Mac offence faces stout Gee-Gee ‘D’
When the Ontario University football schedule was released, it was immediately apparent that the first half of the 2017 season was going to be a handful for the McMaster Marauders.
Waiting down the road are three straight games against a bad York side, a miserable Toronto team and a Windsor squad that’s about as anxiety provoking as a warm cup of Ovaltine and a back rub during a Mr. Rogers’ Neighbourhood marathon. You never take anything for granted … but you can probably take those for granted.
Before getting there, however, the youthful Marauders had to deal with Carleton and Western — won the first, lost the second — and now have Ottawa and Guelph up next. Each member of that quartet has been among the league’s best in recent years.
Halfway through that path of landmines, the Marauders find themselves staring at a huge game on Saturday (1 p.m., Ron Joyce Stadium). Beat Ottawa and they’re already looking at the possibility of hosting a playoff game. Lose and the path to a long post-season run could get very complicated.
The good news is that the undefeated GeeGees don’t score much. They haven’t put up more than 26 points in a game yet, despite having faced the York team that surrendered 66 points to Western and 52 to Waterloo. This should play right to the Marauders’ strength, which is its terrific defence.
The bad news? The visitors are likewise stingy on defence, having given up just 21, 13 and 17 points, which could prove a challenge for Mac’s still-figuring-it-out offence.
Recall, when the two teams met in a Week 3 penalty-fest last season — the teams combined for 25 flags totalling 238 yards — the Gee-Gees piled up 535 yards of offence and rolled to a 30-8 win.
A turning of the tables this time around would put Mac in really good position with that less-than-daunting second half of the season still to come.