Lancers ready for home tilt with Ottawa.
Lancers No. 1 in passing offence
Receiver Jordan Brescacin has helped change the way the University of Windsor Lancers play football.
When the St. Anne high school grad joined the Lancers in 2008, the offence was ruled by the ground game led by Hec Crighton winner Daryl Stephenson.
Five years later, the Lancers will take to the field tonight against the No. 5 Queen’s Golden Gales with the No.1 ranked passing offence in the OUA and No. 2 in the CIS.
Game time is 7 p. m. at Alumni Field at University of Windsor Stadium.
“With the receivers we have, it would have been pretty hard not to move to (a pass-oriented game),” the 23-year-old Brescacin said.
The tall and lanky Brescacin was the catalyst for the change that took off when Austin Kennedy took over at quarterback in 2010.
“It takes a while for a quarterback and receiver to get in sync,” Brescacin said. “That first year, it took some time because he wasn’t with us most of the summer because he was playing with the (OVFL Essex) Ravens.”
The two have certainly gotten on the same page this season.
Kennedy leads the CIS in passing yardage and Brescacin is his favourite target.
The six-foot-four, 202-pound Brescacin leads the CIS with 46 receptions, 736 yards and seven touchdowns.
He’s averaging 147.2 yards a game receiving and his total receiving yardage is nearly 200 yards more than his closest rival.
“He’s such a talented kid,” Lancers head coach Joe D’Amore said of Brescacin. “He makes the play when you need it.
“Despite everyone knowing we’re throwing to him, he still makes the catches.”
With 209 yards receiving in last week’s win over York, Brescacin became just the 16th player in OUA history to eclipse 2,500 yards receiving for his career.
That mark would not have been possible if Brescacin had not opted to leave the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, who had him on the practice roster, and return to the Lancers for a final season.
“I could have stayed, but I thought we had a chance to be successful and I wanted to see it through,” Brescacin said. “The plan is to head back next year. This gives me another year of getting bigger and doing things to make you the best player you can be.”
It’s also turning into a season where he could soon rewrite nearly every school record for receiving.
With 170 career catches, he’s nine away from breaking Arjei Franklin’s (2001-05) career mark. With 2,593 career receiving mark, he’s also closing in on Franklin’s school mark of 2,913 yards and is just two back of Franklin’s career mark of 21 receiving touchdowns.
“Arjei’s someone I look up to,” Brescacin said. “It’s cool, but to me it’s not that important. It’s doing the best to help us win.”
Brescacin knows time is quickly running out on his university career and there are other goals he’s more focused on obtaining.
“I’m trying to soak it all in, but I’m realizing it’s coming to an end and everyone’s goal is to play into November and I think we can make it happen,” Brescacin said.
“I’m still hoping to win a Yates Cup.”
For fans, tonight’s game could be the last home game for Brescacin and several other fifthyear players that have lived through some tough times and helped the team find its way back to OUA respectability.
“We’re so lucky to have him back from Hamilton,” D’Amore said of Brescacin.
“He’s had just a tremendous career and we’re going to miss him.”