It would be hard to pinpoint who was caught most off-guard by this one.
See, the University of Toronto Varsity Blues, easily one of the most farcical football teams in the OUA these past few years, sent the media into a frenzy, their coaches into shock, and the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees home in a state of embarrassment Saturday afternoon at Varsity Stadium.
No one expected the Blues, notorious for their appalling league record, to squash the second best team in Canada 40-35 in their second consecutive win of the season.
In fact, when the Gee-Gees came to town last year, they slammed the Blues and went home with a 35-15 win to their name and are 11-0 over the Blues since 1972.
But Toronto was riding the tides of a 24-19 victory that was secured over the York Lions on Sept. 18, and had fresh legs as they were off last week with a bye.
Apparently, the break in their game schedule served the Blues well, and Head Coach Greg DeLaval admitted that it was “the best week of practice in a long time.”
Someone should have given Gee-Gee’s Head Coach Jean-Philippe Asselin a heads-up.
In a pre-game statement Asselin said, “If Toronto is supposed to be a weaker team, I would like to remind the guys that they have blocked eight or nine punts since the beginning of the year in four games. Also, Guelph beat Queen’s easier than we did, and Guelph only beat Toronto by two points; so there is nothing to take for granted.”
Good advice, but unfortunately for Ottawa, it was lacking on follow-through. With the win, U of T scored their first victory against a nationally-ranked team since 1997, when they defeated the Waterloo Warriors 21-15.
Although Gee-Gee’s receiver Matthew Bolduc opened the scoring with a touchdown just over a minute into the game, it only took Blues rookie running back Aaron Milton five minutes to get the home team on the board. Milton’s 105-yard touchdown run ties the U of T record set by Maurice Doyle at McMaster in 1979 and ranks fourth in the CIS for longest rush.
Quarterback Andrew Gills connected with sophomore receiver Paul de Pass on a 24-yard pass for the second Blues touchdown of the game and Toronto wrapped up the first frame in the lead.
Gee-Gees receiver Cyril Adjeitey responded early in the second quarter when he caught a 57-yard pass from quarterback Brad Sinopoli, and kicker Matthew Falvo converted his second extra point of the game.
Eager to hold on to the lead, Blues quarterback Jordan Scheltgen was brought off of the bench to score on one- and two-yard rushing touchdowns respectively. Despite a rouge from the Gee-Gees three minutes later, the Blues were up 27-15 at halftime.
As the Blues gathered out of the public eye to assess their tactics, “Rolli – one of our players – said, ‘Coach you don’t need to say anything,’” smiled DeLaval, who responded with a simple, “There’s nothing to say.”
Early in the third quarter, a seven play 73-yard driveand a one-yard run from Franck Ngandui led the Gee-Gees to their third touchdown of the game. The Blues remained one step ahead, however, and Gillis connected with receiver Michael Prempeh on a five-yard pass to put his team up comfortably by 12.
As the Gee-Gees coaching staff paced angrily up and down the sidelines talking furiously into their headsets, the Blues continued their climb up the scoreboard. Third-year kicker Andrew Lomasney scored 13- and 30- yard field goals respectively.
With just a minute left in the game, the Gee-Gees decided to show the home team why they are ranked second highest in the league and made a desperate final attempt to bring home the win.
An eight yard pass from Sinopoli to receiver Bogdan Raic brought the Gee-Gees up by a touchdown. With less than ten seconds to go, Steve Hughes connected on a three-yard reception for another one.
And as the Blues rejoiced emotionally on the sidelines to a final score of 40-35, it was clear that they couldn’t have cared less that Ottawa had come within five points of knocking them off their high horses.
“This is a big win for us,” said DeLaval. “We had a little bit of luck today.
“They gave us some things we could take advantage of. We made interceptions at critical times.”
Although DeLaval admitted that the team wasn’t under a lot of pressure going into the game – honestly, no one really expected them to win – Milton, who has quickly become one of the most impressive standout rookies in the league confessed he was a little nervous.
“But I knew what our team could do,” said Milton. “Most teams underestimate us. The plays we were calling right off the bat were plays we were comfortable with and it just carried over.”
But it was Gillis, who was named Player of the Game, that was the real story at Varsity Stadium. The fourth-year quarterback threw 28-for-45, recorded a career-high 343 yards and two touchdown passes.
“We had a game plan coming in,” said Gillis, always quick to credit his teammates. “We knew we were capable of doing something like this.”
“Andrew is probably one of the hardest working guys on the team,” said DeLaval of his star.
The Blues will be suiting up in Kingston next Saturday to take on the reigning national champions, the Queen’s Gaels.
To prepare for what Delaval described as a “tough game,” the team will be mixing up their practice tactics. The field at Richardson Stadium is actually grass, unlike the artificial turf at Varsity Stadium, so the Blues will be moving their training to the back field of Trinity College in order to further prepare for the game.
For now, the home team will be focused on celebrating their victory.
“We were due,” said DeLaval.
