HAMILTON, Ont. - The McMaster Marauders find themselves on the outside looking-in at the OUA playoff picture, but will have a chance to keep their season alive with a highly anticipated matchup against long-time rivals, the no. 7 natioanlly ranked Guelph Gryphons, Saturday at Ron Joyce Stadium.
Currently sitting in fifth place in the division, McMaster (2-3) will need a win in front of its home crowd, as well as a Laurier win against Waterloo, to clinch a berth in the 2021 OUA Playoffs.
Entering this weekend's game, which carries significant postseason implications on a wild wild OUA West division, McMaster and Guelph (3-2) are both coming off statement 48-0 wins in week six - the Marauders over the winless York Lions, while the Gryphons shutout the University of Toronto on home soil for their second straight victory.
Fifth-year Mac QB Andreas Dueck continues to lead the conference in just about every offensive category, including touchdowns (7), yards (1,181), completion rate (76 percent), and yards per game (236.2), despite taking an OUA-most 20 sacks through his team's first five games. He should get plenty of time to work, as the Marauders lead the nation in time of possession (35:25), more than two minutes more per game than the next highest offense in U SPORTS.
Liam Putt has emerged as one of the league's most dangerous slot receivers and ranks in the top three in receiving touchdowns (5-1st), catches (30-1st), and yards (371-3rd). The senior had another strong showing last week when he hauled in three scores and 70 yards.
Dueck will need his O-Line to hold strong against a Gryphon defensive front that has already racked up a league-high 18 sacks led by DE Kristian Stewart. Expect Marauder running backs Justice Allin, Daniel Bossett and Cameron Guest to come ready to play against a strong linebacker core that features A.J. Allen and Justin Lauzon.
Stopping a Gryphon offense that has put up 75 points in its last two games presents no easy task, but head coach Stefan Ptaszek's defense is up for the challenge with the season on the line. McMaster must rely on a team-effort from Enoch Penney-Laryea and Nate Edwards in the box, as well as DB's Nolan Putt, Nana Yaw Serbeh and Devonte Ballantyne to shut down the Gryphon passing game. Freshman DL Chinedu Ezeonwurie will be hungry to add to his team-high 3.5 sacks in his first season in maroon.
Guelph has employed a quarterback tandem with sophomore Shawn Lal and freshman DeAndre Rose taking the majority of snaps. Lal, who is averaging 200 yards per game through the air, is tied for the league lead in passing touchdowns (7) despite just 88 passing attempts in four games played, while Rose typically finds work in short-yardage situations. Rose has the only Gryphon rushing touchdown on the season in a backfield that has managed just 85.8 YPG on the ground.
Adam Preocanin rewrote the record books for the Marauders in last week's win over York, as the Burlington, Ont. native broke the McMaster career field goal record – previously held by Tyler Crapigna (84) – after converting 4-of-6 on the day. He now has 88 career field goals made, ranking him fifth all-time in U SPORTS.
Saturday also marks Senior Day at Les Prince Field, where the Marauders will honour 11 graduating players for their hard work, sacrifice, and dedication to the program over the course of their U SPORTS careers.
Uniform Reveal
Game Day Details
McMaster Marauders (2-3, 1-1 home) vs. Guelph Gryphons (3-2, 0-2 road)
Time: 1pm
Location: Ron Joyce Stadium
Watch: OUA.tv
Listen: 900 CHML Radio
Last Meeting
McMaster and Guelph last squared off in the 2019 OUA semi-final where the Marauders rode a second-half comeback to a 19-9 victory, and a trip to their 11th Yates Cup appearance. Down 7-5 at the break, Dueck (216 yds, 0 INT) and company came out in the third quarter on a mission. The quarterback connected with Blake Reason for a touchdown before adding another on the ground after breaking free up the middle for a 55-yard score in what proved to be a rain-soaked affair.
In the fourth quarter, the Gryphons efforts to mount a comeback were denied by key defensive stands by the Marauders. With just over two minutes remaining in the frame, the Marauder defence stopped Guelph on third and goal, with Nate Edwards stuffing QB Theo Landers inches from the goal line.
On Guelph's next drive, Edwards sacked Landers for an 11-yard loss, and two plays later, Lucas Bill iced the game with his second interception of the day to send the Marauders to the Yates Cup, which they would win 29-15 at Western. McMaster's defence stood tall, finishing with three sacks and two interceptions against a strong Gryphon offence.
