WATERLOO, Ont. – On a warm, sunny, September afternoon, the #4 Golden Hawks welcomed their rival #1 Western Mustangs to Knight-Newbrough Field for a heavy-weight Yates Cup rematch.Â
Historically, the Mustangs have been the victors, but there was no rain on the Golden Hawks' parade as they snapped their regular season winless drought that dated back to 2006 in a 43-28 takedown.Â
The Mustangs' opening drive was cut short by defensive back
Johari Hastings who forced Keanu Yazbeck to cough up the ball and on
Tristan Miller's recovery, gave the Hawks an early first down and an opportunity to capitalize.Â
 "What you have to do against a high-powered running attack like [Western's] is you have to swarm, and you have to tackle in masses. And we did that, " Laurier's manager of football operations and head coach
Michael Faulds said.Â
And capitalize the Golden Hawks did. After
Taylor Elgersma was sacked for a loss of seven yards to set up a 2nd-and-17, he quickly made up ground, finding
Layomi Ojutalayo on a 27-yard connection for first-and-goal.Â
Cooper Hamilton and
Spencer Walsh gave Elgersma enough room to follow behind, calling his own number for his first rushing touchdown of the game.
Dawson Hodge's extra point was good, putting the Hawks up 7-0 early.Â
The Golden Hawk defence kept the Mustang offence to a combined two yards through a pair of drives, setting up the dynamic duo of Elgersma and receiver
Ethan Jordan to work their magic.
On Laurier's ensuing offensive possession, Elgersma unleashed a 72-yard rocket to the wide-open Jordan who left the Mustangs in the dust, bringing it to the house for his first touchdown of the year.
"It set the tone for us. We knew we had to come out on fire, with confidence, with chemistry." Jordan said. "I just ran free, I was open, and I got a good block from Layomi [Ojutalayo]."
After a missed 52-yard field goal attempt from Western's Brian Garrity, the purple and gold took a 14-0 lead into the second frame. This marked the first time this season that the Mustangs were held scoreless in a quarter.Â
The last time Western was shut out at the end of 15 minutes was against the Golden Hawks in the final game of the 2023 regular season.Â
The second quarter was more tightly contested than the first with only five points being scored combined.Â
Laurier's second drive ended with Hodge converting on an 18-yard field goal, stretching the Golden Hawks' lead to 17-0.Â
Mustangs Oliver Griffiths's punt was sent to the Laurier five-yard line, and an unnecessary roughness penalty gave the Hawks no choice but to concede a safety to put two points for Western on the board.Â
The Golden Hawks took a commanding 17-2 lead into halftime.Â
As the sun kept shining and the temperature increased, play on the field intensified in the third quarter with both teams registering 14 points each.Â
Tayshaun Jackson got the Hawks off running, returning the kickoff from his own goal-line to the Laurier 28.
Tanner Nelmes was able to find the gaps the offensive line left him for a total of 18 rushing yards over three plays.
At second and 11 on the Laurier 41, Elgersma sent another long 33-yard pass to
Jace Atkinson for first down, now threatening in Western's half of the field.Â
The Elgersma-Jordan couplet went to work again, showing the 2,943 fans in attendance what poetry in motion looks like. Elgersma perfectly placed the 23-yard pass into Jordan's hands who only had to step over the goal-line for his second touchdown.
The Hawks found themselves up 24-2 with 10:42 left in the quarter.
"Taylor and I have a special bond. We've been together for four years now, and practice every day, off-season, summer. It's paying off," Jordan said.
However, the Mustangs came racing back at 8:12 of the quarter when Evan Hillock found Seth Robertson for Western's first major of the game to put the score at 24-9.Â
Laurier's defence came up clutch once again after the next Hawk drive resulted in a punt. At 5:25, Hillock's pass was intercepted by defensive back
Ethan Bayfield, returning the ball 25 yards, setting up Elgersma and company to strike again.Â
The third-year Toronto, Ont., native tallied his first career interception alongside 2.5 tackles.Â
Bayfield's pick was not wasted by the Laurier offence resulting in another seven points. Elgersma's hand-off to Jackson sprung the electric rookie 19 yards into the endzone, weaving through the gap offensive lineman
Lambert Pomerleau paved for him.Â
Jackson ended the day with his first rushing touchdown, 33 yards on the ground - a season and career-best - and 103 return yards.
"Tayshaun did a great job in the return game, which fans are used to seeing, but he had some carries too at running back and had a huge touchdown in the third quarter, so phenomenal job by him," Faulds said.
Right on cue, the Mustangs had an answer. With 13 seconds left in the third quarter, Jerome Rancourt cut the Hawks lead to 15 on a rushing touchdown. An eventful quarter saw the Hawks take a 31-16 lead into the final frame.
On the ensuing Laurier drive, Nelmes tallied 32 rushing yards to set up Elgersma who found Raidan Thorne 34 yards out, putting the ball on Western's eight-yard line.
Elgersma then wasted no time securing his second rushing touchdown of the game to put the purple and gold up 38-16.
The reigning OUA MVP finished the game with an 82.7 pass completion rate, two passing and rushing touchdowns, and his second-highest career single-game passing yard total at 385, using eight different receivers, and no interceptions.
"That was a massive point for us this week [the turnovers], because in the Yates Cup last year, we turned the ball over a couple of times, and in the regular season game last year against Western we were sloppy as well," Elgersma said. "So being able to control the ball, control the offence and making sure we're getting first downs and keeping their offence off the field is big."
The Mustangs did not have a response on the next drive as Hillock was sacked by Matt Caruso, and again on the next play by Marcus Tenney, resulting in a safety to add two to Laurier's score with 7:33 to go.
Hillock regained composure to lead his side to a seven-play, 69-yard drive, capped off by Dasani McIntosh finding the endzone, once again cutting the Golden Hawks lead down to 40-22.
After Hodge's converted field goal attempt from 25 yards out, Hillock aired out a 79-yard pass to McIntosh for back-to-back touchdowns, making it 43-28. But the Mustangs could not overcome their slow, two-point first half as the Golden Hawks kept the pedal to the metal.
Laurier tied up the defending OUA champs and handed them their first regular season loss since week two of the 2021 season. The Golden Hawks, at 3-0, take possession of first place in the OUA, followed closely by fellow undefeated Windsor Lancers.
"I think we surprised everyone outside of the locker room, but no one inside the locker room," Faulds said. "We just shook their hands and we met at our side of the field like we always do, because we expected this, and we know we are going to have to play them again."
"We're going to continue to get better and better because we're trying to play into November. It's not about winning football games in September, we're trying to get better every week."
Up next, the Golden Hawks travel down University Avenue for the Battle of Waterloo at Warrior Field. Kickoff is set for 1 pm on Saturday, September 21. Catch the game live on OUA.tv
