Football | 9/25/2025 4:00:00 PM
The York University Lions football team is headed to Kingston on Saturday to battle the Queen's Gaels in a pivotal mid-season matchup as the Lions look to move back above .500 and make their path to the postseason much smoother.
York sits at 2-2, coming off a tough Week 5 loss to the Carleton Ravens in a game that, had they won it, would have gone a long way to assuring the Lions a playoff berth. Meanwhile, the Gaels enter this one 3-2, but with their losses coming to two of the top teams in the country in Western – in a game they led 26-10 but eventually lost in the fourth overtime – and Laurier, a perennial Yates Cup contender and reigning champion.
Lions quarterback Keagan Hall left the game against Carleton in the second quarter, and is not certain to play in this one. If he doesn't Matt Linn will take his place after winning York male athlete of the week throwing for over 200 yards and three touchdowns in relief of Hall against Carleton. Linn is no stranger to the starting role, after occupying it for the first five games of last season and leading the program to its first win in five years against Toronto in the Red & Blue Bowl.
Another team Linn started against was none other than Queen's, in the same Richardson Stadium the Lions will play in Saturday. It was Week 3, York's second game of the season, and Linn threw for a yard shy of 300 and a touchdown. While Queen's won it 52-19, 35 of those points came off turnovers and missed field goal return touchdowns. The Lions outgained the Gaels, and clawed back into a game they once trailed 21-0 before Queen's put it out of reach in the second half.
The Lions hope not to require Linn's services in this one, as Hall – regarded as one of the best quarterbacks in the country – will need to show every bit of why against a Gaels team coming off a 40-point pounding of the Waterloo Warriors. Arguably more important than Hall and the offence – which have been fairly consistent all year long – is the defence. Depleted by a rash of key absences on the defensive side of the ball, the Lions have pieced it together with a youthful secondary and some backups at other key spots most if not all season.
They will have to find an answer for a Queen's offence firing on all cylinders, having scored 30+ points in all five games and 40+ in three of the five. The Gaels, much like the Lions, are loaded with offensive weapons, namely quarterback Alex Vreeken and running back Jared Chisari, as well as a receiving corps that has been very much by committee. That makes life tough on a defence, but if anyone will have an counter, it's York defensive coordinator Greg Knox, thought by many to be one of the best, if not the best, defensive mind in the nation.
As mentioned, special teams deeply burned the Lions in last year's meeting, with Queen's kick returner Iain St. Arnault returning two missed field goals for touchdowns. It's also a unit that has struggled for York thus far in 2025, and will need to be much better if the Lions hope to win this game.
York will have to be efficient and methodical on offence, trying to keep the ball out of the Gaels hands for as long as possible while winning the turnover battle and minimizing big plays. There's a recipe here for the Lions to win a game they would desperately like to win. If they can do those things, they may do just that.
Kickoff from Richardson Stadium is set for 3:00 pm live on OUA.tv.
