CIS Football Report (Week 1)
The CIS season officially got under way during Labour Day weekend as they continued a tradition of Canadian Football. For years Canadian Football has held the Labour Day weekend as a special weekend where the sport takes focus. For the CFL the Labour Weekend is a half way mark while for the CIS it is the beginning of a new season. As students begin to file in for a new year of classes they are treated to a new year of football. With the beginning of the year every team is equal as every team starts 0-0 and has the same chance to get to the top at the end of the year. For the OUA, CanWest, and RSEQ conferences the season began again as the first week for every team was an important one. As all of these teams prepared for another season it became more clear that the CIS is a unique league. There are only 2 months in the CIS season as teams go through a rapid series of games as they fight to win the conference or simply make the playoffs. This means that every game becomes an important one as the points are essential to get a good spot in the conference. With this week 1 in the CIS is just as important as the rest of the weeks and that can cause some problems. The first week in any league are tumultuous as teams are just beginning to get into game shape and are prone to mistakes in the first weeks of meaningful games. With that some teams can begin to get their season off right while others begin a step behind after an early loss. Every team was beginning their seasons looking for the first part as they all wanted to begin their seasons on a strong note. One thing was for sure in this year’s first week and that was the teams that were supposed to start strong all generally did. In the OUA the top teams truly separated themselves from the rest of the conference. The defending champion Marauders came out strong with a 50-9 win against the Guelph Gryphons while the Western Mustangs beat the Waterloo Warriors 54-10. It seemed clear that the OUA had shown who the teams to beat were going to be for the rest of the year. Meanwhile in the middle of the conference was a bit of a surprise as the rising Windsor Lancers beat the Ottawa Gee Gees 63-18 giving the Gee Gees something to think about and putting the entire conference on notice for the Lancers. As the OUA looked to create their division in the league the RSEQ spent their weekend wondering where the strongest teams were. The usually strong Bishop’s lost their opening game to Concordia while the Big Red Machine from Laval struggled to get past the worst team in the conference the McGill Redmen. With one week done in the RSEQ the conference has been thrown into a loop as many wonder if Laval is still as strong as they used to be and if Bishop’s can continue being strong or is it too late for both of these teams. In the CanWest conference much of the predictions stayed the same besides one many matchup. The UBC Thunderbirds were a force in 2011 but this year they opened their season with a shocking loss to the Manitoba Bison. Saskatchewan and Calgary remained strong in the opening week leaving the top of the conference intact. It was an interesting first week for the CIS as the league saw a number of upsets and more unsurprising results. It was a week where the top teams took most of the wins and set themselves up for the upcoming season while the bottom teams look to the drawing board to figure out how to get to the top. After one week there are plenty of stories but there is still a full season left as one week is down and plenty more are still coming. The season is underway as teams have begun their race to the Vanier Cup in November with plenty of hope still ringing on campuses.
CIS Top 10:
1. McMaster Marauders (1)
2. Laval Rouge et Or (2)
3. Calgary Dinos (3)
4. Montreal Carabins (4)
5. Western Mustangs (5)
6. Queen’s Golden Gales (6)
7. Windsor Lancers (10)
8. Saskatchewan Huskies (8)
9. Acadia Axemen (9)
10. Manitoba Bison (–)
CIS Standings
CanWest:
1. Calgary Dinos (2)
2. Manitoba Bison (2)
3. Saskatchewan Huskies (2)
4. Alberta Golden Bears (0)
5. Regina Rams (0)
6. UBC Thunderbirds (0)
OUA:
1. McMaster Marauders (2)
2. Queen’s Golden Gaels (2)
3. Toronto Varsity Blues (2)
4. Western Mustangs (2)
5. Windsor Lancers (2)
6. Guelph Gryphons (0)
7. Laurier Golden Hawks (0)
8. Ottawa Gee Gees (0)
9. Waterloo Warriors (0)
10. York Lions (0)
RSEQ:
1. Concordia Stingers (2)
2. Laval Rouge et Or (2)
3. Montreal Carabins (2)
4. Bishop’s Gaiters (0)
5. McGill Redmen (0)
6. Sherbrooke Vert et Or (0)
Key Scores:
Manitoba Bison 31 – 24 UBC Thunderbirds #7
– The UBC Thunderbirds had a great year in 2011 and a lot was expected of Hec Cirghton winner Billy Greene and the T-Birds this year but they did not start their season off well as the Manitoba Bison got past them in the opening game
Concordia Stingers 42 – 36 Bishop’s Gaiters
– The Bishop’s Gaiters have been strong for the last few years and were looking to take another step this year but the Stingers had another plan in mind as they went out to prove that this was their year when they got past the Gaiters
#2 Laval Rouge et Or 33 – 15 McGill Redmen
– Laval was going into the season as a heavy favorite to win their 10th straight Dunsmore Cup while the Redmen were looking to just get a win but it all seemed turned upside down as the Rouge et Or barely got past one of the worst teams in the RSEQ
#10 Windsor Lancers 63 – 18 Ottawa Gee Gees
– The Ottawa Gee Gees looked strong this year but the Lancers were determined to show that their rise was no fluke as they took on the Gee Gees and beat one of the best teams proving that they are one to watch this year
Next Week:
Concordia Stingers vs. #4 Montreal Carabins (September 7th; 7:00 pm; EDT)
– Two teams from Montreal face off in a battle of French vs. English as the Concordia is coming off of a big win against the Bishop’s Gaiters and are looking to take out another top team in the Montreal Carbains
UBC Thunderbirds vs. Regina Rams (September 7th; 7:00 pm MDT)
– The T-Birds were in shock after their first game when they took a loss to the Manitoba Bison and they are looking to recover against the Rams who are looking to get their first win after facing the Calgary Dinos in week 1
Saint Mary’s Huskies vs. #9 Acadia Axemen (September 8th; 2:00 pm ADT)
– In the first weekend of the AUS season a rematch of the 2011 Loney bowl takes centre stage as the Axemen and huskies both look to take the first shot in what promises to be a good battle for top spot in the conference
Guelph Gryphons vs. #7 Windsor Lancers (September 8th; 7:00 pm EDT)
– The Windsor Lancers are looking to continue their momentum form a surprising week 1 win against the Ottawa Gee Gees as they take on the Gryphons who are trying to get their first win after a loss in week 1 to McMaster
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