1996 Dunsmore Cup Champions

Ottawa team stats | OQIFC conference stats

RECAP: Evraire's punt return for TD puts Ottawa in Atlantic Bowl

They say Chris Evraire likes to perform magic tricks. 

In Saturday's Ontario-Quebec Interuniversity Football Conference final against the McGill Redmen, Evraire pulled a great disappearing act in the Ottawa Gee-Gees' 20-11 victory in the Dunsmore Cup.

Ottawa will meet St. Francis Xavier in the Atlantic Bowl on Saturday. The X-Men defeated Mount Allison 30-22 in the Atlantic final.

Ottawa was clinging to a 13-10 lead in the third quarter when Evraire, the Hec Cighton trophy nominee, made his move.

Evraire, the outstanding player of the O-QIFC, sneaked his way through the Redmen defensive line to socre a touchdown on a 60-yard punt return.

It was all the Gee-Gees would need to win their second consecutive O-QIFC title. Bye-bye Redmen.

Ottawa coach Larry Ring beamed as he spoke of his team's pererverance. "We didn't have the consistent offense that we've had in the past, but the special teams and the defence have been good for us all year, and they came through for us again," Ring said. "The turning point was Chris' (Evraire) return."

McGill bolted to a 7-0 lead on Shawn Linden's eight-yard touchdown run in the first quarter.

Ottawa squandered a chance to tie things up midway through the second quarter on a third-and-goal becuase of a time-count violation. Darren McNeice salvaged the situation with a 13-yard field goal to pull the Gee-Gees within 7-3.

Late in the second, McGill could have taken control of the game. On third down from the Ottawa two-yard line, the Redmen opted for a 15-yard field goal by Gordon Hoogenraad. McGill head coach Charlie Baillie would later regret the move.

"There was a few times we were in scoring postiion and we didn't take advantage of it offensively, and that hurt us," said Baillie.

Only 12 seconds remained in the half when the Gee-Gees, trailing 10-3, pulled their first rabbit out of the hat. With four Redmen obstructing his view, Rod Harrod somehow managed to see quarterback Terry Tsimiklis's 25-yard pass for a touchdown. McNeice's convert tied the game 10-10.

Ottawa finally took the lead for good on McNeice's second field goal, this time from 17 yards.

Other than Linden's third-quarter single, Ottawa's defence held McGill scoreless in the second half.

Last year the Gee-Gees lost to the Calgary Dinosaurs 37-7 at the Churchill Bowl, the national semifinal. But Ring is already looking ahead. He thinks the Gee-Gees will play in the Vanier Cup, Canada's national championship.

"We're not going to fool around now. We're going to get some injured guys back, and I think this was the game we needed," Ring said. "Our guys were a little worried, and once we knew we got over this hurdle, I think we're going all the way."

The Gee-Gees last appeared in a Vanier Cup in 1980 when they lost 40-21 to the University of Alberta. Evraire also thinks Otttawa will advance to the Vanier Cup.

"McGill was a speedbump. The highway is ahead and, hopefully, it's clear," Evraire said.

Note: this article originally appeared in the Ottawa Citizen on November 10, 1996. It was written by Lisa Burke.