1980 Dunsmore Cup and Atlantic Bowl Champions
Ottawa team stats | OQIFC conference stats
RECAP: Gee-Gees take title on late TD
University of Ottawa's "elastic" defence and the quarterbacking duo of Yvan Granger and Rick Zmich came through once again Sunday by powering the Gee-Gees to the Atlantic Bowl with a frigid 13-12 win over Queen's Golden Gaels at Lansdowne Park.
Gee-Gees will meet either St. Mary's or Acadia in the national semi-final Nov. 22 in Halifax after their triumph before about 650 fans, many of them purple-painted from Queen's.
"It was like a skating rink out there," said Zmich, who hit wide receiver Don Burns with less than eight minutes remaining on a 47-yard scoring play that decided the Ontario-Quebec Intercollegiate Football Conference title. Burns accounted for 155 yards of Ottawa's 359 yards total offence. Gee-Gees rushed the ball for only 92 yards.
The defending conference champions from Kingston pounded out 233 yards on the groud Sunday and added 119 in the air while maintaining better field position mores of the way.
"We've been using a three-man front a lot, and the point of it is to be elastic," said Ottawa defensive coordinator Jim Clark. Gee-Gees went to a four-man formation to stop Queen's ground game, drawing from a sophisticated defensive arsenal including seven different coverages and 15 stunts.
Gaels' running backs Larry Mohr, Bob Bronk and Greg Baun drove for 95, 76, and 59 yards respectively, but Gee-Gees held them when they had to.
Ottawan Gary Schreider, Jr. missed 17 and 27-yard field goal attempts in the first quarter for single points and Ottawa's Andy Katz succeeded from the 14 to give Gee-Gees a 3-2 half-time lead.
A Mohr fumble and 30-yard pass from Granger to Burns moved Gee-Gees to the Queen's two but Mike Giftopoulos was frustrated on two one-yard dives before the clock ran out.
Giftopoulos was Gee-Gees' leading rusher with 54 yards on 14 carries.
Granger's mobility on the slick field was the deciding factor in Gee-Gees' head coach Cam Innes decision to start him over Zmich, a league all-star.
Granger showed poise, completing nine of 20 passes for 183 yards, and gave way to Zmich with about 11 minutes left in the game.
Schreider missed his third field goal attempt, a dead-centre 14-yarder, to tie the score 3-3 in the third quarter. Queen's quarterback Bob Wright (eight of 18 for 199 yards) connected with wide receiver John Corrigan on a 40-yarder and Schreider converted to move the Gaels ahead, 10-3.
Katz, who consistently punted Gee-Gees out of trouble, blasted a 55-yard single and Queen's conceded a safety touch with nine minutes left as the margin narrowed to 10-6. Katz was forced to punt 15 times and averaged a respectable 36 yards a kick.
With eight minutes left in the game, Katz recovered a fumble on a Queen's punt return. That set up Burns' major on an out-and-up pattern that left him all alone trotting into the endzone.
Gaels mounted a drive to the Gee-Gees 15-yard line with fine minutes left but defensive back Mike Gallagher stalled it with his third interception of the game.
A dubious interference call against the Gee-Gees brought the ball back to Ottawa's 27, and with 36 seconds on the clock and again the Gee-Gee defence came up with a timely turnover. This time defensive end Jim Redfearn recovered a fumble to dash Gaels' hopes.
Zmich conceded a safety as time ran out.
"They ran the ball really well," Innes said as he savoured champagne in his dressing room.
Note: this article originally appeared in the Ottawa Citizen on November 10, 1980. It was written by Rick Mayoh.
SEMI-FINAL RECAP : Granger gets surprise start, pitches Gee-Gees to victory
The most astounding start of the college football season in the minds of Sandy Hill residents goes to quarterback Yvan Granger.
University of Ottawa head coach Cam Innes gave the ball to Granger and siad "go get'em" for his sudden-death Ontario-Quebec Interuniversity Football conference semi-final game against Bishop's.
Granger, who last towelled down after a win in 1975, directed Gee-Gees to all of their points as first-place U of O defeated fourth-place Bishop's University 22-10, as expected, Saturday afternoon at Lansdowne Park.
What wasn't expected - and didn't seem possible in the first quarter - was Granger's start and eventual success, despite Bishop's prowess moving the ball.
"The coaches told us at the start of the week, the one who looked the best in practice would start," said Granger, 24, a transfer student from University of Quebec at Trois-Rivières, who got the starting nod ahead of all-star Rick Zmich - the starter in every game over the past two years.
"It wasn't that Rick had a bad week, I thought we both were doing well in practice," said Granger. "I was nervous to start with, playing against the wind."
Granger was intercepted by Bishop's deep back and Bell graduate, Larry Ring, and then by linebacker Doug Bayley on his first two throws, finishing the first quarter 0-for-4.
Still, Bishop's could only muster three singles (35-and 23-yard missed field goal attempts by Bayley and a 33-yard punt by Andy Gates) against the elastic band U of O defence, which yielded 424 yards and a long major, but didn't let Bishop's scrimmage inside the 20-yard line.
On U of O's second possession of the second quarter, they were ahead to stay. Granger hit flanker Don Burns on a first-down play for 75 yards down the sidelines. Before the half, he had hit Burns again, this one over the middle for 36 yards to the one-yard line. Mike Giftopoulos scored on the short-yardage situation, as he did in the third quarter after Paul McLaughlin, a Hillcrest grad, caught a Granger pass and took it 29 yards to the five.
"It was sort of like throwing them a change up," said Innes. "The team we play next week will have to prepare for both quarterbacks."
Gee-Gees will host Queen's University, 23-21 winners over McGill University in Montreal, Sunday in a 1 p.m. start at Lansdowne.
"Rick is a better thrower than Yvan," said offensive coordinator Jim Colton, "but Yvan has the faster feet. The last time we played Bishop's they blotzed a lot and we felt Yvan could handle it better. But Zmich is our no. 1 quarterback."
For Granger, 7-for-15 and 162 yards on the day, it was his first college win and first win since 1975 in junior when his Verdun Maple Leafs eliminated Ottawa Sooners. After that he didn;t play for three years and last year quarterbacked winless UQTR.
Note: this article originally appeared in the Ottawa Citizen on November 3, 1980. It was written by Bob Elliott, Jr.
RECAP : Offensive line sparks Gee-Gees to Atlantic victory
University of Ottawa Gee-Gees rolled over Acadia Axemen 28-8 to win the Atlantic Bowl in Halifax Saturday by fielding a weapon the Axemen weren't looking for - their offensive line.
"Tackle to tackle, they just blew us out," said Acadia coach John Huard after the muddy confrontation at St. Mary's University's Huskie Stadium.
The Gee-Gees and University of Alberta Golden Bears collide for the national collegiate football championship in Saturday's College Bowl at Varsity Stadium in Toronto.
Tackles Dave Upton and Warner Miles, guards Julio Petrilli and Brent Walkker and centre Mike Reid tore gaping holes in the Acadia defence for running backs Mike Giftopoulos and Brock Bundy. Andy they made the most of them.
Giftopoulos, selected the game's most valuable player, rushed for 144 yards on 24 carries and Bundy added 92 more.
"When we needed to control the ball, we did, particularly in the second half," said Ottawa coach Cam Innes.
Rain and snow turned the field into a quagmire. "It was the worst field we've played on all year," Innes said.
But that didn't keep the Gee-Gees from methodically grinding out the yards to overcome Acadia's 8-4 halftime lead.
"We just kept running straight at them," said Ottawa offensive line Mike Balenko. "The line was getting off the ball really well."
Early in the game, the Axemen played the calibre of football that won them last year's College Bowl by defeating Alberta. Quarterback Steve Repic found tight end Don Clow with a 10-yard pass at 3:13 of the first quarter. Bruce Tufts converted and Acadia continued to work their options and short-passing game.
Axemen fullback Larry Priestnall, the country's leading college rusher, injured an ankle in the quarter and although he returned for the second half, his effectiveness was diminished. Ottawa's defence held him to 25 yards on eight carries.
Gee-Gees' Andy Katz picked up a point on a missed field goal attempt and hit from 14 yards early in the second quarter, after a long drive directed by quarterback Rick Zmich from Ottawa's 22-yard line.
Acadia's phenomenal kicker Bruce Tufts drifted a long punt into the Ottawa end zone to complete the scoring in the first half.
Giftopoulos's onslaught geared up in the third quarter as he cuaght passes, blocked and got the tough yards when they were needed. He broke through a huge hole in the Acadia defence and ran 21 yards for a converted touchdown that gave Ottawa an 11-8 lead, then had a 10-yard pass-run major called back on a penalty in the fourth quarter. Katz salvaged the long drive with a 10-yard field goal.
Tufts helped the Axemen gain good field position with his punts, including a 65-yarder with the wind, but to no avail.
Bundy drove in from the one, and wide receiver Don Burns caught a 17-yard touchdown pass from Yvan Granger, who guided the club in the second half.
Note: this article originally appeared in the Ottawa Citizen on November 24, 1980. It was written by Canadian Press and Staff.
COLLEGE BOWL PREVIEW: Innes' spark leads Gee-Gees to Bowl
Although University of Ottawa Gee-Gees are underdogs in Saturday's College Bowl against No. 1-ranked University of Alberta Golden Bears, their appearance in the national football final at Toronto's Varsity Stadium is no accident.
Ottawa coach Cam Innes received the Frank Tindall Trophy as Canadian Interuniversities Athletic Association Coach of the Year at the Schenley-CIAU Awards banquet Thursday, a strong indication the fourth-ranked Gee-Gees belong in the championship game.
"I was really surprised," said Innes. "It's a great honour for me, particularly having played for Frank Tindall."
Innes was an All-Canadian centre at Queen's where Tindall compiled a 106-74-2 record in 29 years as head coach.
Now in his third year with the Gee-Gees, Innes coached St. Francis Xavier X-Men for five seasons and developed the reputation of getting the most out of his players.
His drive toward Saturday's game started in earnest last season. He guided his club to a 5-1 mark, then lost a playoff heartbreaker to McGill in overtime.
The Gee-Gees (9-1 with a Panda loss to Carleton) are at the height of their building cycle, and have gotten there by succesfully concentrating on one game at a time.
Nepean's Greg Clarke, University of New Brunswick quarterback, worked out with the players and coaches before training camp, and said even then, there was a fierce determination to go all the way.
Innes put together a highly competent coaching staff which includes a surprising number of former Gee-Gees - Jim Colton, Julian Hanlon, Hugh Gallagher and Conrad Kozak. Quarterback Jamie Barresi returned to camp as a player, and wound up an assistant coach.
Ottawa's defence was considered suspect early in the season, but became almost overly sophisticated and earned many of the wins while the highly-touted offence directed by Hec Crighton nominee Rick Zmich (60.0 pct) and sprint-out pivot Yvan Granger struggled to reach the accelerator.
One of the team's recently-matured components is the offensive line consisting of tackle Warner Miles, guard Julio Petrilli, centre Mike Reid, guard Brent Walker and tackle Dave Upton. They were largely responsible for last Saturday's Atlantic Bowl win over Acadia.
Upton (6-3, 243) is the brother of Edmonton Eskimo's Eric and son of former Ottawa Rough Rider Joe. His mother Jean will watch him open holes for key running back Mike Giftopoulos (98 carries for 472 yards), much as Eric did for former Gee-Gee star Neil Lumsden in Sunday's Grey Cup.
"Alberta's defence is supposed to be the best part of their game," said Upton. "They're probably the biggest defence we've played, for sure the best. But we really started to work together for the first time last week, and Giftopoulos (5-10, 170) had one of the best games I've ever seen him play."
Rookie running back Brock Bundy (6-1, 200) has also been piling up the yardage and the quarterbacks have excellent receivers in Don Burns and Joel Baldwin.
Defensive tackle Boyd Young (6-1, 235) has been double and triple-teamed all season and was nominated for outstanding lineman of the year honours. The defensive backfield includes Peter Huber, an All-Canadian last year.
