WATERLOO, Ont. (October 4, 2012) – On the strength of four field goals from kicker Ronnie Pfeffer of Kitchener, Ont., the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks (3-3) returned to .500 with a 12-0 victory over the Waterloo Warriors (1-5) on Thursday night at University Stadium.
BOXSCORE
BOXSCORE
Pfeffer, a second year Psychology major, accounted for the games entire offensive output, including connecting on a career-long 44 yarder in the third quarter, as the Hawks picked up their first shutout victory since 2009.
“I have to give a lot of credit to our offence,” said Pfeffer, sharing his success with his teammates. “Our offence drove us down the field and my line held perfectly. [Mitchell] Bosch had perfect snaps every time I kicked a field goal.”
In what was a defensive struggle between the two cross-town rivals, Laurier scored the only points in the first half on Pfeffer’s first field goal of the day from 32 yards out midway through the first quarter. In total, the two teams combined for just 233 total yards of offence and five turnovers as the Hawks led 3-0 after 30 minutes.
The second half saw the Hawks eliminate their turnovers by going to the ground game. The move paid off as Laurier added two more field goals to extend their lead to nine after three quarters.
After going up by 12 on an impressive 42-yard field goal into the wind by Pfeffer in the fourth quarter, the Hawks defence smothered the Waterloo offence, shutting down a pair of potential scoring drives late to preserve the shuout.
Asides from Pfeffer, Laurier quarterback Travis Eman of Brampton, Ont., also starred for the Hawks as he ran for 111 yards, a career-best, and threw for another 53 yards in splitting time with starting quarterback Steven Fantham of London, Ont.
Drew Galpin of Kitchener, Ont., and Asante Mizan of Brooklyn, N.Y., led the purple and golds defensive effort, recording 8.5 and 6.5 tackles respectively. Mizan also picked up a sack and two tackles for losses.
With their home schedule completed, Laurier will play their final two games of 2012 on the road. First up is a showdown against the No. 7 Western Mustangs on Saturday, October 13.
“We’ve always had bad blood [against Western],” said Mizan, looking ahead to next week. “We’re just going to keep working hard, stay on our assignment and just keep on fighting.”
Game time is set for 1 p.m. at TD Waterhouse Stadium in London, Ont. NOTES: Laurier’s last shutout victory was over the Toronto Varsity Blues, a 36-0 win in Week 1 in 2009…Pfeffer also established a new career-high for field goals in a season with 12…Eman had the Hawks first 100 yard rushing game since Rashad La Touche (Whitby, Ont.) and Tyrrel Wilson (Hamilton) had over 100 yards each against Waterloo last season…Galpin was Laurier’s leading tackler for the third straight contest…Waterloo receiver Nick Anapolsky of Guelph, Ont., was the Warriors top performer in the game finishing with seven catches for 71 yards…attendance at the game was 1,134
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