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Laurier Athletics - Waterloo Campus

Ethan Bayfield carries the ball against Queen's
James Paddle-Grant
11
Winner Laurier WLU 1-0
10
Queen's QUE 0-1
Winner
Laurier WLU
1-0
11
Final
10
Queen's QUE
0-1
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
WLU Laurier 4 0 6 1 11
QUE Queen's 0 7 3 0 10

Game Recap: Football | | Sam Bellerose

Rouge makes the difference in season-opening win over Queen's

KINGSTON, Ont. - The Golden Hawks players have been exuding confidence in the lead up to the 2023 OUA football season, and were served a tough matchup in their first game as they faced the Yates Cup finalist Queen's Gaels on the road. They came away with the win to start the year 1-0. 

It was a battle in the trenches through most of the game, as the purple and gold outscored the Gaels 11-10 without scoring a touchdown. Two fourth quarter missed field goals – one resulting in a rouge and the other in no points – made the difference in the end. 

"Whether you win by 21, whether you win by one, you don't care," said manager of football operations and head coach Michael Faulds. "In enemy territory, you just want to find a way, and our guys did." 

The Golden Hawks began with the ball and the wind – which was a factor all game – at their backs, and in good field position thanks to a 41-yard return from Ethan Bayfield on the opening kickoff. They made good use of it, marching down the field before being halted by the Queen's defence just short of the red zone. Dawson Hodge's first field goal of the season gave the Hawks an early 3-0 lead. 

The Laurier offence once again looked comfortable on their second trip down the field, but a botched handoff forced a field goal attempt, which Hodge this time missed. They did pick up a rouge point on the kick. 

The Golden Hawks' defence was perfect in the first quarter, forcing two-and-outs on the Gaels only two drives. The tricolour's first trip into Laurier territory came when Eric Colonna picked off Taylor Elgersma's pass at midfield. The short field spurred the Queen's offence into action, and the drive ended with an acrobatic catch by Nathan Falconi in the corner of the endzone to put the Gaels up 7-4. 

Now playing into the wind, Elgersma struggled to find open receivers, while the strong Queen's defensive front absolutely smothered the Golden Hawks' ground attack.  

Laurier's own defence was equal to the task, however. Christopher Haggart and Johari Hastings each came up with important pass breakups. Consecutive penalties then cost the Gaels a trip to the red zone and forced a field goal attempt which was missed. The lead stayed at three points heading into halftime. 

Laurier finally found some running lanes in the third quarter, with Quentin Scott ripping off a huge chunk of yardage on the first play, eventually leading to a game-tying field goal from Hodge. Scott would finish with a game-high 69 yards on 15 carries. 

The teams traded another field goal each to bring the score to 10-10 heading into the final frame. 

The fourth quarter began with a masterclass from the energized Laurier defence. The first Queen's drive resulted in a net loss of a yard thanks to a sack from Brandon Omonuwa. They gained just five each their next two times out, even with the wind in their favour. 

Once again, Queen's responded with stout defence of their own, but Dawson Hodge showed why he was an All-Canadian punter last season, booting the ball deep into the endzone allowing Matt Caruso to chase down the returner for the rouge.  

Starting on their own 22-yard line with just over a minute remaining, the Gaels finally managed to generate some momentum on offence. A 12-yard run from Vreeken got Queen's into field goal range. 

With a chance to win it on what would be the final play of the game, Tyler Mullen's kick missed wide right, and Laurier's Ethan Bayfield was able to carry the ball just out of the endzone before sliding to end the game and secure the victory. 

"It's something we work on in Friday practices for about two minutes, and sure enough, we had to do it," said Faulds. "Bayfield was calm, cool, and collected." In his very first game as a kick returner, Bayfield finished with 116 all-purpose yards. 

This marks the Golden Hawks fourth straight win at Richardson Stadium, with their last loss at Queen's dating back to 2013. The purple and gold are hoping they'll get another chance to play on this field before the season's end – the Vanier Cup will be hosted in Kingston on November 25. 

"It's a long season, a lot of months to get to that point, but it feels good and obviously we want to do this bus ride again," said Faulds. 

TOP PERFORMERS 

Queen's Gaels 

The entire Queen's defensive line made life hard all game for the Golden Hawks, but Van Wishart stood out with 5.5 total tackles including two tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks. 

Laurier Golden Hawks 

After what was somewhat of a shaky second quarter, Taylor Elgersma was back to his OUA all-star self in the second half. He'd finish the game with 284 yards on 29-38 passing, while gaining 25 yards on five carries as well. 

"I'm so proud of how Taylor Elgersma played," said Faulds. "He made some really key throws, a lot of second down conversions which kept drives going and is part of the reason we had ten more minutes of possession. And anytime it's a close game, if you can have the ball ten more minutes than the other team, that allows our defense to be fresh when they get out there." 

UP NEXT 

The Golden Hawks will play their home opener Sunday, September 3 at 1 p.m. at University Stadium. They'll host the Carleton Ravens, who they defeated in the OUA quarterfinals last season. It'll be the Ravens' first game of 2023, as they had a bye in week one. 

Tickets are on sale now. 

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