For the second straight year the McMaster Marauders will face the Laurier Golden Hawks in the OUA football playoffs.  In 2015, it was the Hawks that upset the higher seeded Marauders in the quarter-finals, but in 2016 the men in Maroon are hoping to return the favour on Laurier's home field in the semi-finals.

Kickoff  is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. at Laurier's University Stadium.  Fans can catch all the action between the Marauders and Golden Hawks live across the province on CHCH and the game will also be streaming live on OUA.tv.

For those interested in listening to the games, McMaster vs. Laurier will be broadcast on AM FUNNY 820 in Hamilton and 570 NEWS in the Waterloo region.

McMaster and Laurier did not play each other during the regular season so Saturday's semifinal will be the first meeting between the two sides since their OUA quarter-finals showdown in Hamilton a season ago.

Looking at the defensive side of the football, Saturday's showdown features the two top defences in the league as McMaster (10.9) and Laurier (15.8) finished first and second, respectively, in points allowed per game.  The high flying Marauders secondary led OUA with 17 interceptions, while the aggressive Golden Hawks defence finished the year with 36 sacks in eight games.

With that in mind the Marauders will need to find a way to protect quarterback Asher Hastings (Regina, SK) or it could be a long day for the 2015 second-team all-star.  A season after breaking several OUA and CIS records, Hastings finished fourth in the conference averaging 239.4 yards per game.  Just a year removed from tossing 31 touchdown passes, the third year sociology major threw just 11 this season. 

However, with the arsenal of receivers at his disposal, Hastings and the Marauders can put points on the board in a hurry.  The McMaster receiving corps is led by fourth-year standout Danny Vandervoort (Barrie, Ont.), but it definitely doesn't end there, as the Marauders have one of the deepest groups in the province, if not the country.  The No. 5 Laurier Golden Hawks turned some heads this season on their way to a 7-1 record and with their only loss of the season coming at the hands of the Western Mustangs.
For Laurier the spotlight will be on Eric Guilitan (London, Ont.) after he finished the season averaging 105.1 yards per game and nine touchdowns, just one major behind Western's Taylor.  Guiltinan was limited late in the season due to injury but a pair of second-year standouts, Levondre Gordon (Mississauga, Ont.) and Osayi Iginuan (Hamilton, Ont.), stepped up to carry the load for Laurier and all three could have a major rolls to play on Saturday.

Vandervoort, who earlier this year was named the No. 4 prospect eligible for the 2017 CFL Draft, finished the season in the top five in yards (78.9), yards per catch (18.6) and touchdowns (5).
 

The Marauders are making the trip to Waterloo, Ont. on Saturday coming off a narrow 17-11 quarterfinal win over the rival Guelph Gryphons in a rematch of the 107^th Yates Cup. 

McMaster found themselves playing from behind for most of the game until midway through the fourth quarter when Hastings connected with receiver Dan Petermann (Stoney Creek, Ont.) on an 8-yard touchdown pass.  Rookie kicker Adam Preocanin (Burlington, Ont.) extended McMaster's lead to 17-11 with just over two minutes to play but the Gryphons did not go quietly into the night. 

With under a minute to go Guelph marched 68 yards down the field before defensive back Keldyn Ahlstedt (Whitby, Ont.) made a game saving interception on goal line to seal the Marauders victory.      

The other semifinal takes place with the No. 8 nationally ranked Carleton Ravens travelling to London, Ont. to take on the top seed No. 3 Western Mustangs, with the winner advancing to the 109^th Yates Cup on November 12th.

The Quest for the Cup Campus Tour, fuelled by Pioneer, will also be on site at University Stadium in Waterloo to promote OUA student-athletes and competitions with an interactive OUA booth featuring contests, games and prizes, along with displays and promotional materials.