CIS Football Report (Week 9)
The CIS season is very close to ending with only one week left for most conferences to finish their season while the OUA would end this weekend. The OUA began this season like any other as they would begin a week before every other conference. This gave them an extra week as they would hold a Quarterfinals unlike the rest of the conferences. So they would end their season earlier than everyone else with the quarterfinals set to start next week. They would still have plenty to figure out on the last day of the season though as not all of the playoff spots had been taken yet. Not even the top spot in the conference had been solidified or the two bye weeks for the top two spots in the OUA. The last day of the regular season would deliver all of the answers for the conference as teams took their last shot in the battle for the playoffs. At the top three teams had already clinched their spots in the playoffs and were the only teams to do so heading into the last week. The Western Mustangs, Queen’s Golden Gaels, and Guelph Gryphons were all looking to take the top two spots in the conference and earn a first round bye in the playoffs. They would all have the chance to do so with the Mustangs taking on the York Lions while Queen’s and Guelph would battle each other with the winner likely taking one of the spots and the loser would likely be forced to the Quarterfinals. The Western Mustangs would have a game that will be remembered for a long time as they would break multiple records against the Lions. The Mustangs would have their CIS record 7th 50-plus point performance of the season while also putting up 458 points on the season breaking the OUA single season record. Players would also earn their records as kicker Lirim Hajrullahu finished his season with 20 points going 5-for-5 and becoming the highest scoring player in CIS history. Meanwhile QB Will Finch would put his stamp on the record books throwing for 547 passing yards and making himself the single season passing leader with 3,047 yards this year. The performance and the records would put the Mustangs into the top spot in the OUA and would give them a guaranteed first round bye for the playoffs. As the Mustangs earned their spot the Golden Gaels would solidify their spot shocking many in beating the Guelph Gryphons and earn the #2 spot in the OUA. This would force the Gryphons into third place and give them one extra game towards trying to get to the Yates Cup this year. These three teams would all solidify their standings in the OUA while the rest of the teams would look to earn a playoff spot. The McMaster Marauders would be able to earn their spot as a host of one of the quarterfinals when they beat the Carleton Ravens and earned the 4th place spot in the OUA. With two more spots left in the playoffs for the OUA the Ottawa Gee Gees would get a win against the Windsor Lancers and would take the 5th place spot in the OUA while leaving the Lancers in the 6th place and Toronto out of the playoffs once again in 6th place for another year. The playoff matchups are set and the OUA begins their march towards the Yates Cup and eventually the Mitchell Bowl. As the OUA continues to get closer to their championships the other conferences are getting closer to playoffs. With only one week left a number of teams are looking for their spot in the postseason. In the AUS the competition is wide open with no playoff spots secured yet and only one week left to earn a spot. The CanWest division is the exact opposite though as the playoff teams have been solidified with one week left in the season although positioning is still up for grabs in the last week of the season. The RSEQ will have one spot up for grabs in their last week as the last week will be very important for a few teams. As the last week of the rest of the CIS season comes closer the fight for the playoffs begin while Ontario sees the playoffs begin with every game more important and only a few weeks before the national playoffs begin.
CIS Top 10:
1. Western Mustangs (1)
2. Laval Rouge et Or (2)
3. Calgary Dinos (3)
4. Guelph Gryphons (4)
5. Queen’s Golden Gaels (5)
6. Montreal Carabins (6)
7. Saskatchewan Huskies (7)
8. Bishop’s Gaiters (8)
9. McMaster Marauders (9)
10. Windsor Lancers (10)
-To Be Updated-
CIS Standings
AUS:
1. Saint Mary’s Huskies (8)
2. Acadia Axemen (6)
3. Mount Allison Mounties (6)
4. StFX X-Men (6)
CanWest:
1. x-Calgary Dinos (14)
2. x-Manitoba Bisons (8)
3. x-Saskatchewan Huskies (8)
4. x-UBC Thunderbirds (8)
5. Regina Rams (4)
6. Alberta Golden Bears (0)
OUA:
1. y-Western Mustangs (16)
2. y-Queen’s Golden Gaels (14)
3. x-Guelph Gryphons (14)
4. x-McMaster Marauders (10)
5. x-Ottawa Gee Gees (10)
6. x-Windsor Lancers (8)
7. Toronto Varsity Blues (8)
8. York Lions (4)
9. Laurier Golden Hawks (2)
10. Waterloo Warriors (2)
11. Carleton Ravens (0)
RSEQ:
1. x-Laval Rouge et Or (14)
2. x-Montreal Carabins (10)
3. x-Bishop’s Gaiters (10)
4. McGill Redmen (6)
5. Sherbrooke Vert et Or (4)
6. Concordia Stingers (0)
x-Clinched Playoff Spot
y-Clinched First Round Bye
Key Scores:
Mount Allison Mounties 27 – 24 Saint Mary’s Huskies
– The AUS could have been locked up this week with the huskies winning their game but it was not meant to be as the Huskies would lose to the Mounties who would take two points and take over the last playoff spot in the conference for the time being
Manitoba Bisons 33 – 26 Saskatchewan Huskies
– The Bisons would take the win against the Huskies as both teams battle for a home playoff spot with their playoff spots clinched they continue to fight and this game could be the difference between playing at home or travelling for the start of the playoffs
Queen’s Golden Gaels 37 – 23 Guelph Gryphons
– It could have been the most important game in the OUA this week as the Gryphons and Gaels were looking to take the second place spot in the conference and earn a bye in the first round of the playoffs and it would be the Gaels who would come out on top
Bishop’s Gaiters 44 – 36 Concordia Stingers
– Concordia continued their terrible season but they would be able to give the Gaiters a scare in one of their last games of the season that would eventually go to the Gaiters and give them a playoff spot in the process
Next Week:
UBC Thunderbirds vs. Calgary Dinos (Friday October 25th; 6:00 pm MDT)
– The thunderbirds have clinched their playoffs spot and the Dinos have clinched the top spot in the conference but the T-Bird are hoping that they can avoid the Dinos in the first round of the playoffs by winning this game and trying to take the second place in the conference
Saint Mary’s Huskies vs. StFX X-Men (Saturday October 26th; 2:00 pm ADT)
– The Huskies get another opportunity to clinch the first round bye and first place in the AUS while they take on the X-Men who are in need of a win to clinch a playoff spot in the last week of the season
Laval Rouge et Or vs. Montreal Carabins (Saturday October 26th; 1:00 pm ET)
– The Rouge et Or are still in the top spot of the RSEQ and the Carabins continue to be their biggest challenge as they face off again with the Carabins looking to gain some confidence heading into the playoffs
Saskatchewan Huskies vs. Regina Rams (Saturday October 26th; 1:00 pm MDT)
– The Huskies are hoping that they can get a home playoff game this year and they will look to do so against the Rams who will not play after this week and are simply trying to play spoilers to the Huskies’ plans
OUA Quarterfinals:
Ottawa Gee Gees vs. McMaster Marauders (Saturday October 26th; 1:00 pm ET)
– The playoffs begin with the McMaster Marauders looking to show that they are not completely out of the running without their stars from last year and the Gee Gees looking to show that their resurgence is the real deal
Windsor Lancers vs. Guelph Gryphons (Saturday October 26th; 8:00 pm ET)
– The Lancers will have a tough go in the first round of the playoffs this year as they take on the Gryphons who have looked like one of the best teams in the CIS and are looking to prove it by beginning their march towards the Yates Cup
The Sport Addiction 