After a hard-fought win over the McMaster Marauders in Week 2, the Queen’s Gaels football team is aiming for back-to-back victories as they host the York Lions this Saturday afternoon. The Gaels rebounded from a narrow loss in Week 1 by defeating McMaster 27-22 last weekend.
While Queen’s would like to maintain their winning lineup, head coach Steve Snyder acknowledges that injuries are forcing changes.
“We got a lot of different guys moving in and moving out based on injuries and different things like that. It’s really about trying to solidify that lineup and making sure that we’re improving so that we’re just a little bit more balanced on offense, you know, and that’s going to be the key for us,” said Snyder.
The Gaels blew out the Lions 87-0 last season, but with York undergoing significant changes in the offseason, Snyder isn’t taking them lightly.
“They’re probably really excited to play. I think it probably feels really good around their building right now, just how much they’ve improved. They’re probably the most improved team in the country, without a doubt this year,” Snyder added.
With only eight games in the season, Snyder knows every win counts.
“I think historically in this conference there have been a lot of blowouts. I don’t think that’s necessarily the case this year… I think everybody on our schedule seems to have a legitimate threat to win games.
“The opponent this weekend, you know, I think they’re going to be taking people into the fourth quarter and winning games all year long, and we’ve got to be ready for their best shot.”
The Lions are coming off a 27-4 loss to the Ottawa Gee-Gees and will be looking to surprise the Gaels in Week 3.
Kickoff is set for 3 p.m. Saturday at Richardson Stadium.