BLEEDING TRICOLOUR: THE BALLAD OF OSINACHI UKWUOMA

Go figure: A pass thrown by a non-quarterback, slotback Brad Smith, and caught by a rookie defensive lineman -- that would be Osinachi Ukwuoma -- was the tipping point in the Gaels' 25-19 playoff upset of the McMaster Marauders earlier today.

Coach Pat Sheahan's crew fulfilled the upset call, scoring 19 straight points in the second half to beat Mac at Hamilton's Ivor Wynne Stadium. (With Queen's, anywhere in Hamilton is usually Never-Win Stadium.)

Two minutes into the fourth quarter, Queen's was hanging in, losing 17-11, but had stalled in the red zone again and were setting up for a field-goal try from Ryan Elger.

Smith, the holder, took the snap and flipped a pass to Ukwuoma, a rookie D-lineman from Mississauga who had lingered, unnoticed, near the sideline. Ukwuoma rumbled 23 yards down to the Marauders 1-yard line and fullback Mike Giffin plunged in for the go-ahead TD on the next play, putting Queen's ahead for the first time.

Sorry in advance for the overshare, but when Giffin scored again a few minutes later to put the Gaels up 25-17 with 6:25 to play, a 20-something balding guy listening over the Internet in his one-bedroom apartment in Ottawa jumped as high as he could. It was maybe a four-inch vertical -- OK, more like three -- but it's the thought that counts, right?

Mac had one last chance, getting to Queen's 13-yard line with less than a minute to go. Defensive back Jimmy Allin intercepted Adam Archibald in the end zone, and that was it.

Prior to The Fake, the game had been going as anticipated, more or less. Pat Tracey's defence was its usually solid selves, keeping Archibald and Mac speedster Andre Sadeghian from taking over the game. Mac was on its way to outgaining the Gaels 368-274, but couldn't deliver a knockout shot and kept turning the ball over.

The Dan Brannagan-led offence was piecing together enough offence -- just enough. The O-line was getting just enough push to make Mac at least respect the run. Giffin (73 yards, with no carries going for more than 10), was able to grind out some to tough yards and keep Queen's from too many second-and-forevers.

Still, it all comes back to The Fake. It was the kind of play that an underdog on the road needs to go from thinking they can win to knowing they can -- much like Randy McAuley's 50-yard touchdown run that got Western rolling in their road playoff win over Windsor today. After Ukwuoma's big moment, Mac was shaky for the next few minutes, and Queen's capitalized.

Sheahan's never been averse to trying a fake. He called a successful fake punt early in the '02 OUA semi-final against Western, and Will Vreugdenhil, the punter from 2000-04, was great at passing out of punt formation.

For McMaster, one imagines that play was the capper in a Stomach Punch game for the Marauders and their fans. Mac came in dinged-up after losing two of their last three. They led 7-0 after the first quarter and 17-6 at halftime, but couldn't get rid of the Gaels. They also had kick returner Matt Giordano taken off the field with a serious injury, and it would be understandable if that disturbed their focus.

Mac has slipped a bit since their peak in 2002-03 (two coaching changes have hurt their stability), but it this was sweet for the Gaels.

Some of Mac's Gael killers from that period -- slotback Jon Behie, Jesse Card in the secondary, Jeff Robertshaw and Andrew Jones on the D-line -- were still around this year.

Now that group is going out an upset playoff loss against Queen's, the team they tormented over the past few years. Wish those guys all the best -- it's not going to be the same next year not having to worry about how the Gaels are going to account for those guys. Long live that crew of Marauders. They'll be missed.

As for the Gaels, they get a trip next week to Ottawa for a semi-final game against the No. 3-ranked Gee-Gees, who'll have home field and a week of rest. Big underdogs or not, after today any game is a gift if you're a Golden Gaels fan.

WESTERN 20 WINDSOR 16: Turns out the bad weather -- heavy rain that turned the field to muck and a 24 km/h wind took away the passing game -- hurt Windsor and probably helped Western, who extended retiring coach Larry Haylor's career one more week.

Why did it affect Windsor, who came in with the nation's leading rusher, Daryl Stephenson, and the OUA's No. 2 run defence? Well, as noted in the playoff preview, Windsor's really not a dominant running team. They mostly count on Stephenson to stick it in there for 4-5 yards a carry, setting up the D for a pass to their real threat, Glenn (Big Play) MacKay. The poor footing and the wind took that away (MacKay made just one catch, an 11-yarder).

On offence, Western wasn't affected. QB Michael Faulds was out with an injured hand, so they had probably gone in knowing not expecting much from the passing game, which is what they got. (Replacement QB Mark Howard, believe it or not, threw for minus-four yards and had a pass picked off and returned for a TD, so maybe he shouldn't have thrown at all.)

Early on, Windsor D-linemen Mike Stojcic and Kyle Sleightholm seemed to be honorary members of Western's backfield, but by the end of the game, Western had gone old school, going back to their true two-back offence; McAuley and Jay Akindolire both topped a buck-fifty as Western rushed for 365 yards.

Windsor wasn't able to resist the temptation to overcommit in run support, so on the plays when the Western runner was able to slip outside, there was no second level. That was the case when Akindolire bounced outside for a 55-yard gain that set up Derek Schiavone's field goal that put Western ahead for good late in the third quarter. A short time later, backed up inside their own 5, Windsor failed to complete one of the simplest transfers in football -- an inside fullback handoff -- and Western recovered the fumble, setting up a short Akindolire touchdown run.

That put Western up by 10 entering the fourth quarter, and given the conditions, the lead may as well as been 100. Their defence, especially the force unit, has looked bad at times this year, but linemen Tom Dolezel, Glen Larocque and Chris Greaves helped lead the way.

SOME GAELS FIRSTS TODAY:

• Queen's first win over McMaster since returning to the OUA for football in 2001, and first since Oct. 18, 1975 (when Frank Tindall was still the coach);
• First No. 6 seed to win an OUA playoff game;
• Queen's first road playoff win since 1992

GOLDEN BOOT: There will be a playoff game at Kingston's Richardson Stadium next weekend -- the No. 3-ranked Gaels women's soccer team is hosting the OUA Final Four. (Three of the teams will advance to the national championship.) The Gaels, on goals by Carrie Knoll and Eilish McConville (yes, her again), beat the U of T 2-0 in today's quarter-final.

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