# McMaster Marauders football

The McMaster Marauders football team represents McMaster University based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The team plays U Sports football in the Ontario University Athletics conference. The Marauders have been playing organized football since 1901 when they played their first exhibition game in the Canadian Intercollegiate Rugby Football Union. The team has appeared in four Vanier Cup games, winning one in 2011.

## History

The earliest reference of the sport of football at McMaster was during a meeting on November 30, 1898, when the university's athletic association's debated about expanding into the sport of football. The association had reached a consensus two days later that the lateness of the season made it pointless to start the sport for that year. The university would form a football team in the following year.
The McMaster Marauder's football team played their first football game in an exhibition game against the University of Toronto Faculty of Dentistry in 1901, losing 1-0. The Marauders won their first game in an exhibition match against Royal Military College of Canada with a score of 17-5. The Marauders played their first regular season game in 1902, losing their first game to the University of Toronto in a one-game season. The Marauders would not win their first game until the following season, where they also made their first playoff appearance. The early football team at McMaster would not have a head coach until the end of World War I, with most of the coaching duties taken up by the team captains.
The Marauders had made 23 consecutive OUA post-season appearances, having missed the playoffs in the 1997 season and then again in 2021. During this period the Marauders have won all eight of their Yates Cup championships (awarded to the champion of the OUA conference), and advanced to the Vanier Cup semi-final eight times. The Vanier Cup semi-finals is played in two bowl game, the Mitchell Bowl (Churchill Bowl prior to 2003) and the Uteck Bowl (Atlantic Bowl prior to 2001). The Marauders football team have also made an appearance at the Churchill and Mitchell Bowls in 2000, 2001, 2003, 2012, 2014, and 2019. The Marauders have also appeared at the Atlantic and Uteck Bowls, in 1961, 1964, 1967, 2002 and 2011. Amongst these appearances the Marauders advanced to the Vanier Cup three times, in the 1967 Atlantic Bowl, the 2011 Uteck Bowl, and the 2012 and 2014 Mitchell Bowls.
The Marauders would make their first Vanier Cup appearance in 1967 at the 3rd Vanier Cup, going on to lose 10-9 to the Alberta Golden Bears. After a 44-year absence from the cup final the Marauders won their first (and only) U Sports championship at the 2011 47th Vanier Cup, beating Laval Rouge et Or 41-38 in overtime. In the following year the Marauders lost against Laval in the 48th Vanier Cup. In 2014, they lost 20-19 to the Montréal Carabins in the 50th Vanier Cup. In addition to the championships presently offered by U Sports and OUA, the Marauders had also been awarded a CCIFC championship in 1967, as well as several OIFC championship, in 1957, 1958, 1962, 1963 and 1964.

## Season-by-season record

The following is the record of the McMaster Marauders football team since 2000:
| Season | Games | Won | Lost | Ties | PCT | PF | PA | Standing | Playoffs |
| 2000 | 8 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0.875 | 325 | 86 | 1st in OUA | Defeated Waterloo Warriors in semi-final 44-20 Defeated Laurier Golden Hawks in Yates Cup final 48-23 Lost to Ottawa Gee-Gees in Churchill Bowl 20-15 |
| 2001 | 8 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0.938 | 301 | 81 | 1st in OUA | Defeated York Yeomen in quarter-final 62-0 Defeated Western Ontario Mustangs in semi-final 46-20 Defeated Ottawa Gee-Gees in Yates Cup final 30-22 Lost to Manitoba Bisons in Mitchell Bowl 27-7 |
| 2002 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 310 | 100 | 1st in OUA | Defeated Guelph Gryphons in quarter-final 61-10 Defeated York Yeomen in semi-final 29-14 Defeated Queen's Golden Gaels in Yates Cup final 30-22 Lost to Saint Mary's Huskies in Churchill Bowl 36-25 |
| 2003 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 424 | 87 | 1st in OUA | Defeated Waterloo Warriors in quarter-final 70-7 Defeated Windsor Lancers in semi-final 55-15 Defeated Laurier Golden Hawks in Yates Cup final 41-17 Lost to Laval Rouge et Or in Mitchell Bowl 36-32 |
| 2004 | 8 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0.875 | 395 | 119 | 2nd in OUA | Defeated Western Ontario Mustangs in semi-final 40-23 Lost to Laurier Golden Hawks in Yates Cup final 31-19 |
| 2005 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0.625 | 283 | 209 | 4th in OUA | Defeated Windsor Lancers in quarter-final 49-19 Lost to Laurier Golden Hawks in semi-final 43-21 |
| 2006 | 8 | 6 | 2 | – | 0.625 | 253 | 156 | 4th in OUA | Lost to Queen's Golden Gaels in quarter-final 25-19 |
| 2007 | 8 | 5 | 3 | – | 0.625 | 230 | 221 | 4th in OUA | Lost to Guelph Gryphons in quarter-final 25-21 |
| 2008 | 8 | 4 | 4 | – | 0.500 | 230 | 198 | 6th in OUA | Lost to Laurier Golden Hawks in quarter-final 29-0 |
| 2009 | 8 | 6 | 2 | – | 0.750 | 232 | 148 | 5th in OUA | Defeated Ottawa Gee-Gees in quarter-final 27-15 Lost to Queen's Golden Gaels in semi-final 32-6 |
| 2010 | 8 | 6 | 2 | – | 0.750 | 289 | 200 | 3rd in OUA | Defeated Queen's Golden Gaels in quarter-final 40-19 Lost to Western Mustangs in semi-final 34-28 |
| 2011 | 8 | 7 | 1 | – | 0.875 | 277 | 146 | 2nd in OUA | Defeated Queen's Golden Gaels in semi-final 40-13 Defeated Western Mustangs in Yates Cup final 41-19 Defeated Acadia Axemen in Uteck Bowl 45-21 Defeated Laval Rouge et Or in 47th Vanier Cup 41-38 |
| 2012 | 8 | 8 | 0 | – | 1.000 | 365 | 125 | 1st in OUA | Defeated Western Mustangs in semi-final 42-28 Defeated Guelph Gryphons in Yates Cup final 30-13 Defeated Calgary Dinos in Mitchel Bowl 45-6 Lost to Laval Rouge et Or in 48th Vanier Cup 37-14 |
| 2013 | 8 | 5 | 3 | – | 0.625 | 292 | 175 | 4th in OUA | Defeated Ottawa Gee-Gees in quarter-final 41-7 Lost to Western Mustangs in semi final 32-3 |
| 2014 | 8 | 7 | 1 | – | 0.875 | 291 | 142 | 1st in OUA | Defeated Ottawa Gee-Gees in semi-final 42-31 Defeated Guelph Gryphons in Yates Cup final 20-15 Defeated Mount Allison Mounties in Mitchell Bowl 24-12 Lost to Montréal Carabins in 50th Vanier Cup 20-19 |
| 2015 | 8 | 6 | 2 | – | 0.750 | 355 | 211 | 3rd in OUA | Lost to Laurier Golden Hawks in quarter-final 29-15 |
| 2016 | 8 | 6 | 2 | – | 0.750 | 260 | 87 | 3rd in OUA | Defeated Guelph Gryphons in quarter-final 17-11 Lost to Laurier Golden Hawks in semi-final 21-17 |
| 2017 | 8 | 6 | 2 | – | 0.750 | 209 | 115 | 3rd in OUA | Defeated Queen's Gaels in quarter-final 12-9 Lost to Laurier Golden Hawks in semi-final 19-6 |
| 2018 | 8 | 5 | 3 | – | 0.625 | 151 | 163 | 5th in OUA | Lost to Carleton Ravens in quarter-final 30-25 |
| 2019 | 8 | 6 | 2 | – | 0.750 | 228 | 151 | 2nd in OUA | Defeated Guelph Gryphons in semi-final 19-9 Defeated Western Mustangs in Yates Cup final 29-15 Lost to Calgary Dinos in Mitchell Bowl 30-17 |
| 2020 | Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic | Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic | Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic | Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic | Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic | Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic | Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic | Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic | Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic |
| 2021 | 6 | 3 | 3 | – | 0.500 | 146 | 125 | 5th in OUA West | Did not qualify |
| 2022 | 8 | 2 | 6 | – | 0.250 | 140 | 118 | 8th in OUA | Did not qualify |
| 2023 | 8 | 2 | 6 | – | 0.250 | 191 | 187 | 10th in OUA | Did not qualify |
| 2024 | 8 | 4 | 4 | – | 0.500 | 212 | 138 | 7th in OUA | Lost to Western Mustangs in quarter-final 46-10 |

## National Postseason Results

Vanier Cup Era (1965-current) :
| Year | Game | Opponent | Result |
| 1967 | Atlantic Bowl Vanier Cup | St. FX Alberta | W 7-0 L 9-10 |
| 2000 | Churchill Bowl | Ottawa | L 15-20 |
| 2001 | Churchill Bowl | Manitoba | L 6-27 |
| 2002 | Churchill Bowl | Saint Mary's | L 25-36 |
| 2003 | Mictchell Bowl | Laval | L 32-36 |
| 2011 | Uteck Bowl Vanier Cup | Acadia Laval | W 45-21 W 41-38 |
| 2012 | Mitchell Bowl Vanier Cup | Calgary Laval | W 45-6 L 14-37 |
| 2014 | Mitchell Bowl Vanier Cup | Mount Allison Montreal | W 24-12 L 19-20 |
| 2019 | Mitchell Bowl | Calgary | L 17-30 |
McMaster is 4-5 in national semi-final games and 1-3 in the Vanier Cup.

## Head coaches

| Name | Years | Notes |
| E. G. H. Worden | 1920–1923 | |
| G. Wallace | 1924 | |
| Harry Hobbs | 1925 | |
| E. K. Smith | 1926–1928 | |
| R. Robertson | 1929 | |
| Arthur A. Burridge | 1930–1932 | |
| Fred Veale | 1933–1934 | |
| Glen Small | 1935–1938 | |
| Gordon Price | 1939 | |
| No Team | 1940 | |
| Arthur A. Burridge | 1941 | |
| Gordon Price | 1942–1943 | |
| No Team | 1944 | |
| Tommy Henderson | 1945 | |
| Fred Veale | 1946–1947 | |
| Tommy Henderson | 1948 | |
| Bernie Taylor | 1949–1950 | |
| Al Smith | 1951–1960 | |
| Bob Dawson | 1961–1965 | |
| Jack Kennedy | 1966–1968 | |
| Ray Johnson | 1969–1971 | |
| Jack Kennedy | 1972 | |
| Ray Johnson | 1973–1980 | |
| Bernie Custis | 1981–1988 | |
| Steve Bruno | 1989–1993 | |
| Al Bruno | 1994–1996 | |
| Greg Marshall | 1997–2003 | |
| Marcello Campanaro | 2004–2005 | |
| Stefan Ptaszek | 2006–2015 | |
| Greg Knox | 2016–2018 | |
| Tom Flaxman and Scott Brady | 2018 | Interim |
| Stefan Ptaszek | 2019–present | |

## National award winners

* Hec Crighton Trophy: Phil Scarfone (1984), Kojo Aidoo (2000), Ben Chapdelaine (2001), Jesse Lumsden (2004), Kyle Quinlan (2012)
* J. P. Metras Trophy: Ben D'Aguilar (2012)
* Peter Gorman Trophy: Kojo Aidoo (1998), Daniel Vandervoort (2013)
* Frank Tindall Trophy: Bernie Custis (1982), Greg Marshall (2000), Stefan Ptaszek (2012)

## Records

The Marauders currently hold a number of Ontario University Athletics records, both in terms of the team, as well as individuals who had played for the Marauders. Current records held by the Marauders are:

### Team records

* Most points for in a season — 2003 season (424 points)
* Most touchdowns in a season — 2004 season (49 touchdowns)
* Most yards rushing in a season — 2003 season (2807 yards)
* Most penalty yardage in a season — 2005 season (1170 yards)
* Most yards passing in a game — 17 October 1981 vs. Waterloo Warriors (10 interceptions)
* Most consecutive wins — 2011 season - 2012 season (21 wins)

### Individual records

* Most touchdowns in a season: Jesse Lumsden, 2004 season (21 touchdowns)
* Most touchdowns in a career: Jesse Lumsden, 2001-04 seasons (47 touchdowns)
* Most field goals in a season: Michael Ray, 2003 season (22 field goals)
* Most converts in a season: Michael Ray, 2004 season (48 conversions)
* Most converts in a career: Michael Ray, 2001-04 seasons (148 conversions)
* Most yards rushing in a season: Jesse Lumsden, 2004 season (1816 yards)
* Most rushing touchdowns in a season: Jesse Lumsden, 2004 season (21 touchdowns)
* Most rushing touchdowns in a career: Jesse Lumsden, 2001-04 seasons (46 touchdowns)
* Longest rush: Jesse Lumsden, 11 September 2004 vs. Waterloo Warriors (108 yards)
* Most rushing attempts in a game: Kyle Pyear, 28 September 2002 vs. Laurier Golden Hawks (39 attempted rushes)

## McMaster Marauders in the CFL

As of the end of the 2024 CFL season, seven former Marauders players are on CFL teams' rosters:
* Noah Hallett, Winnipeg Blue Bombers
* Owen Hubert, Winnipeg Blue Bombers
* Ryan Leder, Calgary Stampeders
* Jacob Mason, Montreal Alouettes
* Tyson Middlemost, Calgary Stampeders
* Tommy Nield, Toronto Argonauts
* Jakub Szott, Edmonton Elks
In addition, former Marauders quarterback Marshall Ferguson is on the payroll of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, not as a player, but as a broadcaster.