Football playoff run begins

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The No. 6 McMaster Marauders concluded their 2015 regular season with a 46-24 loss to the No. 2 Western Mustangs at Ron Joyce Stadium last Saturday. McMaster finished 6-2 with wins over Toronto, Ottawa, York, Windsor, Waterloo, and Laurier. The Marauders’ only two losses came at the hands of Guelph and Western.

This season was one that saw multiple Marauders break records. Second-year quarterback Asher Hastings broke the school record, the OUA record and the CIS record for touchdown passes in a season. Hastings ended the season completing 203/284 passes (71.5 percent completion rate) for 2,586 yards, and 31 touchdown passes to just five interceptions. Second-year wide receiver Dan Petermann broke the school record for most receptions in a season hauling in 61 balls for 831 yards and nine touchdowns. Third-year wide receiver Danny Vandervoort broke the school record for most touchdown receptions in a season with 11. These milestones are just a testament to the potency of McMaster’s offense.

On the defensive side of the ball, McMaster forced ten turnovers this year (nine interceptions and one forced fumble) and had one defensive touchdown. The nine interceptions ranked sixth in the OUA and this is impressive considering the Marauders secondary was relatively young in comparison to previous units Mac has fielded in the past. Moving closer to the trenches, McMaster’s front seven showed their ability to wreak havoc up front posting 27 sacks on the season, which was good for second in the OUA. Second-year linebacker Jake Heathcote picked off opposing quarterbacks four times giving him the second-best interception total in the CIS only behind Calgary’s Robert Woodson and Waterloo’s Jordan Hoover who have five interceptions each. Fourth year defensive lineman Mike Kashak was responsible for almost a third of McMaster’s total sacks with 8.5 sacks on the year, which is second in the CIS.

In the latest CIS Top 10 poll McMaster kept their No. 6 spot and secured the No. 3 seed in the OUA. The OUA playoff picture begins with a Halloween afternoon tilt between No. 3 McMaster and No. 6 Laurier. In their meeting just two weeks ago at Laurier, McMaster won 30-21.

The OUA quarterfinal game takes place on Oct. 31 at 1 p.m. at Ron Joyce Stadium.

Photo Credit: Daniel Higgins

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