RECAP: Ottawa defeats McMaster, clinching playoff spot

The Gee-Gees football team defeated the McMaster Marauders 23-9 on Saturday afternoon at TD Place, improving their 2023 record to 4-3 heading into a pivotal final regular season matchup at Queen's.

Ottawa wasted no time scoring, finding the end zone on a 15-yard Amlicar Polk carry, after breaking off a big run to set his team up in scoring position.

The Gee-Gees quickly began to win the field positioning battle, kickstarted by the defence getting pressure into the Marauder backfield. McMaster conceded two safeties backed up deep into their own end. 

Eventually, McMaster added two field goals to cut the lead to 11-6 at halftime. Ottawa later broke the game open on a Riley Hildebrandt 30-yard interception return for a touchdown in the third quarter.

The Gee-Gees eventually added four more points on McMaster conceded safeties, before the Marauders added a final field goal in the fourth quarter to close the day's scoring. 

Ottawa quarterback Josh Janssen finished with 261 yards and an interception, while Amlicar Polk led rushers with 49 yards, despite only carrying the ball three times before exiting the game due to injury. Kerwin Guiste led all Gee-Gees receivers with 62 yards. 

Defensively, Kevin Anderson logged an outstanding performance finishing with four solo tackles, two sacks for a loss of 18 total yards, three tackles for loss, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery. Emmanuel Aboagye-Gyan led all Gee-Gees defenders with 5.5 total tackles.

Up next, Ottawa will travel to face a rival in the Queen's Gaels at their Homecoming celebration. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. from Richardson Memorial Stadium in Kingston. 

With the win over McMaster, the Gee-Gee have clinched an OUA playoff spot, early indications look like Ottawa may face Queen's twice in two weeks, teeing up an important first look at the matchup on Saturday.