Marauder win gives reason for optimism

Although the game against the York Lions on Sept. 15 was not exactly a blowout for the Marauders, does not mean that the squad should not look optimistically towards the hope of a potential playoff spot.

Being tied in the rankings with York, McMaster had a lot to prove this past weekend. The Marauders would have to try to prove themselves without two of their top talents.

With both Matt Sewell and Joey Cupido not dressing for Saturday’s game once again for the Marauders, it was important for the team to prioritize in order to pull out a win.

After a crushing loss against the visiting Western Mustangs over a week ago the Marauders knew what they had to do to bounce back this week.

“We really wanted to focus on establishing the run game really early,” said Danny Vandervoort, who had a break-out game for the maroon contingent, scoring three touchdowns in Saturday’s game.

For the first time all season, McMaster was able to put up respectable numbers on the ground. Kasean Davis-Reynolds ran for 123 yards while Jimmy Hill chipped in 47 yards.

The squad viewed this game as a regrouping opportunity after being man-handled by the Western Mustangs.

“We really wanted to bounce back after last week, we took a big hit and we just wanted to get the ball rolling,” Vandervoort said.

“We knew York was a good team and wanted to show everyone that we were a top-10 team once again.”

Following the Yates Cup rematch against the University of Guelph Gryphons, Mac will get a much-needed bye week where they can take the time to improve the future of their season.

Mac’s good fortune does not stop there.

Not only is a solid strategizing period ahead for the team, but also their next three opponents hold the bottom three spots in the OUA rankings.

The road to the playoffs is looking pretty favorable for the Marauders at the moment.

McMaster also has every reason to be optimistic as the development of their players on a weekly basis continues to soar.

QB Marshall Ferguson is ranked third in the OUA and is averaging close to 350 yards and three touch downs per game.

With the hopes of a healthy roster and continued player improvement, the Gryphons contest set for this Sat Sept. 21 will be the ultimate test for the Marauders.