Errors doom Gee-gees in opener at Mcmaster

First game of season a big loss to Marauders

A new season brought along with it new possibilities for the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees as they began the 2013 Ontario University Athletics football season Sunday against the McMaster Marauders at Hamilton’s Ron Joyce Stadium.

Unfortunately, Week 1 of the OUA calendar brought the kind of result that plagued the Horsemen for most of the 2012 campaign as they fell 5124 in a game that was very close in just about every statistical category except the one that matters most of all.

Let’s start with overall offence. Not surprisingly, the two-time OUA defending champion Marauders led in that category but, with only a 492427 edge in total yards, one would be led to believe the game was closer than it was on the scoreboard.

Second, the numbers for Ottawa quarterback Aaron Colbon and McMaster counterpart Marshall Ferguson were very comparable. Colbon completed 35 passes for 335 yards and three touchdowns while tossing one pick. Ferguson, a Kingston native, threw two TDs, no interceptions and his 28 completions resulted in 352 yards. So what happened? “We made some critical turnovers in bad positions on the field, for one thing, and I think they had 17 points off turnovers,” said first-year GeeGees coach Jamie Barresi. Ten minutes into the second quarter, the GeeGees found themselves trailing 21-0, but fought back by scoring 16 points in the final three minutes of the half.

Lewis Ward kicked a 35-yard field goal before Colbon and Ian Stewart teamed up for a pair of touchdown passes. Colbon found Stewart from 28 yards out with 1:39 left before the break, then the pair connected from five yards out as time expired in the half. Ward converted the first major, but a two-point attempt failed on the second, leaving the Gee-Gees down 21-16 at the break.

“We had good momentum at half time and gambled (in the third quarter), didn’t make it and gave up a lot of ground there and it led to a score and those things really hurt us,” said Barresi.

The Gee-Gees were unable to find the end zone at all in the second half, save for a 25-yard touchdown pass from Colbon to Nicholas Dagher with a little more than a minute to play in the game. The Gee-Gees again attempted a two-point conversion but it failed again, leaving the visitors down 48-24.

Ottawa native Tyler Crapigna booted his third field goal of the day for the Marauders to close out the scoring with 26 seconds left.

“There were positives, but we have to learn to play and realize that every play is important,” said Barresi.

The Gee-Gees are at the University of Waterloo on Labour Day to take on the Warriors.