Football | 8/30/2025 8:00:00 AM

After winning their first home and season opener in nearly a decade last weekend, the York University Lions football team is looking to keep the good times rolling. 

A 31-24 victory over the McMaster Marauders, led by former Marauder and current Lion star quarterback Keagan Hall, kickstarted what the Lions hope will be a long, successful season. The next thing standing in their way: the also-undefeated Ottawa Gee-Gees on Saturday afternoon.

The Garnet & Gray are coming off a 27-12 victory on the road against the Waterloo Warriors in Week 1, and present an intriguing early-season test for the Lions. Ottawa quarterback Josh Janssen went 16-for-23 for 222 yards and a pair of touchdowns in the win, while Hall went 29-of-41 for 332 yards and two touchdowns, as well as a pair of rushing majors.

The Lions lost some key pieces to injury against McMaster – the two biggest being Brody Clark and Avontae McKoy. They were also without Peyton Ryder heading into the game. However, a key calling card for the Lions over the last two years has been depth, and that is even moreso the case this season. With the likes of Greg Sealy, C.J. Vincent and Kirill Niari able to fill in if needed, York still provides a talented defence, which also happens to be coordinated by one of the top defensive minds in the country in Greg Knox.

The biggest thing Knox's unit will look to avoid in this one is the big play. York allowed only 12 first downs in the game against the Marauders, but conceded 361 yards of total offence. What that suggests is York's ability to snuff out drives – none bigger than the game-clinching goalline stand in the final minute – but also their propensity for surrendering shot plays to put the other team in a position to score. Noah Avery had Ottawa's most efficient day against the Warriors, making six catches for 105 yards. The Lions will look to key in on him and limit his damage, as well as that of running back Charles Asselin. He was quiet in the win over Waterloo, carrying the ball 13 times for 21 yards. If the Lions can keep him to a similar clip in this one, that will give them a great chance to win.

Hall will look to make some noise against an Ottawa defence that gave up 210 yards to Waterloo quarterback Nick Orr in the opener, and allowed 292 total yards. Though McKoy and Nicholas Adair were both banged up against the Marauders, York still can lean on the likes of Vincent, former Calgary Dino Zack Smith and, of course, Avery Ford to pick up the slack if need be.

 The Lions have each of Sealy, Melchis Ilunga and Rex Walker available out of the backfield, with the latter not earning a touch in Week 1. Sealy and Ilunga provide a dynamic 1–2 punch at the running back spot, and will try to build on their 73 combined rushing yards against McMaster. The Ottawa defence allowed 82 rushing yards in their first test of the season, with Orr being the leading rusher. The Lions tandem should provide much more resistence in what will be Ottawa's first real test against the run this season.

Last year's meeting between these two teams – also in Week 2, but at York Lions Stadium – was the Lions first game of the Dexter Janke era after they had the opening-week bye. It was a 27-4 Gee-Gees win, but was 7-4 Ottawa at halftime in a game that set the tone for what we have seen from the Lions since. Now, 364 days later, it will be the Lions looking to come out on top and put a tidy bow on what has been one of the most successful calendar years in recent program history.

Kickoff from Gee-Gees Field is slated for 4:00 pm. You can watch the game on OUA.tv.