WATERLOO, Ont. - 1,923 fans were in attendance for Laurier's 2023 home opener, and they left happy with the result as the #6 Golden Hawks defeated the Carleton Ravens 20-15.Â
On a scorching Labour Day weekend Sunday, the purple and gold hit the field coming off a victorious 11-10 thriller in their season opener at Queen's. While special teams was the key in that game, this time it was Laurier's defence leading the way.Â
Each team's first two drives resulted in two-and-outs, but a bomb from Dawson Hodge resulted in a rouge on his second punt of the game to give the Golden Hawks an early lead.Â
Their next time out, Laurier's offence finally got some momentum courtesy of two big carries from Darion Bacik-Hadden. They couldn't convert it into offensive points, but the field position game once again paid dividends when the Ravens were forced to take a knee in their own endzone. The score was 3-0 Golden Hawks at the end of the first quarter.Â
Now with the wind at their backs, the Ravens began to tilt the game back in their favour. A tackle for loss followed by a sack got their offence past midfield for the first time. A few nice throws by first-time starter Tristan Lefebvre moved them into Brandon Fourcier's field goal range, and his first make tied the game 3-3.Â
After watching his counterpart go to work from the sidelines, Taylor Elgersma responded. He found Jace Atkinson over the middle for his first career reception, then Jaxon Stebbings nearly got into the endzone on a catch near the sideline. With the ball on the one-yard line, Elgersma took it himself for the team's first touchdown of the year.Â
Hodge nearly got the ball right back for Laurier, forcing a fumble on his own kickoff. Carleton would recover, however, and march it all the way to the red zone before settling for another field goal to bring the score to 10-6 heading into halftime.Â
Carleton's third trip to the redzone came early in the third quarter on a 45-yard reception from Frederick Hachey. This time, though, they'd settle for no points, as rookie Johari Hastings forced a fumble which Duncan Naudie recovered.Â
The teams would trade field goals, and the quarter ended with the Golden Hawks up 13-9.Â
Laurier's first two drives in the final frame gained only a combined 29 yards, and the Golden Hawks never advanced beyond midfield.Â
The lead stayed at four points until late in the quarter. With Carleton venturing into Laurier territory, rookie linebacker Ethan Gregorcic came up with the play of the game, picking off Lefebvre's pass and taking it 55 yards the other way.Â
"The quarterback drew back, I read his eyes, the receiver came in, and I was just there for it," said Gregorcic.Â
The Golden Hawks made good use of the field position, as Quentin Scott ran in his first major of the season to make it 20-9.Â
The Ravens would make it interesting once again when Lefebvre found Ben Huckabone-Ly for a touchdown. They failed to convert on a two-point attempt, and their onside kick was recovered by Laurier. They would get the ball back for one last drive, but Lefebvre was sacked three times on four plays, with Luke Brubacher, Matt Caruso, and Chisanem Nsitem all getting to the quarterback.Â
Abraham Odiase also had a sack earlier in the game. The defensive line's impressive performance was a big reason the purple and gold came away with the win.Â
"It's tough for opposing quarterbacks when you have those guys breathing down your neck," said manager of football operations and head coach Michael Faulds. "We're pleased with how the defence played. I know there's a couple drives where they would have loved to anchor in and stop them, but at the end of the day, we're leaving here with a victory and we're 2-0."Â
On the other side of the ball, the Golden Hawks certainly won't be satisfied with the 285 total yards they gained on offence. Â
Despite recording only 198 of those through the air, there were some bright spots in the passing game. Ethan Jordan caught a career-high nine passes, and Elgersma found eight different receivers over the course of the game, including three who recorded their first career receptions (Atkinson, Stebbings, and Jesulayomi Ojutalayo).Â
"We struggled a bit at times on offense to get momentum, get consistency. But on a couple drives when we really needed it, we found the end zone and that was good to see," said Faulds.Â
"It was definitely closer than we wanted, closer than we envisioned. But we respect that team over there. They're a good team, they're a physical team, and winning in the OUA is tough... we stayed together, we made enough big plays, and we got out of here with a victory."Â
The Golden Hawks begin the season 2-0 for the first time since 2018. After a week one bye, the Ravens now sit at 0-1.Â
TOP PERFORMERSÂ
Laurier Golden HawksÂ
In just his second career OUA game, Ethan Gregorcic finished with a game-high 8.5 tackles, a forced fumble, and, of course, the game-winning interception.Â
"I cried, it's amazing," said Ethan's father, James. "I'm very proud of him. He's come a long way and he's put in a lot of work."Â
"I'm confident in myself. My teammates help me out a lot, make my job easy for me," said the rookie, who also led the Golden Hawks in solo tackles with four in the season opener. "I did expect to do well, but I didn't expect to do as well as I have been doing, and I credit my teammates for helping me along the way."Â
Carleton RavensÂ
It's no secret that OUA all-star Kaseem Ferdinand is a dangerous receiver. He's the top priority for opposing secondaries every week. That makes performances like tonight's (12 receptions for 100 yards) even more impressive.Â
UP NEXTÂ
The purple and gold are back on the road next week. They'll face the Guelph Gryphons on Saturday, September 9 at 1 pm at Alumni Stadium.Â
"We're all looking forward to it," said Gregorcic, "We've got a lot of confidence going into this game.'Â
"We've got to come out there next week and have a great week of practice because we know Guelph is going to be hungry for us too," added Faulds.Â
Follow @WLUAthletics on Instagram and X for live updates and catch the game on OUA.tv.Â
