No more Blues for Ottawa - football wins 41-25

The Ottawa Gee-Gees football team is back in the win column following a 41-25 day at the University of Toronto. The win pushes Ottawa's record to 3-2 on the season, while Toronto falls to 1-4.

Ottawa's special teams unit shone in Toronto; rookie defensive back Jackson Bennett staked Ottawa to an immediate lead by returning the opening kickoff 101 yards for a score. Later, the Gee-Gees would add a blocked punt courtesy of Greg Cherniak and Samuel Rupcic, which put them on the Toronto four yard line. Derek Wendel punched in the touchdown on a third-and-one push, giving Ottawa the largest lead of the day at 38-13 midway through the third quarter.

It was a big day on the ground for Ottawa, led by 105 yards from Bryce Vieira on twelve carries, all in the first half. Wendel added 51 yards of his own as part of the 259 yard total for the garnet and grey. Toronto also cracked the 200-yard marker, picking up 226 yards on the ground.

The difference was the passing, as Wendel racked up 334 yards for his third 300-plus yard performance of the season. Ben Fisher led the receiving corps with a couple of big catches, including a 24-yard reception for Ottawa's third touchdown of the day. Fisher finished with 138 yards on the day.

It was all Ottawa in the opening quarter, as Lewis Ward tacked on a 21-yard field goal and Vieira scored his first major as a Gee-Gee on a 27-yard run to close out the first with Ottawa ahead 17-0.

Toronto pushed back in the third quarter, posting 13 straight points to bring the game within two scores, but the Ottawa defence kept the home side to field goals for their final two scores, protecting the lead.

Nick Lecour led the Gee-Gees with 15 total tackles on the day, and Ettore Lattanzio recorded his seventh sack of the season.

"My concern was how well they would bounce back from a game like last week, because that was heartbreaking," Gee-Gees coach Jamie Barresi said in an interview with the Ottawa Citizen.

"I had to make sure that we put that behind us. Our guys did a good job of that and focused on what was ahead of them. They worked hard during the week, and had some good practices Wednesday and Thursday, and I was pleased that we were able to bounce back and not give in to all the stuff that surrounds a tough loss."

Ottawa will return home to host the Waterloo Warriors (0-5) on Saturday, October 4.