Hawks defeat Lancers in Golden Senior Day victory

The Laurier football team hosted the Windsor Lancers on Senior day and the last home game of the regular season. With both sides sitting atop the OUA standings, a hard-fought battle was sure to ensue.

A regular storyline for the Hawks was the defense, and Saturday’s game was no different as one of the top defenses in the league went to work. The Hawks limited Windsor’s opening drive to only nine yards before the Lancers turned the ball over on downs.

Laurier couldn’t make much of their opportunity until Dawson Hodge secured three points on a 42 yard field goal, and later in the quarter would go down the middle of the uprights to give his side a 6-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Starting the second, the Laurier defense would shine yet again, forcing the Lancers to concede a safety for an extra two points. After another unsuccessful drive for Laurier, Hodge sent the ball 49 yards down the field, putting the Lancers deep in their territory for another safety.

On the next Windsor drive where they failed to gain any advantage, Laurier’s Sebastian Parsalidis plowed his way through the Lancer line to block the punt and recover the ball, allowing the Hawk’s explosive offense to operate on a short field.

 As well as the Hawk’s defense is put together, the offense matches their efforts. Raidan Thorne and Quentin Scott combined for 19 yards on the play before Taylor Elgersma took matters into his own hands, finding the endzone on a 21 yard dash. Hodge secured the extra point to put the Hawks up 17-0.

Hodge’s lethally long kicks continued a couple plays later with a 53 yard punt, leading to another conceded safety from the Lancers.

 The Hawks did not take their foot off the gas as their lead increased to 19-0. Elgersma used five receivers on the next drive, finding Jaxon Stebbings for his first touchdown of the game. The Hawks entered the half up 26-0.

Head Coach Michael Faulds was not surprised when the home side pulled away in the second quarter. “We had a good balance. We are able to run [the ball] when we needed to, [Elgersma’s] the best Quarterback in the country … He’s got so many targets.”

The third quarter remained scoreless, a testament to both team’s defensive work. Ife Onyemenam intercepted a Lancer pass for his third interception of the season, giving his side energy to continue the back-and-forth quarter.

However, in the fourth, Windsor would get seven points on the board to put a small dent in the Hawks lead.

“I can’t say enough about our defense. They took a shutout deep into the third quarter, played outstanding, and we made some big plays on special teams.” Faulds said.

Perhaps the final nail in the coffin to put Windsor out of reach came on the next Laurier drive. Elgersma aired out a 37 yard pass to Johari Hastings who made no mistake on the catch to give Laurier the first down. Scott turned on the jets for a 43 yard rushing touchdown, his longest rush of the season.

Less than five minutes left to play, the Hawks still did not back down. Stebbings recorded his second touchdown of the game, putting him to three on the season, for the final score of 40-7.

Head Coach Michael Faulds never lied when he said his Quarterback is “pretty special.” Elgersma blew past the 2,000 yard milestone for the first time in his career, the first Laurier Quarterback to accomplish the feat since Connor Carusello in 2019.

“The individual stats are great and fun, but 7-0 is the most important stat.” Elgersma said. “We know what we can do, and we know the only people that can stop us when we’re clicking is us.” He added.

Regardless of the win, Faulds has his eyes set on future matchups. “I don’t think there are any statement [wins] unless you’re lifting the last trophy of the year.”

 “A lot of people were hoping for two 7-0 teams; they got their wish. [Against Western], it’s going to be an all out slugfest … Everyone is excited for one o’clock next week in London.”

Laurier jumped two spots in the national rankings to sit fourth for the first time since 2018 when the national rankings were announced a week prior to the game. The team heads to London to face the first ranked team in the OUA and nation to see who remains the lone undefeated team.

The Laurier football team hosted the Windsor Lancers on Senior day and the last home game of the regular season. With both sides sitting atop the OUA standings, a hard-fought battle was sure to ensue.

A regular storyline for the Hawks was the defense, and Saturday’s game was no different as one of the top defenses in the league went to work. The Hawks limited Windsor’s opening drive to only nine yards before the Lancers turned the ball over on downs.

Laurier couldn’t make much of their opportunity until Dawson Hodge secured three points on a 42 yard field goal, and later in the quarter would go down the middle of the uprights to give his side a 6-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Starting the second, the Laurier defense would shine yet again, forcing the Lancers to concede a safety for an extra two points. After another unsuccessful drive for Laurier, Hodge sent the ball 49 yards down the field, putting the Lancers deep in their territory for another safety.

On the next Windsor drive where they failed to gain any advantage, Laurier’s Sebastian Parsalidis plowed his way through the Lancer line to block the punt and recover the ball, allowing the Hawk’s explosive offense to operate on a short field.

As well as the Hawk’s defense is put together, the offense matches their efforts. Raidan Thorne and Quentin Scott combined for 19 yards on the play before Taylor Elgersma took matters into his own hands, finding the endzone on a 21 yard dash. Hodge secured the extra point to put the Hawks up 17-0.

Hodge’s lethally long kicks continued a couple plays later with a 53 yard punt, leading to another conceded safety from the Lancers.

The Hawks did not take their foot off the gas as their lead increased to 19-0. Elgersma used five receivers on the next drive, finding Jaxon Stebbings for his first touchdown of the game. The Hawks entered the half up 26-0.

Head Coach Michael Faulds was not surprised when the home side pulled away in the second quarter. “We had a good balance. We are able to run [the ball] when we needed to, [Elgersma’s] the best Quarterback in the country … He’s got so many targets.”

The third quarter remained scoreless, a testament to both team’s defensive work. Ife Onyemenam intercepted a Lancer pass for his third interception of the season, giving his side energy to continue the back-and-forth quarter.

However, in the fourth, Windsor would get seven points on the board to put a small dent in the Hawks lead.

“I can’t say enough about our defense. They took a shutout deep into the third quarter, played outstanding, and we made some big plays on special teams.” Faulds said.

Perhaps the final nail in the coffin to put Windsor out of reach came on the next Laurier drive. Elgersma aired out a 37 yard pass to Johari Hastings who made no mistake on the catch to give Laurier the first down. Scott turned on the jets for a 43 yard rushing touchdown, his longest rush of the season.

Less than five minutes left to play, the Hawks still did not back down. Stebbings recorded his second touchdown of the game, putting him to three on the season, for the final score of 40-7.

Head Coach Michael Faulds never lied when he said his Quarterback is “pretty special.” Elgersma blew past the 2,000 yard milestone for the first time in his career, the first Laurier Quarterback to accomplish the feat since Connor Carusello in 2019.

“The individual stats are great and fun, but 7-0 is the most important stat.” Elgersma said. “We know what we can do, and we know the only people that can stop us when we’re clicking is us.” He added.

Regardless of the win, Faulds has his eyes set on future matchups. “I don’t think there are any statement [wins] unless you’re lifting the last trophy of the year.”

“A lot of people were hoping for two 7-0 teams; they got their wish. [Against Western], it’s going to be an all out slugfest … Everyone is excited for one o’clock next week in London.”

Laurier jumped two spots in the national rankings to sit fourth for the first time since 2018 when the national rankings were announced a week prior to the game. The team heads to London to face the first ranked team in the OUA and nation to see who remains the lone undefeated team.