Queen's, Ottawa set for critical back-to-back clashes ahead of OUA football playoffs

The path to a national championship for every contending U Sports football team in Canada will ultimately run through Richardson Memorial Stadium when Queen's University hosts the Vanier Cup on Nov. 25.

But for the host Gaels and University of Ottawa Gee-Gees, the Kingston, Ont., stadium will act as an important battleground on Saturday for each team's post-season seeding and the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) playoff picture as a whole.

Locked in a tie for fourth-place in the OUA with identical 4-3 records, the winner of Saturday's clash — to be streamed live at 1 p.m. ET on CBC Sports' YouTube channel — will secure the opportunity to host a quarterfinal playoff match against the losing team from Saturday's regular-season finale.

While Queen's head coach Steve Snyder isn't willing to tip his hand about potentially saving plays for his team's first playoff game in his fourth season behind the bench, the concept of facing the same opponent multiple times in quick succession isn't foreign to him having spent three seasons as offensive coordinator for the St. Francis Xavier X-Men in Antigonish, N.S.

"It's something I'm familiar with from my time in the AUS [Atlantic University Sport], having back-to-back opponents and just having those matchups stack up on you three to four times a year," Snyder said. "It's not unchartered territory, but it's a really unique challenge, especially when you're facing a quality team like Ottawa."

The recent history between the two teams favours Saturday's home squad, with Queen's winning all four contests since Marcel Bellefeuille took over in 2020 for his second stint as head coach of the Gee-Gees.

The 2000 Vanier Cup winner with Ottawa was not afforded the benefit of home field in either last year's 35-13 OUA semifinal loss to Queen's or the 32-15 OUA East Final loss the year before — an outcome the Gee-Gees will look to flip on Saturday.

The benefit of stealing home field advantage isn't lost on fifth-year Ottawa linebacker Emmanuel Aboagye-Gyan, whose fumble recovery touchdown helped propel the Gee-Gees over the Windsor Lancers in the 2022 OUA quarterfinals — the last playoff game Ottawa hosted.

As an added incentive, there's also an opportunity to spoil Queen's homecoming weekend in the regular-season finale.

"It's fun, you know, being able to go to someone's homecoming and hopefully ruin their party," Aboagye-Gyan said. "We're looking forward to that ... Being able to win and come back home and make them travel here, [it would give us the] upper hand. We kind of look at it as a good opportunity to shock everyone that doubts us."

Ottawa Gee-Gees' Emannuel Aboagye-Gyan (8) leads his teammates in the huddle before a game. (Greg Kolz/uOttawa Gee-Gees)

Strength on strength

Aboagye-Gyan and Winnipeg Blue Bombers draft pick Max Charbonneau headline a unit that, despite graduating current Ottawa RedBlacks linebacker James Peter last year, form the identity of the Gee-Gees' defence.

And that identity will be tested in the form of fifth-year Queen's running back Jared Chisari, who has taken his game to another level in the second half of the season in the wake of an injury to starting quarterback Alex Vreeken, who has since been replaced by second-year Russell Weir.

The leading rusher in U Sports with 1,082 yards has eclipsed 200 yards on the ground in three straight wins against York (286), Carleton (231) and Guelph (229).

"Jared is a really balanced back with deceptive speed," Snyder said. "He can run when he gets out into the open field, and he's got good vision and the ability to make a cut on a second-level defender.

"[Ottawa's linebackers] are well-coached … they play really aggressive and read [plays] really well. They can diagnose what's happening and hit it really fast."

On the other side of the ball, Ottawa is dealing with an injury to star running back Amilcar Polk, who accumulated 824 yards and seven touchdowns this season before suffering a lower-body injury in the first quarter of Ottawa's 23-9 win over McMaster on Saturday.

While Polk's availability for this upcoming Saturday is unknown, the Gee-Gees will continue to turn to second-year quarterback Josh Janssen for his fifth straight game after starter Ben Maracle was ruled out in August with a season-ending knee injury.

Helping acclimate Janssen to the lineup has been third-year wide receiver Nicholas Gendron, who leads the team with 28 catches, 502 yards and two touchdowns.

The dynamic wide-out has a penchant for delivering in big games, leading his team with six catches, 146 yards and a touchdown in Ottawa's loss to Queen's in last year's playoffs, as well as posting 121 and 211 yards in each of the last two Panda Games, respectively, against Carleton.

The next two games will provide Gendron with the stage to perform, with Queen's countering with a fantastic group of defensive backs — spearheaded by Ashton Miller-Melancon — that have held their opponents to the sixth fewest passing yards per game across the country.

Nicholas Gendron (80) leads the Gee-Gees in receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns this season. (Emir Atli/@archivemir via the uOttawa Gee-Gees)

"You don't want to have the crowd influence your game, but I'd be lying if I were to say that having... that energy on the field isn't a unique feeling," Gendron said. "I think the Queen's defence is well-coached and disciplined. They play zone coverage fairly well, so when we get that man coverage, that's usually when we make big plays."

The two squads will get even more well acquainted over the next two weeks before one will emerge victorious to resume its path to the Yates Cup, and then potentially the Vanier Cup.

Around the U Sports world:

• Western and Laurier remain as the only undefeated football teams in the OUA, with the winner of their regular-season finale Saturday earning a bye to the semifinals. Montreal and StFX also sit at 7-0 to lead the Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ) and AUS, respectively.

• The University of British Columbia women's rugby team capped off a perfect season in the Canada West (CW) conference on Saturday with a 29-7 win over the University of Victoria, joining Queen's (OUA) and Laval (RSEQ) as favourites in their respective conferences heading into the playoffs and championship season.

• University of Saskatchewan alumni Courtney Hufsmith won the women's five-kilometre event at the TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon on Sunday, finishing with a time of 16 minutes, 37 seconds.