Warrior defensive by%imbcrly Imprint
Moser sports
W
hoever said nice guys fin ish last obviously didn’t get a chance to meet corner-back Gory Delaney of the Waterloo Warriors. The fourth-year Kinesiology student from Burlington has been the cornerstone of Waterloo’s defense for the past five seasons. Delaney’s hard work and dedication to the Warriors paid off last
by T.J. Imprint
TT
Behe Sports
Cory
Delaney
player-of-the-year
Thursday when he was named the CIAU’s most outstanding defensive player of the year. Delaney was understandably at a loss for words when he was awarded the prestigious President’s Trophy. “I was really excited to win,” said Delaney. “My hands were sweating and I was shaking. I could barely talk.” Delaney was also named an All-Canadian at the dinner in Toronto Thursday night.
“T think it is a really good honour [to win the President’s Trophy and be named and All-Canadian]. It is good to be recognized for your efforts,” said a very reserved and quiet Delaney. He may be soft-spoken but the 6’0, 180 pound team captain played his heart out for Waterloo andgave the Warriors everything he had over the years. “Gory made a tremendous contribution to the team as a player but his leadership was outstanding
of the Huskies. And though Saskatchewan scored the first three points of overtime, Western took is alive over offensively, and scored 13 unanswered points. Perhaps the biggest surprise came from Anthony Lane, who after being shut down by the Huskies special team defence throughout the game, ran 77 yards on a punt return and scored the game’s final points, and set a Vanier Cup record in the process. But neither of the two heroes received the game’s MVP award. That was reserved for Saskatchewan’s Brent Schneider, who broke or tied five CZAU Vanier Cup records himself. By making 36 of 67 for 528 yards, Schneider set new marks for pass attempts, completions and total yards. His four touchdowns tied a mark held by several quarterbacks, and unfortunately, his five interceptions was also a Vanier Cup first. Western’s Warren Goldie also had a great passing game, completing 26 of 41 passes for 360 yards. The winning QB had nothing but praise for both teams. Jude St. John of the University of Western “They were so tough Ontario Mustangs hoists the Vanier Cup Over his and came back to give head after his team defeated Saskatchewan 50-40. us a huge scare. Thank God we had the players we had to keep our intensity But Jagas’ best moment came short at __ _ _up,” -- sam-1s-lboldle. with four seconds left, as the
niversity football and well in Canada! Just ask the 28,000-plus fans who witnessed the best football game played in this country all year. To top it off, it just happened to be the championship game. On Saturday, the University of Western Ontario Mustangs regained their status as the CIAU’s best by defeating the Saskatchewan Huskies 50-40. And the game best de- fined how good the university season was this year. One last-minute field goal, several CIAU and Vanier Cup records broken, and a 70-plus yard punt return for a game-clinching touchdown. Not to mention a 20-point Saskatchewan comeback to leave a predominantly Western crowd on the edge of their seat chewing their purple and whites. But in the end, Westem prevailed as Vanier Cup champs for the first time in five years. “I can’t explain how good it feels,” said P.J. Gleason, the All-Canadian lineman who was partly responsible for allowing his quarterback the time to engineer the dominating Western attack. “I’ve waited a long time for this.” Gleason said Western was finally granted the award they deserved after dominating the OUAA for so long, but coming up just the Yates Cup every year. “Once we got past Laurier, there was no stopping us,” added Gleason. Western was led by Frank Jagas, the All-Canadian punter and
kicker, who by kicking five field goals and five converts, was rewarded with a ClAU record for points in one game. His 20 was two more than the old mark.
Kitchener native booted one 42 yards to tie the game at 37-37, and send the game into overtime. From that point on, Western seemed to have knocked the momentum out
The Western victory topped off a perfect Mustang season, who despite having to scrape by in two overtime battles, went 10-O for 1994.
wins
CIAU award
this year,” said coach Dave “Tuw’ Knight, who has seen Delaney improve year after year. “Gory was able to come up with big plays in a number of games which helped us win and make it to the playoffs this year.” Delaney led the CIAU this season with seven interceptions in as many games. He also became the all-time leader in career interceptions at Waterloo with 17. “I guess I just get myself in the right position,” replied Delaney when asked about his incredible ability to snag those passes. “My second and fifth year were the most outstanding because of the amount of interceptions I had. It seems like in between there I didn’t feel as aggressive to the ball. Like when the ball was thrown in the air I didn’t feel like I was going right for it and that’s exactly what I was doing this year.” Delaney’s contribution to the team’s success did not stop on defence. He also led the team in punt returns with 3 10 yards and was a valuable return man and special teams player for Waterloo. Delaney was once again named an OUAA all-star for the
third year in a row. “Overall we played pretty well this year,” said Delaney reflecting on the season which saw the Warriors make it to the playoffs for the first time in two years. They finished the season ranked ninth in the country. “We still didn’t play to our potential. We could have played longer. However it did give people a taste of what Waterloo football is all about.” Delaney will not be returning in his familiar #27 jersey with the Warriors next year. His very successful university career with Waterloo has come to an end. “It hasn’t really hit me yet [that football is over with the Warriors],” said Delaney who hopes to pursue a football career in the CFL. “It’s pretty sad but I chose the right school to come to. I met a lot of good people and I made a lot of good friends over the years.” Delaney’s outstanding play on defense has helped to bring more respect to the football program at the University of Waterloo. The award not only shows the hard work and dedication ofDelaney but also the entire team and the coaches as well.
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