WATERLOO, Ont. - A cool and clear autumn night, a matchup between cross-town rivals, and one of the more entertaining games this season made for a great night of football on Thursday as Laurier earned a decisive 43-22 win over Waterloo on the road.
The Warriors have never beaten the Golden Hawks in three consecutive games and, while last year's Tre Ford-led Waterloo team swept the season series 2-0, ninth-ranked Laurier was the better team as they continue to stake their claim as contenders in the OUA.
A Laurier rouge opened the scoring, which Waterloo quickly matched to tie the game 1-1. With both teams playing strong defence, it took back-to-back big plays from the Golden Hawks' go-to playmakers Ethan Jordan and Quentin Scott to set up the game's first major.
Scott ran it in from one yard out to mark his fifth straight game with a touchdown. He now ranks second in the OUA in rushing touchdowns with six.
Trailing 10-1 heading into the second quarter, the Warriors continued to play well defensively. Laurier quarterback Taylor Elgersma was frequently under pressure from Waterloo pass rushers, and the Golden Hawks struggled to make plays through the air in the first half.
"They threw everything they had at us," said Elgersma. "That was a team that really wanted to take the win, and they had a really good first half."
Laurier's only points in the second quarter came on defence, thanks to a pick six from Patrick Burke Jr.
Just 30 seconds later, however, Waterloo connected on a big play for a 62-yard touchdown to tighten the score to 17-8 at the break.
The third quarter saw Elgersma and the Laurier offence flip the switch. It started with Elgersma finding his favourite target and U SPORTS' receptions leader Ethan Jordan while under pressure. Jordan then left a few Warriors defenders in the dust on a long catch and run for the touchdown.
On the Golden Hawks' next drive, Elgersma dialed up a deep pass to Raidan Thorne for another major.
Jordan (seven) led the purple and gold in receptions, with Thorne (six) right behind him. Both set career highs in receiving yards, 157 and 115, respectively. While this may have been their best game statistically, both have been indispensable to Laurier's offence all season long.
I've been throwing with (Jordan and Thorne) for a long time," said Elgersma, also set a career-high with 313 passing yards on the night. "We've been building up chemistry and those are two really good players, so anytime I get the ball in their hands, I'm happy."
"Taylor is my guy," said Jordan. "We came up together in the same class, so ever since then, we've done a lot of work together, after practice, on the weekends, and built a connection ... He just trusts me out there and I know his internal clock. We're just on the same page right now."
A safety pushed the lead to 33-8 heading into the fourth quarter.
The Warriors' defence were determined to ensure the battle of Waterloo remained an interesting game, as they forced turnovers on the Golden Hawks' first two drives of the final frame.
Waterloo's offence managed to turn both turnovers to touchdowns; first a 37-yard pass to James Basalyga for his second major of the game, then a 1-yard scramble by quarterback Nolan Kaban.
An unsuccessful onside kick attempt after the second touchdown led to Dawson Hodge's only field goal of the night to make the score 36-22.
Down 14 with just over two minutes to play, desperation led to a costly mistake by the Warriors as Kaban's pass was intercepted by Shomari Hutchinson.
A second touchdown for Scott, followed by a second interception by Hutchinson with zeros on the clock closed out the game.
Scott once again set a new career-high in rushing yards with 189, and now leads U SPORTS in yards per game with 125.
Head Coach and Manager of Football Operations Michael Faulds noted that Scott's running is part of what opened up the deep pass which allowed Laurier to pull away in the third quarter.
"It creates that chess match; do you want to put two guys on Ethan Jordan, or do you want to put more guys in the box to stop Tanner Nelmes (47 yards rushing) and Quentin Scott?"
With the win, the Golden Hawks improve to 4-2 on the season and in all likelihood will remain among the U SPORTS top ten. The Warriors, meanwhile, fall to 1-5.
TOP PERFORMERS
Laurier Golden Hawks
Ethan Jordan's incredible campaign is made all the more impressive by the fact that he didn't play a single snap in 2021, making this essentially his first year in the OUA. When asked if he envisioned this season playing out the way it has, he gave a characteristically humble answer.
"I dreamed about it, but you know, it's surreal... I'm just grateful, I didn't expect myself to go this crazy, to be honest."
"Going into next game, expectations are a little bit higher," he continued. "Yes, I had a good game, but I just got to go out and play. If the ball doesn't come to me next game but it comes to my teammates and we win, that's all that matters."
Waterloo Warriors
Waterloo's own top receiver had an impressive game as well. James Basalyga had 138 yards on five receptions and two touchdowns.
UP NEXT
The purple and gold will get a well-deserved four-day Thanksgiving break before returning to campus on Monday to prepare for next week's home game against the Guelph Gryphons. Kickoff is set for Saturday, October 15 at 1 p.m., tickets are on sale now.
