Laurier running back, Eric Guiltinan, is finishing his OUA career with a bang, dominating the regular season and looking to continue his stellar play into the OUA playoffs.
Guiltinan has been a staple in the Golden Hawk offence this season, helping the team to a nearly flawless 7-1 regular-season record.
Sitting slightly in the shadow of former Laurier All-Canadian running back, Dillon Campbell, throughout the past few seasons, Guiltinan, in the fifth and final year of his Laurier career, is taking full advantage of his opportunity in the spotlight.
“This is my fifth year,” Guiltinan said, “so I’ve been waiting a long time to get my opportunity. Obviously I’d been playing before, but not as much as I have been now.”
The 5’10”, 205 lb London, Ontario native averaged over 105 rushing yards per game this season, good enough for fourth in the OUA.
Guiltinan also concluded the regular season with 9 rushing touchdowns, which ranked an impressive second among running backs in the OUA.
This standout play has not gone unnoticed, as Guiltinan has received a number of accolades throughout the season. On top of earning a total of five offensive player of the game nods over the eight-game regular season, Guiltinan was named a Laurier athlete of the week on two occasions: September 6 and September 19, as well as an OUA player of the week on September 17.
“I’ve been practicing for this year for four years now,” he remarked, “so I just feel like all that time and effort that I’ve put in is starting to pay off.”
Guiltinan’s individual efforts have been a contributing factor to the overall success of the Golden Hawks this year, who have completed their best regular season record since the 7-1 2007 campaign.
“We’ve gotten better every year under coach Faulds. We started four years ago, his first year, we were 1-7, then we went 4-4 the next year, 4-4 last year and won a playoff game and now we’re 7-1. So, I think it’s really that mindset that he brought to the team,” Guiltinan said.
With a successful regular season behind them, Guiltinan and the rest of the team turn their attention to the OUA playoffs, where Guiltinan says they have a single goal.
“Our goal is to win the Yates Cup. We’re already in the semi-finals two weeks from now, so we just have to win two games and we’ll be Yates Cup champs. So that sounds pretty nice.”
Guiltinan and the Golden Hawks will be back in action on Saturday, November 5, when they host the OUA Semifinals at University Stadium. They will host the McMaster Marauders. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.