Ali Ibrahim
LANCE WRITER


Windsor fell to the Queen’s Gaels 24-7 in their final regular season home game.

The Gaels’ offence looked to run the ball right from the start. Gaels’ running back Jesse Andrews went on a massive 29-yard run to the Windsor 32, which resulted in a Dillion Wamsley field goal and a 3-0 Queen’s lead.

On the next drive, Ryan Granberg nearly broke free into the open field, but a last ditch tackle by Lancer Dave Mcduffie denied Queen’s what looked like a sure seven points.

The Lancers continued to struggle on both sides of the ball; the offence was not able to get anything going on the night. After a penalty pushed them back to their own 12, Austin Kennedy was sacked for a loss of six yards. Deep in their own territory, the Lancers were forced to concede a safety. Giving the Gaels a 5-0 lead with three minutes left in the quarter.

Kennedy, pressured heavily by the Gaels’ defense, was sacked for the third time that quarter.
In the second quarter, the Lancers had a chance to take the game to the Gaels after an interception by Frank Renaud, but Kennedy was unable to connect on any of his passes and the Lancers had to punt the ball back to the Gaels.

Granberg continued to have a great offensive night, carrying the ball five times from the Queen’s 31 to Windsor’s 11; which was highlighted by a 39-yard run after breaking through several tackles to take the ball into Lancers territory.

However, the Gaels were unable to a get a touchdown from a great position and had to settle for another field goal to put them up by eight points.

It was clear that the Gaels’ game plan was to run and, at halftime, Granberg led the way with 173 yards on 17 carries. On the other end, the Gaels’ defense never let the Lancers get into rhythm and they were able to get to Kennedy seven times in the half. The Lancers were not out of the game yet and still had another half to turn the game around.

The Lancers did not get off to the best of starts in the second half and found themselves down by 15. Gael’s quarterback Ryan Mitchell floated a ball into the end zone to a wide open Giovanni Aprile for a touchdown.
Kennedy did have some success running and carried the ball within kicking distance, but a missed field goal saw Aprile return the ball for an incredible 87 yards. In a run that started deep in the Gaels’ end zone, Aprile blew by the Lancers’ defense. He was stopped by an Lancer defensive back Akeem Whonder, the last man standing between Aprile and the end zone.

The Lancers’ defense continued strong throughout the game. Brad Adams came up with a huge sack on Gael’s QB Billy McPhee that pushed the Gaels back nine yards and out of field goal territory.

The Lancers headed into the final quarter down by 15. They had a chance to get back into it, but once again they would concede an early touchdown in the fourth quarter.

The Gaels were quick off the snap, and when a McPhee pass found Chapdelaine in the middle of the field, the receiver ran the ball in 47 yards for a touchdown. The Lancers found themselves down by 22 in the fourth, but there was still time on the clock.

The Lancers’ offence quickly responded and scored a touchdown on the very next drive with Kennedy passing 28 yards to Evan Pszczonak open in the end zone. The Lancers’s offence seemed like it had come to life and the crowd did as well.

Momentum had begun to shift. However, in an unfortunate turn of events, some confusion followed a Lancers’ forced fumble. After a few seconds of discussion, the officials decided that the ball was recovered by the Gaels. Lancer Whonder was animated after hearing the call. It was a moment that could have changed the game.

In an odd series of events, the Queen’s Gaels suffered a time clock violation that pushed them out of field goal territory. After the preceding punt was dropped by Austin Crumb, the Lancers had to start off on their own one-yard line. A holding penalty was called on the Lancers on the following play, which resulted in a safety and the Gaels adding two more points.

The Gaels could have added another touchdown to the score but the Lancers’ defense came up huge again. A forced fumble insured that the Gaels were only going home with a 17-point victory.

The Lancers (3-3) now turn their attention next week to opponents McMaster who are currently first in the conference and ranked sixth in the CIS.