WINDSOR, Ont. - After last week's heartbreaking Homecoming loss to Ottawa, it's safe to say the Golden Hawks were out for redemption under the lights in Windsor. Not only did they put the loss to the Gee-Gees firmly behind them, but they put the rest of the OUA on notice as they easily defeated the Lancers 49-11.
While Windsor was without their starting quarterback Danny Skelton, who was injured in last week's game against Carleton, this is still a very good team, whose 2-2 record coming into this game matched Laurier's.
It was another strong showing for the Laurier defence, especially the secondary unit. Lancer quarterbacks Carter Zinger and Josh Smith threw for a combined 101 yards and completed just a third of their attempts, while the team converted for only 11 first downs.
It didn't start so pretty for the Golden Hawks, as Patrick Burke Jr couldn't hold on to a dropped pass early in the first, missing out on the interception and leading to a Windsor field goal to put them up 3-0.
Burke Jr got his own chance at redemption on the Lancers' next drive, however, diving for the ball and coming up with it for the team's first pick of the season.
Starting with the ball at midfield, Taylor Elgersma led the offence down the field and found Tanner Nelmes for the first major of the night, and Nelmes's third of the season.
Leading 7-3 heading into the second quarter, the purple and gold played what was likely their best period of football so far this season, outscoring their opponent 28-0. It started with a 41-yard field goal from Dawson Hodge, tying his former career long. More on that in a second.
While the offence took a while to get hot, the defence kept Windsor from building any momentum, as the Lancers gained only a combined six yards on their next three drives, without once converting for a first down.
Laurier was finally able to take advantage of the excellent field position thanks to Quentin Scott turning on the jets on the first play of the drive to score his fourth touchdown of the year.
Later, with just over a minute to play until halftime, Elgersma aired out a deep pass for Ethan Jordan, who made a nice catch in the endzone for his third major of the season.
On the following drive, the Golden Hawks forced a two-and-out before Brady Loenhart blocked Windsor's punt and recovered the ball five yards from the goal line. Elgersma made another great pass on the next play, this one to Nick Petermann in the corner of the endzone.
Petermann followed up his second touchdown of the year by forcing a fumble on the ensuing kickoff. Laurier recovered it and, with time set to expire in the first half, opted for a 49-yard field goal attempt, which Hodge nailed for a new career long.
"We were waiting for that," said Head Coach and Manager of Football Operations Michael Faulds on that wild final minute of the first half. The Golden Hawks extended their lead by 17 points on just eight plays.
"Football does weird things... Momentum comes in waves and, even though we've been on the wrong end of it at times this year, it was nice to finally have a big momentum swing on our side."
The second half was much less eventful. The third quarter was highlighted by a 66-yard touchdown run from Windsor's Joey Zorn and another long field goal from Hodge, this one from 47 yards out.
The fourth quarter saw Elgersma score his fourth touchdown of the game, this one on the ground.
Elgersma finished with 221 passing yards, completing 19 of his 26 attempts. It was the first game this season where he did not throw an interception, and his 26 rushing yards are a new career high.
When asked if this was the second-year quarterback's best game in a Laurier jersey, Faulds didn't hesitate with his response.
"Definitely. He knows he's a facilitator and has great weapons all around him. Once again, he did a good job distributing the ball to different targets... Even the couple of first downs that he got with his legs were crucial first downs."
Of those targets, Ethan Jordan once again led the way with six receptions for 76 yards. Meanwhile, Quentin Scott had another outstanding game, recording 160 rushing yards on 20 carries.
While Faulds is right to emphasize the wealth of options the Golden Hawks have on offence, Elgersma, Jordan, and Scott are not-so-quietly emerging one of the most effective trios in U SPORTS.
TOP PERFORMERS
Laurier Golden Hawks
Taylor Elgersma now ranks fifth in the OUA in both total passing yards (1,067) and yards per game (213.4). His 66.9% completion rate is third-best in the conference.
Windsor Lancers
Joey Zorn remains the top-ranked running back in U SPORTS, as he rushed for 126 yards and a touchdown tonight, often single-handedly keeping drives alive for Windsor.
UP NEXT
The purple and gold, now 3-2, will look to carry the momentum from tonight's win through the short week, as they're back in action Thursday, October 6 for the battle of Waterloo. They'll face the Warriors on the road at 6 p.m.
Follow @wluathletics for live updates and catch all the action at OUA.tv.
