With Gaels wideout Logan Walton showing the way with 191 receiving yards and two touchdowns, Queen\u2019s soundly defeated the University of Waterloo 49-22 at Richardson Stadium on Saturday evening.<\/p>\n
The home team picked up points on their first three possessions and took a 20-0 lead in the first quarter as the visiting Warriors struggled to pick up a first down to slow down the onslaught.<\/p>\n
By game\u2019s end, Gaels quarterback Alex Vreeken had piled up 424 passing yards for three touchdowns and no interceptions, the lion\u2019s share of 621 yards of total offence for the home side.<\/p>\n
Walton\u2019s touchdowns came at junctures that punctured any hope that Waterloo might have been clinging to.<\/p>\n
The first came just before halftime. It looked like the Warriors had a defensive stop and were going to get the ball back at midfield down 25-10 in the last minute with a chance to draw within a single score.<\/p>\n
Waterloo rushers pressured the Gaels\u2019 Matt Driver to shank a 19-yard punt, but officials flagged them for roughing the kicker. On the fresh set of downs, Walton ran a fly route down the sidelines and Vreeken hit him in stride behind a defender for a 48-yard touchdown to put the home team up 32-10.<\/p>\n
After a scoreless third quarter, Tyler Mullin added a field goal to extend the Queen\u2019s lead, but the Warriors offence started to generate some traction. Their quarterback, Nick Orr, engineered a 75-yard drive that finished with a 16-yard touchdown pass to receiver Tyson Tierney. Again, it looked like the visitors were setting up to make a game of the home opener at Richardson Stadium. A failed attempt at a two-point conversion made it 35-16, again just enough encouragement for the Warriors\u2019 faint hopes.<\/p>\n
On the first snap of the Gaels\u2019 next possession, starting at the Queen\u2019s 24, Vreeken found Walton with a screen pass that looked good for a first down in front of the hosts\u2019 bench. It seemed like Walton was just ducking and dodging and dancing to extend the play for an extra yard or two, but after a couple of missed tackles, springing blocks by slotback Russell Weir and H-back Mateo Tuioti and a dash from one sideline to the other, Walton was in a race to the house. The play will go down as an 86-yard touchdown, but the serpentine route probably covered closer to 150 yards.<\/p>\n
Vreeken spread the ball democratically across his options \u2014 Walton was one of nine Gaels receivers to snag passes in the game and, in fact, his five catches Saturday were one less than slotback Benjamin Falkowsky\u2019s total. After the game, Walton said he made the most of his targets. <\/p>\n
\u201cThere are some days when you don\u2019t (get thrown to), but we\u2019re all tight in the receivers group,\u201d he said. \u201cI probably had a play like (the 86-yard catch-and-run) in high school days, but not at Queen\u2019s before.\u201d<\/p>\n
On Waterloo\u2019s next possession, Orr threw a pass intended for receiver Yinka Ogunnote, who ran a short sideline route. Queen\u2019s defensive back Iain St. Arnault read and timed the play perfectly, stepping in front of the Ogunnote and running 35 yards untouched and virtually unpursued to paydirt.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe watched a lot of film this week and we\u2019d seen that play before,\u201d said St. Arnault, whose pick-six made the rout complete at 49-16.<\/p>\n
A third-year economics major, St. Arnault is a holdover from the veteran defensive secondary that keyed the Gaels\u2019 victory at Laurier for the Yates Cup. \u201cThat group gave us so much wisdom,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Perhaps even larger in the shaping of the game for the Gaels was a second-quarter end-zone interception by Dan Mikwete, a defensive back who appeared in only two games last year and is thus in his first year of eligibility.<\/p>\n
A key player in the Gaels\u2019 offensive scheme was scratched from the lineup: halfback Ethan Dahl, who left the Week One 28-12 victory over the University of Toronto after a heavy hit in the fourth quarter. Dahl figured to be the lead in what Queen\u2019s head coach Steve Snyder described as a \u201crunning-back-by-committee\u201d approach to filling the significant void created by last season\u2019s top rusher Jared Chisari, an indefatigable workhorse.<\/p>\n
With Dahl out for the Waterloo game, Jayce Baldwin moved into a more prominent role, averaging 7.5 yards per carry in running for 60 yards. \u201cJayce is a talented guy and he\u2019s got to continue to learn the system, but overall he has a lot of natural skill sets,\u201d Snyder said.<\/p>\n
The Gaels\u2019 overall performance represented a step up from their play in their season-opener at Varsity Stadium two weeks ago. Snyder cited the work that the team put in during the ensuing bye week, which he framed as an extension of training camp. \u201cWe\u2019re definitely an improved football team from Week One,\u201d Snyder said. \u201cWe knew we needed to be and that was the focus (of the bye-week practices and preparation).<\/p>\n
The home team ran its record to 2-0 for the 2026 season and solidified a place in U Sports\u2019 national top 10. The Gaels were ranked No, 4, behind the top-ranked defending national champion University of Montreal Carabins, No. 2 Laval and No. 3 Western.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s unclear if a win over Waterloo by any margin would enable the Gaels to leapfrog Western on the U Sports table, given the Mustangs\u2019 2-0 record and their 44-37 win at Windsor on Saturday afternoon.<\/p>\n
Queen\u2019s, however, is in better stead than Laurier. Though U Sports\u2019 preseason Elo rankings, the putative objective mathematical scoring, slotted the Golden Hawks as the top team in the OUA and No. 2 in the nation, their record fell to 1-2 Saturday, losing at home 20-18 to the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees.<\/p>\n
Queen\u2019s will travel to Ottawa next Saturday to face the Carleton Ravens, who lost 60-15 to the Gryphons at the University of Guelph on Saturday. The following weekend, the Gee-Gees come to Richardson Stadium.<\/p>\n
While the University of Ottawa is 3-0 to start the season, the Gee-Gees face a tough test hosting Guelph next Saturday.<\/p>\n
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