The Oil Thigh’s distinct sound rattled around Richardson Stadium in a scoring brigade for the Gaels.
Queen’s Men’s Football hosted the Waterloo Warriors on Sept. 12. in a battle under the lights at Richardson Stadium. The game had a profound heaviness to it, as the Warriors, as well as the OUA football community, mourned the loss of second-year player Daniel Molla, who passed away on Monday. During the opening kickoff, the Warriors honoured Molla, bringing his jersey onto the field as a tribute.
The first quarter got off to a fast start for the Gaels on both sides of the ball. On the opening drive, Gaels kicker Tyler Mullan, ArtSci ’27, drilled a 50-yard field goal from the Queen’s logo to give them the early 3-0 lead.
On defence the Gaels came out a connected unit, not letting the dynamic Warriors quarterback, Nick Orr, get comfortable.
On the subsequent drive, the Gaels would push down the field, finished off by a 23-yard catch by Gaels H-back, Yanick Daigle, ArtSci ’28, scoring his first touchdown as a Gael. Mullan would add a field goal late in the first quarter to give the Gaels a 13-0 lead.
The second quarter featured the Gaels capitalizing on a long drive from late in the first quarter. Backup quarterback Ashton St Germain, ArtSci ’30, would be brought in to drive the ball into the end zone for a commanding 20-0 lead.
The Warriors would respond on the next drive with a 49-yard field goal to get on the board.
This would bring the Warriors into the game and gain some momentum onto their sideline. Following a Gaels punt, Orr would march his team down the field and finish the job himself, earning a touchdown and cutting the deficit to ten.
The Gaels would respond with a forced safety and field goal. Just as time was expiring, Alex Vreeken, Kin ’27, and wide receiver Logan Walton, ArtSci ’28, connected for a 48-yard touchdown to give the Gaels a 32-10 lead at half.
An uneventful third quarter, that saw no points for either side, led us to fireworks in the fourth.
The Gaels opened the quarter with a field goal, that was answered by a Warriors touchdown. The Gaels wouldn’t let that go unnoticed, as Walton would weave his way through the Warriors defence and find the end zone for his second touchdown of the game, this time 86 yards.
On the ensuing drive, the Gaels’ defence would force an interception as Iain St Arnault, ArtSci ’28, would take it 35-yards untouched to the end zone, making it 48-16. Waterloo would add a late touchdown, but the point would be moot, with the Gaels taking their home opener 49-22.
Gaels quarterback, Vreeken would throw for 424 yards and three touchdowns, two of those being to Walton, who amassed 191 yards.
Post-game, Head Coach Steve Snyder talked to The Journal in a media availability about how his team matched up against their second week opponent.
“They have a good run game. Overall, I feel we didn’t let a big play [with the run game], and that was important defensively,” Snyder said.
On offence, Snyder is looking at positives already in week two.
“We can spread the ball out like crazy, we have a lot of skilled guys right now. Alex [Vreeken] has great chemistry with all of them, so that’s a positive.”
Snyder also spoke to the gravity of the game and how he handled the situation with his players.
“Taking a lot of time for lessons and just learning about life,” he said. “It was a theme of protecting each other, sticking up for each other, and there are a lot of people who care about you.”
The Gaels will be on the move next weekend, where they take on the 0-3 Carleton Ravens on Sept. 19. at 1 p.m.
Tags
OUA, Queen's football, richardson stadium, Waterloo Warriors
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