WATERLOO, Ont. - The Golden Hawks capped off the 2025 football season over the weekend as the team hosted their end-of-year banquet.
"We were very excited to celebrate the individual & team successes of the 2025 season, as well as honour our graduating seniors," manager of football operations and head coach Todd Galloway said.
21 Golden Hawks will be moving on after graduating this year: defensive backs Ethan Bayfield, Maliek Cote, Johari Hastings, and Tristan Miller; defensive linemen Matt Caruso, Omari Hastings, Marcus Tenney, Mason Watson, and Ivan Xu; linebacker Ethan McCullagh-Rabiner; offensive linemen Daniel Crowe, Tyler Potvin, Josh Rietveld, and Spencer Walsh; kicker/punter Dawson Hodge; fullback Sebastian Parsalidis; tight end Ryan Speight; quarterback Isaac Willis; and receivers Jake Bennett, Ethan Jordan, and Jesulayomi Ojutalayo.
"Our class of graduates have once again left a legacy of hard work, accountability, and what it means to be a great teammate. I am excited to see them move onto bigger and better things."
Tenney, Hastings, Speight, Josh Connors, Parsalidis, Walsh, and Ojutalayo were all recently announced as participants for the upcoming CFL National and Invitational Combines.
The first award handed out went to offensive lineman Kodi Blackshaw for Lineman of the Year. Playing centre for the Golden Hawks, Blackshaw was efficient and accurate all season with his snaps.
His efforts in the offensive trenches allowed the offense to post 30 or more points in all eight regular season games, and cleared paths for the rushing front that totalled 1,533-yards and 13 touchdowns.
Blackshaw earned his first OUA All-Star and U SPORTS All-Canadian awards in 2025.
Ojutalayo was named Special Teams Player of the Year. As the unit's captain, he amassed 21.5 tackles over his career, and also played his role on offence, totalling 723 regular season receiving yards and seven touchdowns.
He received his first career All-Star nod and participated in the 2026 College Gridiron Showcase.
The team's Offensive Player of the Year award went to quarterback Cal Wither. The All-Canadian and OUA All-Star made a splash in his first year with the purple and gold, leading the league in passing touchdowns (26), completion percentage (72.7%), and pass efficiency (190.7), and was second in yards per game (309.0) and total yards (2,472).
Wither's touchdown total went on to set a new program record, breaking the previous benchmark that was held for 31-years.
Jessie Wilkins was named the Defensive Player of the Year. He won his first All-Star and All-Canadian awards in 2025, and was also honoured with the OUA's President's Trophy for most Outstanding Stand-Up Defensive Player.
The stand-out linebacker and defensive captain had himself a career season, setting a new personal best 40.5 total tackles, while leading the OUA in fumble recoveries (4). He was also ranked in the league's top 15 in solo, assisted, and total tackles.
Hastings, who captained the defense alongside Wilkins, took home the Laurier Leader Award. The three-time OUA All-Star led the team and league in pass breakups (7) and was third on the team in total tackles (27.5).
There certainly was not much deliberation as to who the team's MVP would be, which went to the senior receiver Ethan Jordan. He earned his second Team MVP award and third team award overall.
The four-time All-Canadian won the OUA MVP and U SPORTS Hec Crighton award for his outstanding 2025 season that saw him break numerous records. He broke the Laurier football program's career receiving yards record with 3,458, and now has the second-most career yards in OUA history.
He broke the program record for career receiving touchdowns with 30, and also has the second most in OUA history. His 68 receptions on the season were the fourth-most single season receptions in OUA history, and it put him at 239 career receptions, which is a new program and OUA record.
Jordan set a new career high with 1,066 single season receiving yards for his second consecutive 1,000-yard season.
"As for our Award winners," Galloway said, "they are all so deserving and excelled on and off the field. All of our winners were recognized not just by us, but in our season, as OUA All-Stars, some as All-Canadians, and in the case of Jessie and Ethan - Major Award winners. Their performances week in and week out, helped lead our team to the consistency we saw on all 3 sides of the ball last year."
"I want to give all of them one last congratulations as we close the chapter on the 2025 season and are already attacking this winter season in preparation for 2026."
