The Golden Hawks couldn’t pull off back-to-back Yates Cup victories as they took a beating from Western on Saturday by a final score of 75-32.
The first quarter was full of big plays and explosive drives.
The Mustangs took an early 10-0 lead after scoring on their first two drives.
But after a great punt from the Hawks forced Western to take a safety, Laurier went on to score on a passing touchdown from Michael Knevel to Brentyn Hall.
However, the back and forth action did not stop there as the Mustangs scored a touchdown on the ensuing kickoff return.
Following that came what was probably the best play of the day from the Hawks, as Knevel connected with Brendan McCracken on a 74-yard touchdown bomb.
That made the score 17-16 at the end of the first quarter.
From that point on though, it was all downhill for the Hawks. Western went on to score 37 unanswered points from the beginning of the second quarter towards the end of the third.
The 54-16 deficit was simply too much to overcome for Laurier and in the end, time ran out.
“It’s sad every time your season ends. You always end up reflecting more on the players you’re about to lose instead of the game you just lost. That’s where it’s tough for everyone. It’s an emotional time,” head coach, Michael Faulds said after the game.
“Those guys put in a ton of hard work and now all of a sudden, football is over.”
Although the loss is disappointing for the Hawks, it’s important not to look over the overall season that this team had.
It was a very impressive year for Laurier and, with all the young talent on the roster, the sky is the limit for this team going forward.
