points on a 37-yard field goal and the Lions putting up seven on Adam Adeboboye's (Toronto) seven-yard touchdown catch.
 
Wendel rushed for a one-yard touchdown and Nick Naylor (Abbotsford, B.C.) kicked a field goal for a 10-10 tie after the first quarter of play.
 
Ottawa tacked on nine points early in the second quarter on a 49-yard scoring catch by Mitchell Baines and a team safety, and Naylor kicked his second field goal of the game with 3:34 left in the frame for a 19-13 Gee-Gees lead. They added to that advantage with a five-yard touchdown run by Greg Cherniak before the half, carrying a 26-13 advantage into the break.
 
Cherniak scored again on a one-yard run midway through the third quarter. Less than two minutes later, Colton Hunchak (Calgary) made a beautiful catch in the end zone with a defender draped all over him for his fifth touchdown of the season and a 33-20 Ottawa lead.
 
Baines caught his second touchdown of the game with 43 seconds remaining in the third and the Gee-Gees scored a pair of majors in the fourth – Thomas Hoyt caught a 28-yard TD pass and Mathieu Tremblay had a 14-yard scoring run – to round out the scoring.
 
Baines and Adeboboye both had big receiving games. Baines finished with 11 catches for 215 yards and the two scores, while Adeboboye had nine catches for 139 yards and the touchdown.
 
The loss dropped the Lions to 2-4 on the season and are tied with Queen's, Windsor and Guelph for sixth place. The Gee-Gees bounced back from their first loss of the season last year to improve to 5-1 and are tied with Laurier, Western and McMaster for top spot in the OUA standings.
 
The Lions will return to Alumni Field next weekend for their final regular season home game and will host the nationally-ranked Marauders on Saturday (Oct. 15) beginning at 1pm.