On Nov. 9, the McMaster Marauders beat the Western Mustangs 29-15. This marks the eighth Yates Cup win in school history and will hopefully lead to the fifth Vanier Cup appearance for McMaster, although the Marauders will have to get through the University of Calgary Dinos first.
Although it was a big win for the school, we wish a speedy and full recovery for Mustangs’ quarterback Chris Merchant, who left the game in the second quarter with an ankle injury. Merchant was the league’s Most Valuable Player this year and had a phenomenal season leading Western to an undefeated regular season.
The game was won in old school football fashion, with a strong run game and even better defensive play. With 37 rushing attempts for 123 yards, the Marauders were able to dominate time of possession at 34 minutes and 30 seconds out of a total game time of 60 minutes. In addition to their successful run game, the team upheld the old saying “defence wins championships”. The Marauders’ defence held Western’s high flying offence to just nine yards in the second quarter. The Marauders also had two safeties, six sacks, two recovered fumbles, two interceptions and a blocked punt.
In addition to their successful run game, the team upheld the old saying “defence wins championships”. The Marauders’ defence held Western’s high flying offence to just nine yards in the second quarter. The Marauders also had two safeties, six sacks, two recovered fumbles, two interceptions and a blocked punt.
Stunning stat at the #YatesCup: @WesternMustangs had 9 yards of offence in the second quarter. #HamOnt #OUA @McMasterSports
— Scott Radley (@radleyatthespec) November 9, 2019
No game can be perfect. In particular, the Marauders had three turnovers in the first quarter. Retaining possession of the ball will be a key factor in the Mitchell Bowl, the game they play this Saturday Nov. 16 which is the precursor to the Vanier Cup, where they play the Calgary Dinos. The Marauders won’t be able to get away with that many turnovers in one quarter on the higher stage. Calgary’s defence has been a force all season and they held the University of Saskatchewan Huskies to just four points in the Hardy Cup, the final game of the Canada West division.
The University of Calgary will undoubtedly be a tough opponent, as they boast an undefeated home record this season. The game will be played at McMahon Stadium, on the Dinos’ home turf. The odds are certainly stacked against us as no Ontario University Athletics team has won a bowl game out West since 1968.
The odds are certainly stacked against us as no Ontario University Athletics team has won a bowl game out West since 1968.
If the maroon and grey beat the Dinos, then it will mark their first Vanier Cup appearance since 2014, where they lost by only one point to the University of Montreal Carabins. If the Marauders win against Calgary, then they will play the winners of the Uteck Bowl, which will be either the University of Acadia Axemen or the University of Montreal Carabins. The Uteck Bowl and Mitchell Bowl are essentially the semi-finals leading up to the Vanier Cup, where the top teams from the different conferences will take turns hosting and visiting.
The Marauders have prospered under head coach Stefan Ptaszek. He has been the head coach for the team in their past three out of four Vanier Cup appearances. In other words, Ptaszek has been influential in three-quarters of the Marauders’ Vanier Cup appearances. Not only is Ptaszek a prolific coach, but he was also an outstanding player. Ptaszek remains the current all-time leader in receiving yards for the University of Laurier Golden Hawks and played in the Canadian National Football league from 1995-2000, as a player, and from 2016-2017 as an offensive coordinator and receivers coach.
On Nov. 16 we play the Dinos for a Vanier Cup bid, where two of the best defences in Canada will battle for a place in the history books.
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Things have been going very well for the McMaster women’s basketball team and they have no plans to slow down. Currently in first place in the Ontario University Athletics West with a 12-2 record, and the worst arguably behind them, another trip to the University Sports national finals looks on the horizon. But this time, senior guard Hilary Hanaka and the Marauders aim to leave with a medal.
“Once you get that taste on court playing against the best teams in Canada, it only makes you hungrier for more,” said Hanaka. “You know that you're there and you can compete, but I think just being on that playing field for the first time there was a lot of nerves going into it. I think we didn't play quite to our full potential.”
Although the Marauders faced teams like the McGill University Martlets, who they have seen before in exhibition play, the games against teams like the University of Calgary Dinos, who play a much grittier style than Hanaka and the Marauders were used to, caught them off guard. But Hanaka believes that having been there before, in addition to having such a tough OUA season this year and playing against highly skilled Ontario teams, will help the Mac women get to that top level to compete at Nationals.
“Knowing that we got there is a huge step in our team success,” Hanaka said. “Of course, our ultimate goal was getting to Nationals and getting a medal would have been a bonus, but I think for a young team with lots of changes, that was a huge stepping stone for us. So right now we are just making sure we have an opportunity to get back there to prove that we deserve to be there and that we can do better than we did last year.”
So far ensuring that OUA playoff spot has been going well for the Marauders. Even with the loss of key veterans like Lexie Spadafora, Jelena Mamic and Adrienne Peters, Mac does not appear to have missed a beat. One of the reasons is the addition of Christina Buttenham, a Hamilton native and transfer from the University of Iowa, where she played from 2014 to 2017.
“It's always tough to lose senior players. With their experience on and off the court, it’s obviously a huge loss for us,” said Hanaka. “But I think gaining players like Christina, who's been in high-level basketball for years, is something that is huge. She stepped right in and already fills a leadership role on the team.”
Not only does Buttenham have National Collegiate Athletic Association experience, but she also played for the Canadian Junior National team in 2014, and was named an Academic All-Big Ten selection as a junior and as a sophomore while at Iowa.
Buttenham has already been such a great addition for the team helping defensively, averaging 5.4 rebounds a game and having the fourth highest points per game average on the team, with 9.9. The help has been able to give Hanaka the opportunity to have big games like she did this past weekend against the University of Guelph Gryphons.
With a game-high of 28 points, shooting an astounding 62.5 per cent from the field and 72.7 per cent from the three-point line, Hanaka led the team to defeat the Gryphons 109-80 on the road.
🏀 FINAL: Hilary Hanaka drops 28 on the road, as @MacWbball blows past the Gryphons 109-80 to improve to 11-2 on the season.@mcmasteru returns home to Burridge Gym tomorrow! #GoMacGo pic.twitter.com/pEXrId3YnT
— McMaster Marauders (@McMasterSports) January 12, 2019
“Getting back into things after the holiday break is never easy, so just going back into these last two games I've been on myself to make sure I've been coming out with that fire,” said Hanaka. “Of course, once you start hitting those first couples of shots and my teammates are cheering for me on the bench and making great passes, it just makes it so much fun to play with them and to do well.”
Guelph was one of two wins this past weekend, the second came against the Wilfrid Laurier University Golden Hawks, who they defeated 59-43 to earn their sixth straight win. Having already played their most personal game this season against the reigning OUA champs the Carleton University Ravens, defeating them 64-52 in November, the worst is over and focusing on staying on top is the Marauders’ top priority.
“Just knowing that our end goal is to get that national championship helps us take every game as it comes and to not overthink them,” said Hanaka. “Another focus has been trying to remembering to take no game for granted, because there has been a lot of upsets in the OUA this year and we don't want one of those to be us.”
With the Marauders’ next two games coming against the Lakehead University Thunderwolves this weekend, they will be making sure they go into every practice seriously so that they are focused come game time, regardless of who is wearing the opposite jersey. This is the mindset the Marauders plan to have until the last buzzer goes off for the season.
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