The York University Lions Football team dropped their final regular season contest of the 2022 OUA season at the York Lions Stadium Saturday afternoon.
The visiting Ottawa Gee-Gees and the York Lions, as Ottawa was able to overpower the Lions 66-0.
This being the season finale, the 12 graduating Lions were honoured in a pregame ceremony. The graduating lineup was led by captain Matt Dean followed by Gabe Appiah-Kubi, Victor Belanger, Brandon Bumstead, Noah Craney, Dawson Davis, Daniel Dwyer, Chidubem Obi, Logan Radcliffe, Tristan Schultenkamper, Nour-Dine Toure, and Matt Vassos. The Lions would like to thank these dedicated student-athletes for their years of commitment and hard work.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Gee-Gees quarterback, Matt Mahler – starting in place of Ben Maracle – got his team rolling early, as he made a well-executed 13-yard rush past the Lions defensive line for the first down, which then led to another four-yard rush by J-P Cimankinda right into the endzone for a touchdown to make it 7-0 Ottawa
- After another solid drive by the visitors a 28-yard field goal from Campbell Fair gave them a two-score lead at 10-0
- With 30 seconds left in the first quarter, Mahler was able to locate Daniel Oladejo for a 19-yard touchdown, cushioning the lead to 17-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.
- With the momentum high for the Gee-Gees, they continued to add to their lead in the second quarter, securing two more touchdowns. Mahler rushed a 5-yard touchdown midway through the drame, followed by a 44-yard touchdown by Tristin Park three minutes later. The two scores put Ottawa up 33-0.
- Then, Amlicar Polk followed suit, as he found an opening for a three-yard rush into the endzone, expanding the lead to 40-0 lead at halftime.
- The Lions offence showed some flashes in the second half, but were unable to put any points on the board.
- Ottawa added three more second-half touchdowns on the way to a 66-0 win.
NOTABLE NUMBERS:
- The Lions defensive line was led by Dean who made 11 tackles, the most made in the game, followed by Davis with six tackles.
- Craney led the way for the Lions offence as he went 17-34 passing for a total of 181 yards.