Battle of the birds: Marauders and Golden Hawks square-off in OUA football playoffs

The playoffs are finally upon us.

The McMaster football team will start its 2015 run with a Saturday afternoon home game against Wilfrid Laurier University.

The third-place Marauders are playing the sixth-place Golden Hawks for the second time in three weeks, but it’s their first playoff clash since 2008.

It could be a high-scoring affair. McMaster finished the regular season as the second-leading scorer in the OUA, putting just over 44 points per game on the board. Laurier has also had some offensive success in 2015, earning 32.6 points per game.

Outstanding performers will be featured from both squads. McMaster quarterback Asher Hastings emerged as one of the most prolific passers in Canada this season, while Laurier tailback Dillon Campbell led the nation in rushing with 1,115 yards.

Both teams have also found great success in the redzone, with the Marauders scoring points on 90 per cent of their trips inside the 20-yard line. The Golden Hawks were successful 85 per cent of the time they entered the scoring zone.

Defensively, the Marauders gave up the fewest number of yards (both passing and rushing), while Laurier ranked fourth in fewest yards allowed. In points allowed the teams are close as McMaster gave up 26.4 per game, and Laurier 27.3.

Seats are still available for the OUA playoff game. They can be purchased online at marauders.ca or at the Ron Joyce Stadium Box Office on the day of the game.

Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 31 at Ron Joyce Stadium.

Game notes — McMaster vs. Laurier: 

• Last matchup: Laurier hosted the Marauders on Oct. 17 in conference play, and jumped out to a quick 14-0 lead before McMaster came back to capture a 30-21 victory.
• Last game: The Marauders (6-2) ended the OUA season on a losing note, dropping a 46-24 decision to Western. Laurier (4-4) came up with a great effort to beat Queen’s 49-26 at the Gael’s Homecoming to secure a playoff spot.
• Streak: McMaster has won the last six regular season games versus WLU, with the Hawks’ last victory over McMaster coming in the 2009 season by a score of 30-14.
• History: Since 1971, Laurier leads the head-to-head OUA match-up with McMaster, having won 31 games and losing 13, with one tie in 1982.
• Playoffs: McMaster and Laurier have met eight times in the post-season, with Laurier winning five games and McMaster winning three. The last time the two teams met in the playoffs was in 2008, with Laurier winning 29-0.
• Stakes: The winner of this game will advance to the OUA semi-finals next week.  A McMaster victory sends the Marauders to Guelph to face the second-place Gryphons, while a win by Laurier would see the Hawks head to London to play first-place Western.
• CIS leaders: McMaster QB Asher Hastings led the country with 31 touchdown passes, setting a CIS record, and he was second in completion percentage (71.5 per cent). Dan Petermann was the leading pass receiver in CIS football with 61 catches, while Danny Vandervoort led the CIS with 11 TD receptions in 2015. For Laurier, tailback Dillon Campbell was the leading rusher in CIS for the second straight season with 1,115 yards along the ground.
• Record watch: Asher Hastings threw two touchdown passes versus Western to give him 31, breaking the CIS single season record for TD passes set by Chris Flynn of SMU in 1989.
• Record watch 2: Danny Vandervoort’s 11 TD catches in 2015 is McMaster’s single-season TD reception record, previously held by Mike Bradwell in 2007. Vandervoort’s three-year total of 24 touchdown catches is a McMaster record.
• Record watch 3: Dan Petermann finished the year with 61 receptions, which is a new single season McMaster record, surpassing the old record of 53, also previously held by Mike Bradwell.

Modern dynasty: 

The McMaster Marauders have appeared in three of the last four Vanier Cup national championship games.

The Marauders earned their first Vanier Cup in 2011 in a thrilling double-overtime victory over Université Laval in Vancouver. An instant classic, the game became the focus of a TSN documentary, Best Game Ever, which explored McMaster’s remarkable 2011 campaign.

They returned to the national final in 2012, falling to Laval in a hard-fought rematch game at Rogers Centre in Toronto.

The team came within a whisker of winning the 2014 Vanier Cup, losing to the Université de Montréal Carabins by one point following a blocked McMaster field goal.