His three touchdowns allowed the Marauders to keep pace in a frantic first quarter, but it was Asher Hastings’ fourth in the final quarter that ultimately iced Saturday’s game.
The McMaster quarterback drew within one touchdown of the CIS single-season record of 30, and the Marauders withstood the challenge of the Laurier Golden Hawks to win 30-21 and move to 6-1 on the season.
Hastings now has 29 touchdowns through seven games, just one back of the record set by legendary Saint Mary’s Huskies signal caller Chris Flynn in 1989.
His favourite target in the red zone, receiver Danny Vandervoort also enjoyed a notable day for the history books, grabbing his 10th touchdown reception of the season as part of that first-quarter flurry to move into sole possession of the McMaster single-season record.
Usual suspect Dan Petermann was a workhorse once again for the Marauders, hauling in a game-high nine receptions for 113 yards and two touchdowns.
Alarm bells rung early for McMaster, as Laurier got on the board first when Kurleigh Gittens Jr. beat his marker down the sidelines and hauled in a 37-yard catch and run touchdown from Eric Morelli.
Misfortune struck on the Marauders next offensive possession, as what looked to be a routine dump-off pass turned into a pick six when slotback Declan Cross planted oddly in the turf and fell, allowing Ben Millar to return Hastings’ interception 65 yards to the end zone.
Just as the game threatened to run away from McMaster, Hastings and the offence roared to life, and Vandervoort marched in for his record-setting touchdown just two plays after the interception with a 54-yard catch and run.
A Laurier two-and-out was immediately punished with another score, as Petermann snagged his first touchdown of the afternoon after beating one-on-one coverage in the end zone for a 23-yard major that tied the game at 14 with 4:24 to play in the quarter.
Momentum firmly in their corner, the Marauders forced another two-and-out to set up another lightning touchdown drive, this time ending with a milestone in the career of Andrew Sinclair, who hauled in his first career touchdown pass to thrust Mac into the lead.
That advantage lasted only 14 seconds, however, as Gittens made his presence felt yet again, this time in the role of the kick returner, slashing through the Marauder coverage team en route to a 101-yard return touchdown to complete the 42-point quarter.
Neither team would add to their score until the final minute of the third quarter, when McMaster retook the lead through a Laurier safety. After a fruitless drive from both teams, the Marauder defence provided a definitive turning point.
With Laurier inside the McMaster 10-yard line, Morelli dropped back to pass and bobbled the ball in the face of blitz pressure, with Marauder linebacker Jake Heathcote grabbing his second turnover of the game and instantly flipping the field by recovering the resulting fumble.
Hastings and the McMaster offence responded appropriately, piecing together a 11-play, 92-yard drive that ended with Petermann’s second touchdown and consumed 4:50 of crucial game time.
Source: Fraser Caldwell, McMaster Marauders Sports Information
Kurleigh Gittens Jr. scored two of Laurier’s touchdown on Saturday against McMaster (Photo Credit: Kha Vo)
WATERLOO, Ont. (October 17, 2015) – The Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks men’s football team missed an opportunity to clinch an OUA playoff berth as they lost 30-21 to the No. 6 McMaster Marauders on Saturdayafternoon at University Stadium.
Needing a victory to assure themselves of at least the sixth seed in the OUA, the Hawks failed to convert on crucial scoring opportunities in the fourth quarter allowing McMaster to hold on to their lead and improve to 6-1 on the season. As for the Hawks, the loss drops them to 3-4 on the year and leaves them in a tie for the sixth and final playoff spot with the Toronto Varsity Blues.
“That was a great football team we just played and a couple plays here and there and it can go either way,” said head coach Michael Faulds after the game. “I don’t think anyone’s leaving here today thinking we got be at down into the ground. I think our guys are confident we can play with a team like McMaster. We didn’t win today, and credit to them for making the plays. But we need to focus on next opponent on our schedule and it’s a must win.”
“Obviously there are some critical plays we would like to have back, on offence especially and me personally, but at the same time we’ve got to be proud of the way we battled today against one of the best teams in the country,” added quarterback Eric Morelli of Burlington, Ont. “There’s a reason they’re No. 6 in the country, but at the same time we showed that we can compete with anyone today with our performance.”
The Hawks final home game of the season started off as a shootout as the two teams combined to score 42 points in the opening quarter. Laurier roared out to a 14-0 lead thanks to a 37-yard touchdown by rookie Kurleigh Gittens Jr. of Ottawa, and a 65-yard interception return by Ben Millar of Campbellville, Ont.
McMaster was not dismayed by the deficit as quarterback Asher Hastings of Regina, proceeded to complete three touchdown passes on consecutive drives to give his team a 21-14 advantage.
Following the Marauders third touchdown of the quarter, Laurier responded thanks to the young speedster Gittens Jr. On the kickoff, the freshmen burst through the middle of the field and returned the kick 101 yards for a touchdown, tying the game at 21. The return matched the second-longest in team history, a mark shared by Shamawd Chambers which he set against the Windsor Lancers back in 2010.
From there, the game turned into a defensive struggle. Laurier stepped up their game against the Marauders offence, holding them off the scoreboard on nine consecutive drives. One of the nine drives ended in Hastings’ second interception of the day as Godfrey Onyeka of Brampton, Ont., picked off the McMaster quarterback. For Hastings, the inter ception was his second of the afternoon, doubling his season total entering the game.
However, while the Laurier defence stood tall, the Marauders were equally impressive throughout the second and third quarters. Eventually, the play of their defence would result in a conceded safety late in the third quarter that gave them a 23-21 lead heading to the fourth.
The turning point in the game would come early in the fourth. With the Hawks driving and in the McMaster red zone, Morelli fumbled double clutching on a pass attempt and the Maraduers recovered the ball. On the ensuing drive, Hastings completed his fourth touchdown pass of the day to put the game away for McMaster.
Hastings, who finished the day one passing touchdown short of the CIS record of 30 for the year, was 31-for-43 for 365 yards. Dan Petermann of Stoney Creek, Ont., and Danny Vandervoort of Barrie, Ont., were his favourite targets on the afternoon. Petermann had nine catches for 113 yards and two touch downs while Vandervoort had four catches for 98 yards and a touchdown.
For the Hawks, Gittens Jr. was the story of the game has he had his second-consecutive 100-plus yard receiving game, finishing with eight catches for 104 yards and a touchdown. He also had 147 yards on four kickoff returns to end the day with 251 all-purpose yards.
Running back Dillon Campbell of Whitby, Ont., also eclipsed 100 yards rushing in a game for the fifth time this season, finishing the day with 116 yards on 20 attempts while Morelli was 17-for-30 for 198 yards and one touchdown.
Defensively, Laurier was led by rookie Matt Williams of Ajax, Ont., and Kwaku Boateng of Milton, Ont. Williams, a linebacker, finished the afternoon with 12 tackles, tied for the fourth most in a single game by a Golden Hawk, while Boateng had 3.5 tackles and two sacks.
The Hawks will have one final chance to clinch a playoff spot next week when they travel to Kingston for their season finale against th e No. 10 Queen’s Gaels. A win by Laurier will send them to the postseason for the second-consecutive year but a loss will end their season.
Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. at Richardson Stadium and can be seen live on OUA.tv.
NOTES: The Hawks recognized 16 graduating players prior to their game who may have been playing their last home game at Laurier…after the game, Laurier players gathered on the field to sign autographs for their fans…attendance on Saturday was 916
Source: Jamie Howieson, Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks Sports Information
| McMaster vs. Wilfrid Laurier at Waterloo, Ont. 10/17/2015 at 1:07PM |
|
| McMaster 30 |
Laurier 21 |
| SCORING | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | FINAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| McMaster (6-1, 6-1) | 21 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 30 |
| Laurier (3-4, 3-4) | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 |
| Waterloo, Ont. | University Stadium | |||||
| PRD | TIME | SCORING SUMMARY | MCMASTER – LAURIER |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 09:12 | Laurier – K Gittens Jr. 37 yd pass from E Morelli. (N Mesher kick is good). Drive: 1 plays, 52 yards in 0:18. |
0 – 7 |
| 1 | 07:07 | Laurier – B Millar 65 yd interception return. (N Mesher kick is good). | 0 – 14 |
| 1 | 06:16 | McMaster – Dan Vandervoort 54 yd pass from Asher Hastings. (Bobby Frame kick is good). Drive: 2 plays, 59 yards in 0:44. |
7 – 14 |
| 1 | 04:24 | McMaster – Dan Petermann 23 yd pass from Asher Hastings. (Bobby Frame kick is good). Drive: 1 plays, 23 yards in 0:10. |
14 – 14 |
| 1 | 01:08 | McMaster – Andrew Sinclair 16 yd pass from Asher Hastings. (Bobby Frame kick is good). Drive: 3 plays, 38 yards in 1:38. |
21 – 14 |
| 1 | 00:54 | Laurier – K Gittens Jr. 101 yd kickoff return. (N Mesher kick is good). | 21 – 21 |
| 3 | 01:50 | McMaster – Team safety | 23 – 21 |
| 4 | 06:06 | McMaster – Dan Petermann 12 yd pass from Asher Hastings. (Bobby Frame kick is good). Drive: 11 plays, 92 yards in 4:50. |
30 – 21 |
| MCMASTER | STATISTICS | LAURIER |
|---|---|---|
| 26 | FIRST DOWNS | 16 |
| 17 6 3 |
Passing Rushing Penalty |
9 5 2 |
| 447 | TOTAL OFFENSE | 298 |
| 70 6.4 |
Total Offensive Plays Average gain per play |
59 5.1 |
| 365 | NET YARDS PASSING | 198 |
| 31-43 8.5 3-10 2 |
Completions-Attempts Net yards per pass play Sacked: Number-Yards Had intercepted |
17-30 6.6 3-20 1 |
| 94 | NET YARDS RUSHING | 123 |
| 24 3.9 |
Rushing Attempts Average gain per rush |
26 4.7 |
| 11-334 | PUNTS: Number-Yards | 11-365 |
| 30.4 | Average | 33.2 |
| 181 | TOTAL RETURN YARDS | 313 |
| 11-106 4-75 1-0 |
Punt Returns: Number-Yards Kickoff Returns: Number-Yards Interception Returns: Number-Yards |
10-82 5-163 2-68 |
| 11-88 | PENALTIES: Number-Yards | 8-79 |
| 0-0 | FUMBLES: Number-Lost | 1-1 |
| 3-20 | SACKS: Number-Yards | 3-10 |
| 1-0 | INTERCEPTIONS: Number-Yards | 2-68 |
| 32:50 | TIME OF POSSESSION | 27:10 |
McMaster |
Laurier |
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| DEFENSIVE STATISTICS | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | MCMASTER | SOLO | AST | TOTAL | SACKS-YDS | TFL-YDS | FF | FR-YDS | INT-YDS | BRUP | BLKS | QBH |
| 10 | Joe Richardson | 5 | 3 | 6.5 | – | 1 – 2 | – | – | ||||
| 44 | Kyle Fitzsimons | 5 | 2 | 6 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 40 | Jake Heathcote | 5 | 1 | 5.5 | – | – | 1-0 | 1-0 | ||||
| 77 | Mike Kashak | 4 | 3 | 5.5 | 2 – 17 | 2.5 – 18 | – | – | ||||
| 78 | Hassan Barry | 3 | 4 | 5 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 21 | Ben Megarry | 4 | 1 | 4.5 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 2 | Robbie Yochim | 4 | 0 | 4 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 3 | Mitch O’Connor | 4 | 0 | 4 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 4 | Aaron Clarke | 3 | 1 | 3.5 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 5 | Keldyn Ahlstedt | 2 | 1 | 2.5 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 39 | Alec Robertson | 2 | 1 | 2.5 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 93 | Mac Bennyworth | 2 | 0 | 2 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 27 | Eric Blake | 1 | 1 | 1.5 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 92 | Kevin Aleinik | 0 | 3 | 1.5 | – | 0.5 – 0 | – | – | ||||
| 29 | Nick Nucci | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 54 | Mark Mackie | 0 | 2 | 1 | – | – | – | – | 1 | |||
| 90 | Michael Brouwers | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 – 3 | 1 – 3 | – | – | ||||
| 16 | Kingsley Amankwaa | 0 | 1 | 0.5 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| TM | TEAM | – | – | – | – | |||||||
| TOTALS | 46 | 24 | 58 | 3 – 20 | 5 – 23 | 1-0 | 1-0 | 1 | ||||
| # | LAURIER | SOLO | AST | TOTAL | SACKS-YDS | TFL-YDS | FF | FR-YDS | INT-YDS | BRUP | BLKS | QBH |
| 21 | Matt Williams | 11 | 2 | 12 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 6 | Austin Reusch | 6 | 2 | 7 | – | – | – | – | 1 | |||
| 11 | Nakas Onyeka | 6 | 2 | 7 | – | 2.5 – 6 | – | – | ||||
| 36 | Malcolm Thompson | 6 | 2 | 7 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 23 | Godfrey Onyeka | 3 | 4 | 5 | – | – | – | 1-3 | ||||
| 40 | Brandon Calver | 3 | 4 | 5 | 1 – 3 | 1 – 3 | – | – | ||||
| 3 | Kwaku Boateng | 3 | 1 | 3.5 | 2 – 7 | 3.5 – 8 | – | – | ||||
| 77 | Jalen Price | 2 | 3 | 3.5 | – | 0.5 – 0 | – | – | ||||
| 7 | Tanner Philp | 2 | 2 | 3 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 13 | Ben Millar | 2 | 0 | 2 | – | – | – | 1-65 | ||||
| 52 | Stu Smith | 1 | 2 | 2 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 69 | Trevaughan James | 1 | 1 | 1.5 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 91 | Asante Mizan | 1 | 1 | 1.5 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 5 | Marcus Arkarakas | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 19 | Kurleigh Gittens Jr. | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 24 | Scott Hutter | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 26 | Anthony Petrucci | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 56 | Adam Masur | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 90 | Emerson Gourdet | 0 | 2 | 1 | – | 0.5 – 1 | – | – | ||||
| 12 | Carson Ouellette | 0 | 1 | 0.5 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 22 | Darian Waite | 0 | 1 | 0.5 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| TOTALS | 52 | 30 | 67 | 3 – 10 | 8 – 18 | – | 2-68 | 1 | ||||
| OTHER INFORMATION | |
|---|---|
| Location: Waterloo, Ont. Stadium: University Stadium Attendance: 1000 |
Referee: Henry Choo Umpire: Jim Lindsay Head Linesman: Keith Medeiros Line Judge: Adelmo Monaco Back Judge: Fred Cooper Field Judge: John Pringle Side Judge: Brian Greig |
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