Fantham guides Hawks past Gee-Gees (VIDEO)

For the second straight week, the Hawks overcame a second-half deficit to post the victory as running back Tyrrel Wilson of Hamilton, scored the game-winning major early in the fourth quarter.

“It feels good [to get the win],” said Fantham, who was making his first career start. “Whenever the receivers are getting open, it makes my job a lot easier. A lot of guys made plays out there.”

In a widely entertaining game that saw numerous swings in momentum, the Gee-Gees took a 7-0 lead just 31 seconds i nto the game as starting quarterback Aaron Colbon of Ottawa, connected with Vincent Campbell of Gatineau, Que., on a 106 yard touchdown.

Despite the rocky start, the Hawks took advantage of the wind at their backs in the opening 15 minutes. Fantham connected with Alex Anthony of Victoria, B.C., for a 16-yard touchdown just five minutes later before Ronnie Pfeffer of Kitchener, Ont., made his first of two field goals on the day to give Laurier a 10-7 lead after one quarter.

After Josh Pirie of Cambridge, Ont., extended the Hawks lead to 10 with a touchdown, the Gee-Gees took the momentum back, scoring 12 unanswered points before the half to take a 19-17 lead after 30 minutes.

With momentum on their side, Ottawa took advantage of three straight Laurier fumbles in the third quarter to add another six points to their lead thanks to 45 and 17-yard field goals from Matthew Falvo of Welland, Ont.

Trailing by eight points late in the third quarter, the Hawks offence once again found their groove as Pirie scored his second major of the game followed by a single point from Pfeffer off the ensuing kickoff that evened the score at 25.

Going into the wind for the final 15 minutes, the purple and gold did not slow down as Fantham drove the team down field and finished a six play, 58 yard drive by finding Wilson who ran it in from 25 yards out for the game-winning points.

Pfeffer added another field goal and a blocked punt by Ottawa, which ended up as a safety, rounded out the scoring.

For the second straight week, the Hawks backs featured prominently in the offence and Pirie attributes that success to Ryan Pyear. “It comes down to our offensive coordinators play calling. He knows where to attack defences and he gets us out of the backf ield into routes where defenders might not account for us.”

Fantham, after a slow first half, finished the game strong as he was 15-for-26 for 218 yards, four touchdowns and one interception. Colbon and backup Zac Lesko of Edmonton, who replaced Colbon after he went down with an injury in the second quarter, combined to complete eight of 20 pass attempts for 210 yards and a touchdown.

Wilson, aside from catching the game-winning score, also led all players in rushing on the day as he racked up 75 yards on 14 attempts.

Laurier will now return home to Waterloo for their annual Homecoming game as they take on the Guelph Gryphons (3-1) next Saturday at 1 p.m.

NOTES: The last time Ottawa started a year 0-4 was in 1984…Drew Galpin of Kitchener, Ont., led a strong defensive effort, which included four goal line stands, as he had 7.5 total tackles…An thony led the receiving with effort with 54 yards while Isaac Dell of Niagara Falls, Ont., was not far behind with 52 yards…the victory is Lauriers second straight over Ottawa, a feat that hasn’t happened since the Hawks defeated the Gee-Gees in consecutive games in 2004 and 2005…Attendance at the game was 628

OTTAWA SPORTS INFO

Gee-Gees lose hard-fought game to Laurier, 35-27

After losing the first three games of their season, the Gee-Gees
football team badly needed a win against the Laurier Golden Hawks to
bolster their playoff chances. And while the Gee-Gees gave it their
all against an equally desperate Golden Hawks team, Ottawa ended up on
the short side of the stick again, losing 35-27 at Beckwith Park.

The Gee-Gees were backed up at their own four-yard line to start the
first drive of the game, due to a penalty on the opening kickoff.
However, on the first play from scrimmage, Colbon found a wide-open
receiver in rookie Vincent Campbell. Laurier’s defence went hard after
a potential safety but failed, leaving Campbell completely uncovered
for an incredible 106-yard catch-and-run touchdown.

“The receivers are open commonly, there are running lanes that are
open. They did a good job of limiting our running game, but usually
when we look at the video, there are guys not doing their jobs.
Obviously we’ll look at that,” said Gee-Gees head coach Gary
Etcheverry. “But there’s no question about the offence and the
potential [they have].”

Laurier rebounded well after the defensive debacle, scoring a
touchdown a few minutes later to tie the score up at 7-7. The two
defences soon settled down and Laurier led 10-7 heading into the
second quarter.

The Golden Hawks added to their lead three minutes into the second
frame when quarterback Steve Fantham found his man in the endzone
despite double coverage from the Gee-Gees. More bad news for the
Gee-Gees came in the form of a hand injury to fourth-year quarterback
Aaron Colbon who was unable to return to the game. Ottawa did manage
to put some points on the scoreboard when fourth-year defensive
lineman Trevor Seal scored a safety.

“When we lost our starting quarterback, it was significant, but his
replacement—a rookie—did a very good job given the circumstances,”
said Etcheverry.

Rookie Zac Lesko (Edmonton, Alta.) was thrown into the fire as the
replacement for Colbon and he responded valiantly, scoring a 1-yard
touchdown run. Lesko led the Gee-Gees offence on another nice drive
which was capped off by a 31-yard field goal by fifth-year kicker
Matthew Falvo. The Gee-Gees had a 19-17 advantage at halftime.

After the intermission, fifth-year linebacker Tyler Sawyer made a huge
play when he sacked the Laurier quarterback, causing a fumble. The
Gee-Gees scored three points off the turnover when Falvo hit a 45-yard
field goal. Shortly after, Sawyer forced yet another fumble from
Fantham, setting up a 17-yard field goal from Falvo. Ottawa led 25-17
at that point. Laurier then scored a touchdown and a single of their
own to tie the game at 25-25.

Laurier re-took the lead early in the fourth quarter after a touchdown
drive. The Golden Hawks scored again, this time a field goal, to take
a 10-point lead with less than six minutes left in the game. The
Gee-Gees did give their fans a glimmer of hope when they blocked a
punt for a safety with a minute and a half left in the game, but that
was as close as Ottawa would get—the Gee-Gees lost by a 35-27 final
score.

1 2 3 4   Final
Laurier     10 7 8 10 35
Gee-Gees      7 12 6 2    27