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Queen’s Golden Gaels win homecoming game on freaky, heads-up play (VIDEO)

Neate Sager

Queen's University's first homecoming football game in five years had a finish for the ages, thanks to the quick thinking and sure foot of their backup holder for field goals, Aaron Gazendam.

Knotted 34-34 in overtime Saturday following four-plus quarters where the hard-luck Laurier Golden Hawks had nationally ranked Queen's mostly at their "mercy," the Golden Gaels lined up to try a game-winning field goal and escape with a victory. Laurier's defensive line blocked Dillon Wamsley's attempt, which was Queen's first fail on the play.

The second fail was Gazendam's punt, which he intended to send through the end zone for the winning single point. His otherwise good effort bounced down in the end zone, creating the possibility of an all-time backfire since it was only second down for the Gaels. But Gazendam — a substitute holder since the regular, slotback Justin Chapdelaine, was scratched due to injury — ensured two wrongs made a right. He took off like a gazelle while the Laurier players stood around in confusion, recovering the the ball for a wild, walk-off touchdown that gave Queen's the 40-34 win.

Here is the video, courtesy Lot59 Productions.

The result means second place in Ontario University Athletics is still up for grabs between No. 5-ranked Queen's (5-1) and No. 4-ranked Guelph (6-0), who meet on Oct. 19. A Queen's loss would have guaranteed Guelph the No. 2 spot and a first-round playoff bye.

Canadian football has more rudiments of rugby than its four-down, fair catch-callin' American counterpart. Any kick may be recovered and advanced by the player who booted it or anyone who was standing behind him at the time of the kick. Gazendam, a wide receiver, is Queen's backup punter and had a vivid recollection of his high school team, the Holy Cross Crusaders, losing a championship game on a similar play.

From Claude Scilley (@cscilley):

Every Friday, the Gaels practise what they call their kick-out play. It’s designed for end-of-game situations where the opponent is kicking into the end zone and the only option might be to kick it back out. Gazendam has a vivid memory of such a play, from the county high school championship of his Grade 11 season, when Frontenac won 18-17 on a last-second rouge when Holy Cross didn’t have a man in the end zone to kick the ball back out.

“I was actually talking about that last night,” Gazendam said. “Maybe that triggered (the quick reaction).”

In the Gaels’ scheme, Gazendam is the guy on the other end of the play who waits in the end zone to kick the ball back out, but he also happens to be the team’s backup holder on place kicks and he was doing that Saturday in place of the injured Justin Chapdelaine.

“I saw it get blocked, and I saw it shoot right up in the air,” Gazendam explained. “The first thing I thought of was to try and punt it (through) the end zone. I thought they were going to kick it back so at first I kind of stepped back … but it was just sitting there.

“Our guys knew what to do. They gave five yards, but I don’t think the Laurier guys knew what to do, so I just ran in there and jumped on it.” (sportkingston)

Smart guys, those guys from Kingston, Ontario.

Laurier also lost on a blocked field goal in overtime in its previous game. Talk about losing in novel ways. The Hawks are 1-6 but have been in every game under rookie head coach Michael Faulds, who set national records for career and single-season pass yards with the Western Mustangs. They deserved better after leading most of the day and coming away with only three points from a pair of trips inside the Queen's two-yard line.

Another highlight was that Queen's TV commentators Bill Miklas and Don Lewis were completely attuned to the sudden turn of events. That said, Miklas, who's called Gaels games since the 1980s, proclaimed it the "freakiest play" he had ever described.

So many elements had to fall into place for that play to happen. First, the blocked kick ricocheting upward and floating down to Gazendam. Secondly, Queen's had to have a holder whose skill set includes punting. Thirdly, the cover team had to react like it was a normal punting situation.

Looks like Queen's footballers have more sense than some of the past homecoming weekend partiers whose boorish behaviour led to the university shelving its fall homecoming for several years before reviving it.

(Special thanks: Jamie Howieson, Chad Leitch, Shawn MacDonald.)

Neate Sager is a writer for Yahoo! Canada Sports. Follow him on Twitter @neatebuzzthenet. Please address any questions, comments or concerns to btnblog@yahoo.ca (videos: Lot59 Productions, Queen's TV).