McMaster Football returns to compete for the Yates Cup
- Bennett Swan
- 06 Nov 2019
Though much of the football talk in Hamilton has been centring around the dominant season of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, the McMaster Marauder football program has been having itself quite a dominant year as well.
The Marauders beat the 2018 Yates Cup finalist Guelph Gryphons 19-9 on Saturday afternoon to send themselves to the Yates Cup for the first time since 2014. The win featured a balanced contribution from all three units: the offence, defence and special teams.
Quarterback Andreas Dueck continued his MVP candidacy with 216 yards passing and one touchdown, as well as helping out on the ground with 89 yards rushing and a rushing touchdown.
The defense, which has been nothing short of championship caliber all season, continued their trend with two interceptions, two forced fumbles, and five sacks; all while holding Guelph to just 242 yards of total offence. Meanwhile, kicker Adam Preocanin chipped in with a 31-yard field goal and 2 extra point conversions.
This win over Guelph will send them to the Yates Cup against the back-to-back reigning champions, Western Mustangs.
This season has already been quite impressive, but it’s even more impressive when you look at where the program was just one year ago.
McMaster football’s 2018 season was what some would call disappointing. With a 5-3 regular season record and a first round playoff exit, the Marauders looked to shake things up. After the season, the Marauders brought back former Head Coach Stef Ptaszek.
Coach Ptaszek was at the head of the Marauders coaching staff during their first Vanier Cup win in 2011. He holds the USPORTS record for longest win streak at 21 games.
He returned to the Marauders after their 2018 season to bring back the culture that he initially instilled in that program when he first joined in 2006.
There was never a question that the Marauders didn’t have tremendous talent on their roster. With Stef’s return, it’s clear that he found ways the use their personnel. McMaster will compete in the 112th Yates Cup this Saturday November 9th at 1 pm at TD Stadium in London, Ontario.
Lead image courtesy of FansFrenzy.
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