Around U Sports: Ottawa Gee-Gees upset Laurier to stay undefeated

Photo: Hailey Tripody/Laurier Athletics

Around U Sports is a weekly feature on 3DownNation that takes readers across the country to summarize collegiate football action, highlighting standout performances and tracking possible playoff matchups. It will run until the second round of the playoffs, at which point 3DownNation will produce standalone articles for each game.

Ottawa Gee-Gees, 20 — No. 5 Laurier Golden Hawks, 18

After three consecutive 4-4 seasons, the Gee-Gees appear to have officially turned the corner after knocking off a nationally-ranked opponent. Souleymane Camara rushed 13 times for 135 yards and one touchdown, while Zachary Copeland went two-for-two on field goals. After going 8-0 during the last two regular-seasons, the Golden Hawks have now lost back-to-back games to fall to 1-2. Ryan Hughes caught 10 passes for 159 yards in the loss.

Mount Allison Mounties, 10 — No. 7 Saint Mary’s Huskies, 41

Malcolm Bussey dominated this game for the Huskies, rushing 10 times for 178 yards and two touchdowns. The St. FX transfer made 3DownNation’s preseason watchlist for the Hec Crighton Trophy and lived up to that billing on Friday night. Justin Shibley threw for 198 yards, one touchdown, and one interception in the win, while Spencer Joudry threw for 169 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions for the Mounties.

No. 2 Laval Rouge et Or, 36 — McGill Redbirds, 13

The Redbirds led this game at halftime before Laval scored 24 unanswered points in the second half to secure the win. Rouge et Or running back Mathieu Roy rushed for 148 yards, while Jérémy Ouellette added two scores along the ground. Jerry Momo ran for 99 yards and a touchdown for McGill, though the team had trouble getting things going through the air as Elliott Drapeau completed only 11 passes and tossed an interception.

Calgary Dinos, 24 — No. 8 Saskatchewan Huskies, 44

Saskatchewan bounced back from last week’s upset loss to knock off the Dinos, thanks in large part to a dominant fourth quarter. Keaton Belsher caught seven passes for 180 yards and two touchdowns from Anton Amundrud, while Javin Boynton scored twice along the ground. David Jordan played well for Calgary despite the loss, throwing for 365 yards and three touchdowns. 2026 CFL Draft pick Matt Sibley now has 15 catches for 252 yards and two scores through two games.

No. 9 Manitoba Bisons, 8 — No. 6 Regina Rams, 23

Regina’s offensive line controlled the line of scrimmage, as Carter Ashman and Christian Katende combined for 241 yards and two touchdowns along the ground. The Rams were also dominant on defence, allowing six points, 231 net yards of offence, and forcing three takeaways. Manitoba didn’t get an offensive score until the final minute of the game, when Cole Anseeuw scrambled for an 11-yard touchdown to break the offensive shutout.

Alberta Golden Bears, 10 — UBC Thunderbirds, 43

UBC bounced back from a tough loss last week with a wire-to-wire waxing of the visiting Golden Bears. First-year running back Marvyn Larozar had a star-making performance, turning 24 touches into 313 yards from scrimmage and four touchdowns, while Josh Martin added 75 yards and a score in mop-up duty. Ayden McDonald led Alberta with five catches for 132 yards and their only touchdown, but NCAA transfer quarterback Christian Veilleux continued to struggle, throwing two end zone interceptions.

Acadia Axemen, 24 — St. FX X-Men, 15

This was a three-phase win for the Axemen, as Connor McNamee threw for 221 yards and scored a rushing touchdown, the team’s defence recorded five interceptions, and Malcolm Cameron returned a punt 84 yards for a touchdown. St. FX has hosted a playoff game each year since the COVID-19 pandemic, but that streak is in jeopardy following an 0-2 start to the season.

Carleton Ravens, 15 — Guelph Gryphons, 60

The Gryphons exploded for 60 points and 637 net yards of offence as they laid the wood at Alumni Stadium. Tristan Aboud played like a bona fide Hec Crighton Trophy candidate, throwing for 341 yards and four touchdowns, while Caleb Sargeant and Andre Thompson combined for 200 rushing yards and three touchdowns. With a tough schedule for the next month, Carleton seems destined to fall to 0-7 before their season-ending matchup against the Toronto Varsity Blues.

No. 3 Western Mustangs, 44 — No. 10 Windsor Lancers, 37

Jérôme Rancourt had another strong outing for the Mustangs, as he threw for 312 yards and three touchdowns to lead his team to victory. Western’s ground game was also effective as usual, as Jack Kelly and Ethan Dolby combined for 232 yards and two scores. Kareame Cotton was sensational for Windsor despite the loss, throwing for 371 yards and four touchdown to four different receivers.

McMaster Marauders, 25 — York Lions, 3

Shane Wismer and Aidan Nemeth were brilliant for McMaster, as they combined for 25 catches for 286 yards and one touchdown from Lucas Barresi. Ryan Broome added another two sacks, bringing his season total to five through three games, while Jason Kragt added two sacks for the Lions. The Marauders were dominant on defence, allowing only three points and 136 net yards from York.

Sherbrooke Vert et Or, 19 — Bishop’s Gaiters, 20

Sasha Jouthe-Klang and Mathieu Bellavance combined for 213 rushing yards and two touchdowns to help lead the Gaiters win their first game of the season. Cayden Rae and Bilal El Kebbachi both intercepted Jeremy Fyfe, preventing Sherbrooke drives from developing into points. Benjamin Huot scored a 90-yard pick-six for the Vert et Or, while fifth-year defender Anthony Giroux added two sacks.

Waterloo Warriors, 22 — No. 4 Queen’s Gaels, 49

The Gaels led 20-0 after the first quarter and never looked back to improve to 2-0 on the year. Alex Vreeken threw for 424 yards and three touchdowns, two of which were caught by Logan Walton, as Queen’s finished the game with 624 yards of net offence. Iain St. Arnault and Dan Mikwete both intercepted Waterloo quarterback Nick Orr, who threw for 331 yards and two touchdowns in the defeat.

No. 1 Montreal Carabins, 51 — Concordia Stingers, 22

The Carabins led 34-2 at halftime, then coasted to the one-sided victory. Pepe Gonzalez recording 327 passing yards, one passing touchdown, and one rushing touchdown in the win, while Mathieu Barsalou rushed for three one-yard scores. Glenn Valentine threw two interceptions for the Stingers and was replaced under centre by Charles Boulianne, who threw for 178 yards and a touchdown in relief.

Canada West

Regina Rams — 2-0
Saskatchewan Huskies — 1-1
Calgary Dinos — 1-1
UBC Thunderbirds — 1-1
Manitoba Bisons — 1-1
Alberta Golden Bears — 0-2

Ontario University Athletics (OUA)

Ottawa Gee-Gees — 3-0
McMaster Marauders — 3-0
Western Mustangs — 2-0
Queen’s Gaels — 2-0
Laurier Golden Hawks — 1-2
Guelph Gryphons — 1-2
Windsor Lancers — 1-2
Waterloo Warriors — 1-2
York Lions — 1-2
Toronto Varsity Blues — 0-2
Carleton Ravens — 0-3

Réseau du Sport Étudiant (RSEQ)

Laval Rouge et Or — 2-0
Montreal Carabins — 2-0
McGill Redbirds — 1-1
Bishop’s Gaiters — 1-1
Concordia Stingers — 0-2
Sherbrooke Vert et Or — 0-2

Atlantic University Sport (AUS)

Mount Allison Mounties — 1-1
Saint Mary’s Huskies — 2-0
Acadia Axemen — 1-1
St. FX X-Men — 0-2

Editor’s note: the Alberta-UBC recap was filed by 3DownNation reporter JC Abbott.