A second-half surge led Western past Carleton. (Valerie Wutti/Carleton Athletics Photo)
The first week of the university football season did not disappoint, with nine games playing out across eastern and central Canada.
Defending Vanier Cup champion Western started its title defence with a nail-biting 26-23 overtime win on the road in Ottawa against Carleton, while Laval — last year’s national runner-up — began its 2018 campaign with a defensive master class in a 14-1 win at Sherbrooke.
Play began in three of the country’s four conferences: AUS (Atlantic), RSEQ (Quebec) and OUA (Ontario).
#UniversityBlitz Marquee Matchups
Saint Mary’s 20, St. FX 13
SMU kicker Brian Hope’s 14-point day — four field goals, one convert and a rouge — proved the difference as the Huskies downed visiting St. FX 20-13 in the 2018 U SPORTS season opener.
Freshman SMU (1-0) running back Jonathan Cimankinda racked up 105 rush yards in his college debut, while Huskies quarterback Kaleb Scott picked up the win despite throwing three interceptions.
St. FX’s Gordon Whyte registered a game-high 9.5 tackles in the loss for the X-Men (0-1).
Laval battled to a 14-1 win on the road Sherbrooke in Week 1. (Yves Longpré/Sherbrooke Vert et Or photo)
Laval 14, Sherbrooke 1
The perennial powerhouse Rouge et Or began their season with an odd 14-1 win in Sherbrooke.
Vincent Breton-Robert’s 72-yard punt-return touchdown was the lone major of the evening as Laval (1-0) essentially shut out the Vert et Or (0-1) in a defensive battle.
Neither team scored a point in the second half, and both squads were held under 250 total yards of offence (Laval: 221, Sherbrooke: 235).
Western 26, Carleton 23 (OT)
The reigning champs began terribly in the nation’s capital, heading into halftime trailing the Ravens 20-3 before storming back in the second half to take a 23-20 lead.
Carleton (0-1) kicker Michael Domagala hit a late 50-yard field goal to force overtime, but once there the Mustangs (1-0) booted a Marc Liegghio field goal then picked off Ravens quarterback Michael Arruda to secure the win.
Western running back Cedric Joseph collected 102 yards on the ground in the victory.
McMaster 16, Guelph 15
A fourth-quarter touchdown from sophomore quarterback Jackson White to Michael Bazzo stood as the deciding play as McMaster opened the 2018 season with a 16-15 win over the visiting Guelph Gryphons.
The Marauders (1-0) stumbled to an 11-0 deficit out of the gate against Guelph (0-1), but the trio of White (241 pass yards), Jordan Lyons (132 all-purpose yards) and Tyson Middlemost (94 receiving yards) led the hosts to victory.
‘Mac’ earned the win in front of a raucous sell-out crowd of 5,427 at Ron Joyce Stadium.
McMaster has gone 6-2 in each of the last three seasons, but failed to progress past the OUA semi-final. (Rich Zazulak/McMaster Athletics photo)
Other Scores
McGill 0, Montreal 33
Bishop’s 22, Mt. Allison 36
Ottawa 21, Wilfrid Laurier 39
Queen’s 42, York 21
Windsor 37, Waterloo 53
Thermometer
Hot: The Laurier Golden Hawks have gone 13-3 the last two years, yes. But Sunday’s 39-21 win over uOttawa was a confident performance, and this team has all the offensive weapons — think Kurleigh Gittens Jr., Levondre Gordon, etc. — to do big things in 2018.
🏈 – Gordon doubles up with his 2nd TD of the game and 16th of his Golden Hawk moving him into a tie for 6th all-time in team history! #WeAreHAWKS #OTTvsWLU pic.twitter.com/LJsIcMxdEh
— Laurier Golden Hawks (@WLUAthletics) August 26, 2018
Cold: The Western Mustangs did not impress anybody in Week 1 against a Carleton team that went 3-5 last season. Granted, Greg Marshall’s UWO squad did not play a pre-season game — but being down 20-3 on the road against a Ravens team that will be in a battle to make the playoffs is not the Western we’re used to seeing.
Check back on Friday morning for #UniversityBlitz and a Week 2 preview.
