“Your Queen’s Gaels are golden once more,” exclaimed Queen’s football announcer Jesse Bell on the CFRC broadcast, as Queen’s football sealed the championship.
On Nov. 8, Queen’s Football won their 24th Yates Cup—and their first since 2009—taking home the OUA championship after defeating the No.1 ranked Laurier Golden Hawks, 30-27. The game at Laurier’s University Stadium saw Queen’s embrace the underdog role against the defending champions, seeking redemption after an earlier loss to the Golden Hawks in their third Yates Cup appearance in five years.
The Gaels got off to a fast start, with an intercepted pass on the first drive of the game courtesy of Jacob Baldwin, ArtSci ’28, his first of two in the game. The interception led to good field position, allowing Alex Vreeken, Kin ’26, to send a touchdown pass to Cedric Smith, ArtSci ’26, for a quick 7-0 lead.
On the subsequent drive, the Queen’s defence again forced a turnover, courtesy of a forced fumble by Jared Siewe, ArtSci ’26, recovered by Justin Pace, ArtSci ’26. The turnover led to a 35-yard field goal by Tyler Mullan, ArtSci ’26 and a 10-0 lead, 7 minutes into the game. Laurier would get on the board with a field goal of their own late in the quarter to cut the deficit to 10-3.
The second quarter began with a couple of long drives that both teams that didn’t lead to any points. Queen’s would add to their lead with a 46-yard field goal from Mullan just after the 4-minute mark. On the subsequent Laurier drives, the turnover parade continued, with not one, but two interceptions that lead to points. Baldwin caught his second interception to set up a Vreeken rushing touchdown, and Pace took an interception home for a pick six to take a commanding 27-3 lead going into the half.
Laurier would respond in the third quarter with a touchdown on their first offensive drive to cut the lead to 27-10. After both teams traded field goals and a couple of long drives, Queen’s led 30-13 with 15 minutes remaining in the Yates Cup.
The fourth quarter showed why Laurier was ranked number one in the country, as they came up with two methodical drives down the field to cut the lead to 30-27 with 2:55 left in the game. After a big stop by the Laurier defence, they earned a chance to potentially tie or take the lead, getting the ball with 2:01 on the clock.
Instead, the Queens defence came up big, stopping the streaking Laurier defence and setting up Queens to ice the game.
It was an emotional scene as clock ran out, coaches and player alike embracing each other for a victory that hasn’t happened in a Queen’s uniform since 2009. During the post-game ceremonies, Pace received the Dalt White Trophy for being the Yates Cup Player of the Game—having a game-high of 12 total tackles, a stat he shares with teammate Siewe, as well as having a fumble recovery and an interception touchdown. The Queen’s defence combined for five turnovers in the game.
In a media availability ahead of the U Sports semifinal, Head Coach Steve Snyder reflected on the amazing season his team has built, saying, “We’ve improved each week, and I’m proud of the way we’ve stayed focused and stayed steady to get us to this point.”
The Gaels will travel to Saskatoon, SK., to take on the University of Saskatchewan Huskies in the Mitchell Bowl—U Sports’ semifinal between the champions of OUA and Canada West—on Nov. 15 at 3:15 p.m., ET.
Tags
Gaels, men's football, Yates Cup
All final editorial decisions are made by the Editor(s) in Chief and/or the Managing Editor. Authors should not be contacted, targeted, or harassed under any circumstances. If you have any grievances with this article, please direct your comments to journal_editors@ams.queensu.ca.