KINGSTON – For the second consecutive week, the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks men’s football team experienced a heartbreaking overtime loss as they fell 40-34 to the No. 5 Queen’s Gaels on Saturday afternoon.
After failing to score on their first overtime possession, the Hawks looked to have stopped the Gaels when Laurier’s special teams unit blocked a game-winning field goal attempt. However, in a wild sequence, the ball was booted into the endzone and recovered by the Gaels Aaron Gazendam of Kingston, Ont., for the touchdown and the victory.
“We said at the start of the season, regardless of what our record is going to be, we’re going to be the toughest team [to play],” commented receiver Greg Nyhof after the game. “We’ve worked hard to earn that reputation and I think we have earned that reputation. We came into this game knowing that this team didn’t really respect us and I think it’s safe to say they do now.”
“Our emotion is amazing. It’s been like that all year from the first practice to our last game,” added Head Coach Michael Faulds. “Our guys are fighting and they’re never going to give up. We were just saying this is the best 1-6 football team in the country and no one wants to play us right now. We’re a dangerous football team whether its Western, its Windsor or its Queen’s, we’re going to come out swinging.”
Both Laurier (1-6) and Queen’s (5-1) put on a show for the 9,037 fans in attendance at the Gaels first Homecoming game since 2008. The hometown team got the start it wanted thanks to a 54-yard touchdown run by Ryan Granberg of Sherwood Park, Alta., and led 8-3 after the opening quarter.
The Hawks responded in the second as quarterback James Fracas of Waterloo, Ont., connected on 22- and 56-yard touchdown passes to Greg Nyhof of Georgetown, Ont., and Scott Campbell of Cambridge, Ont. Those scores gave Laurier a 20-9 lead at the half.
After a quite start to the third quarter, the two teams traded majors late in the quarter. Touchdowns by Queen’s Daniel Hislop of Scarborough, Ont., and Lauriers Rashad La Touche of Whitby, Ont., meant the Hawks led 27-16 after three quarters of play.
In the fourth, the Gaels began chipping away at the Hawks lead. A field goal would make the score 27-19 and then Queen’s tied the game with under three minutes to play thanks to a Scott Macdonell (Montreal) touchdown and a successful two-point conversion.
On their next possession, Jesse Andrews of Arnprior, Ont., scored the Gaels second rushing major of the day to take the lead. However, the purple and gold did not fold and Fracas guided the Hawks into Queen’s territory. The Hawks pivot would finish off an eight play, 81-yard drive with 15 seconds left as he connected with Nyhof for his second major of the game to tie the contest at 34.
However, as was the case last week against Windsor, a win wasn’t in the cards for Laurier in this game as the wild overtime sequence clinched Queen’s their fifth win of the season.
The running game proved to be the difference for the Gaels on the afternoon as the Hawks effectively shutdown McPhee, limiting him to just 10 completions and 204 yards. Queens backs combined for 248 yards, led by a 100-yard effort from Granberg.
For Laurier, Fracas continued to improve his stats and for the second straight week, threw for more than 300 yards. He finished the game 23-of-35 for 359 yards and four touchdowns. Running back Dillon Campbell of Whitby, Ont., led the Hawks’ rushing game with his fifth consecutive 100-yard effort, finishing the game with 107 yards on 20 carries.
With the loss, the Hawks are officially eliminated from post-season contention for the first time since 2002. Laurier will wrap up their 2013 season at home on Saturday, October 12 when they host the McMaster Marauders (3-3). The Hawks senior players will be honoured before the game and fans can purchase five-dollar tickets with the donation of a non-perishable food item.
Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. at University Stadium.
NOTES: Kick returner William Pitt-Doe of Mississauga, Ont., set a new Laurier single-season record for kick return yards late in the third quarter thanks to a 71-yard return…the rookie defensive back now has 560 yards on the season which ranks him fourth all-time in OUA history…rookie linebacker Nakas Onyeka of Brampton, Ont., finished the game as Laurier’s leading tackler with 6.5 tackles in the contest.
Photo credit: Heather Davidson
Source: Jamie Howieson, Wilfrid Laurier Sports Information
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KINGSTON – Aaron Gazendam‘s (Kingston, Ont.) overtime heroics gave the No. 5 Gaels (5-1) the 40-34 victory over the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks (1-6) on Saturday at Richardson Stadium in front of 9,037 Homecoming fans.
When Laurier blocked Dillon Wamsley‘s (London, Ont.) field goal attempt in overtime, Gazendam caught the blocked kick out of the air, punted it into the endzone, and jumped on the loose ball to get the touchdown and the win.
“The first thing I thought was to try to kick it out through the back of the end zone but I kind of fluffed on it and it went straight up in the air and was sitting in the back of the end zone,” said Gazendam after the game. “All of our guys knew exactly what to do and gave them five-yards so we wouldn’t get a penalty and then I just went and jumped on it.”
The Gaels went ahead early, with a 54-yard touchdown run from Ryan Granberg (Sherwood Park, Alta.) four minutes into game. Wamsley followed the touchdown run with a booming kick, forcing the Golden Hawks to concede a rouge and give the Gaels an 8-0 lead.
Laurier stormed back in the second quarter, holding Queen’s to just one point. Golden Hawks quarterback James Fracas threw a pair of second-quarter touchdowns to Greg Nyhof and Scott Campbell, putting Laurier ahead 17-9 at halftime.
The teams traded touchdowns in the third, with Daniel Heslop (Scarborough, Ont.) catching a pass from Billy McPhee (Burlington, Ont.) and running it 75 yards into the endzone, narrowing the Golden Hawks’ lead to 20-16.
McPhee found Scott Macdonell (Montreal) in the fourth quarter, who made two defenders miss, scoring a touchdown with 2:46 remaining. Giovanni Aprile (Scarborough, Ont.) caught a pass in the endzone on the two-point convert, tying the game at 27.
After the Gaels defense stopped Laurier thanks to a sack from Mike Leroux (Kingston, Ont.), Jesse Andrews (Arnprior, Ont.) punched in a 5-yard run with 1:37 to go, giving the Gaels a 34-27 lead.
Fracas connected with Nyhof for another Laurier touchdown with 15 seconds left on the clock, tying the game and forcing overtime. Fracas ended the game with 359 yards through the air, going 23-35.
The Gaels stopped the Golden Hawks on their overtime possession, forcing a missed field goal attempt.
After a pair of runs from Andrews, the Gaels were in scoring range and set up for the field goal that was blocked, but ultimately ended in the Gaels victory.
“Football brilliance is what it was,” said Coach Pat Sheahan about about Gazendam’s final play of the day. “Gazendam ran in there as the punter and jumped on it and it was unbelievable, unbelievable finish to the game.”
Justin Baronaitis (Rexdale, Ont.) led the Gaels defensively with eight tackles, along with Sean Plumley (Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.), who made 7.5 tackles, including a sack, and a fumble recovery.
McPhee finished the game with 204 yards through the air, and the Gaels were led by Granberg on the ground, who ran for 100 yards.
Gaels last overtime game was September 25th, 2010 in a 27-25 loss to Ottawa. Their last overtime win was September 3rd, 2007, a 26-20 win against Western.
The Gaels travel to Waterloo to battle the Warriors on Friday at 7pm.
Source: Shawn MacDonald, Queen’s Golden Gaels Sports Information
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