Riding the momentum from back-to-back victories, the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks will battle the No. 6 McMaster Marauders on Saturday afternoon in their final home game of the regular season.
Kickoff is scheduled for 1:07 p.m. with the game being broadcast live on theScore Television Network.
After a slow start to the year, the Golden Hawks have turned their season around thanks to consecutive victories over the Ottawa Gee-Gees and the Waterloo Warriors. Those wins have the team holding down the sixth and final playoff spot in the OUA but they trail three teams, the Windsor Lancers, the Queens Gaels, and the Gee-Gees by just one game in the standings.
Laurier is coming off of their best offensive performance of the season and the fourth best in team history as the Hawks defeated the Waterloo Warriors by a score of 69-3 last Thursday night. The story coming out of the contest was the turnaround of the Hawks running game. Laurier posted a season-high 305 rushing yards, thanks to two 100 yard rushing performances from Rashad La Touche of Whitby, Ont., and Tyrrel Wilson of Hamilton, Ont. The team also had four rushing touchdowns, including two from La Touche and one each from Wilson and Ashton Rochester of Oakville, Ont.
Shane Kelly of Basking Ridge, N.J., also continued his assault on the Laurier record books as he threw for 303 yards and four touchdowns, two of which were to Shamawd Chambers of Markham, Ont. Kelly now has 1,902 yards and 20 touchdowns on the season which ranks him third in both categories for single season totals at Laurier. He needs just 393 yards and three touchdowns to surpass former Hawk Bill Kubas, who established both records during the 1994 season.
Meanwhile, the Marauders received a boost in their last game as quarterback Kyle Quinlan of South Woodslee, Ont., returned after his suspension to lead McMaster to a 50-14 victory over the Toronto Varsity Blues. Quinlan finished the game with 455 yards and five touchdowns in his first start since a Week 2 loss to the No. 1 Western Mustangs.
Saturdays game is setting up to have major implications on the OUA playoff race. With Windsor and Ottawa also playing on Saturday, a Hawks win will guarantee that they move up at least one position in the standings.
For Laurier to do that, they will need to find a way to contain Quinlan. Although he has just played three games this season, the Marauders pivot has thrown for 1,111 yards, an average of 370 per game. If the Hawks can continue to play the same level of defence that has seen them allow just 19 points in their last two games, the team should have success in t his area.
One other key to Lauriers success on Saturday will be their ability to keep McMasters defence off-balance. Last weeks strong running performance will need to be duplicated in order to allow Kelly and the Laurier receivers to continue to carve up their oppositions secondaries.
Jamie Howieson
Advocating for football prospects one story at a time.
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