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The McMaster football team is braving the cold weather, getting ready for Saturday’s OUA championship final, the Yates Cup, against the Guelph Gryphons. The Marauder running backs played a major role in McMaster’s OUA semi-final win over Ottawa.

After missing the last two seasons with back to back torn ACL’s, Chris Pezzetta’s triumphant return continued last week with his third, 100-yard rushing game in 2014.

Marauders Head Coach Stefan Ptaszek: “He’s as tough as they come. He’s been knocked down and it’s impressive to see where he’s gotten to, so proud of him.”

Running Back Chris Pezzetta: “You know, every practice, every week, you get a little bit better. It’s nice that you can start hitting stride in the playoffs and hopefully we can make his last a few more weeks.”

In fact, the Marauders overall run game seems to be peaking at just the right time. In the regular season, they were ranked 8th out of 11 teams in the OUA, earning just over 13-hundred yards in total with an average of 166.1 yards per game. Last week against Ottawa, Pezzetta ran for 143 yards, while Wayne Moore added another 99.

There’s depth and competition at the running back position, which makes them work even harder.

Ptaszek: “A third kid named Declan Cross had another 50 or 60 yards. It is tough to defend and keeps everybody fresh and you don’t take a practice off or a lift off because you know your buddy beside you is pretty good.”

But this week, the competition isn’t between them. It’s coming from the University of Guelph in the Yates Cup and the Mac running backs are focussed on winning.

Wayne Moore: “Just running hard, run through contact, scoring, and just do the best for my team.”