Yates Cup: Laurier Golden Hawks 51, Western Mustangs 31

Article content

WATERLOO – Laurier was too much. Or to put it another way, this Western team just wasn’t enough.

The Mustangs (9-2) looked like national-calibre contenders at times this fall, but they were blown out twice by the Golden Hawks – including a 51-31 beatdown in the 116th Yates Cup before 5,000 Saturday at University Stadium.

“We just didn’t have any answers,” Western head coach Greg Marshall said. “We couldn’t stop them. We got some momentum here and there but we needed to be way more consistent offensively than we were to slow them down.

Article content

“We got beat on special teams. We got beat on defence. We got beat on offence.”

Every so often, they looked like the house by the side of the road and watched the Golden Hawks speed by them – again.

The Mustangs surrendered 50-plus points for the first time in a decade. Guelph hung 51 on them in a playoff game Nov. 8, 2014.

They gave up an eye-popping 94 points in their two Laurier visits and the offence couldn’t keep pace.

“I thought we would match up a little better defensively than we did,” Marshall said. “There’s not a lot of holes in their offence. Coach Gleason (defensive co-ordinator Paul Gleason) does a great job scheming things but sometimes it comes down to – they’re better than us.”

Western opened the scoring on a 62-yard touchdown run, which gave the Mustangs their only lead in two trips to the Hawks Nest. It evaporated quickly as Laurier piled up 28 straight points on four majors.

A late first-half rally gave the Mustangs a chance, but the home side started the second half with 17 consecutive points. The Hawks made up for their miserable third quarter in last year’s title game at London.

“There were a few times we could have changed the tides, but we didn’t,” Western free safety Jackson Findlay said. “We really beat ourselves on a lot of the stuff that we did out there. They made some great plays. We didn’t.”

The tackling was atrocious. Laurier’s Tanner Nelmes rushed for 170 yards and a good chunk of those happened after he should have been dragged down.

“It’s not that we weren’t in the right position a lot of times,” Findlay said. “We just couldn’t finish the play. That just comes down to not wanting the big hit and making the team play. Sometimes, you miss and it’s about getting up and on to the next play. A lot of times, maybe we did linger a bit on one of those missed plays and didn’t get back to it.

“I’m still proud of these guys.”

Article content

MVP NOD: Londoner Taylor Elgersma added the Dalt White Trophy as game MVP to his back-to-back Ontario university most outstanding player awards.

The Laurier quarterback racked up 18 completions, 306 yards and threw four touchdown passes while keeping Western’s defenders on their heels. He dreamed of playing the Mustangs in a game like this on his turf and it turned out better than he imagined.

“They had our number the last couple of years,” the Oakridge grad said. “Having to walk off that field last year and watch them hoist this trophy, it’s nice to be able to do it to them this year. This is what we worked for. We got home field. Our fans showed up.

“It was an amazing atmosphere.”

Elgersma grew up watching Marshall and the Mustangs win Yates Cups on the regular. He and his coach Michael Faulds, the old Western passing great, ended Western’s run of three straight Ontario conference crowns.

This was long-awaited revenge.

“It wasn’t the way we wanted the season to end,” Mustangs running back Keanu Yazbeck said. “We had a really good football team and they worked their asses off and played a good football game. It’s not fun. They have been on the bad end of the stick the last two years and they deserve (this).”

Article content

ON THE SIDELINES: This was Western’s record ninth straight Yates Cup game appearance. They are 5-4 over this historic stretch . . . The Mustangs have won an unprecedented 35 Ontario titles. Laurier picked up its ninth, which passes McMaster for fifth all-time . . . Marshall was asked if he would be back to coach Western next season. “Yeah,” the 65-year-old said. “We’ll see.” . . . Mustangs quarterback Evan Hillock was Vanier Cup MVP in his first season as starter in 2021. Since then, he has lost back-to-back national semifinals and now the Ontario final. Will he return? “It’s too early to say,” Marshall said. “He’s got another year.” . . . Laurier had 35 first downs to Western’s 23. That was a big part of the story. The Hawks moved the ball when they had to and the Mustangs struggled with it at key moments . . . Western veteran defensive end Soren Hallschmid, who had an outstanding playoffs, recorded the game’s only interception . . . Keon Edwards, one of Western’s great running backs, finished with 10 carries for 62 yards. He won two Yates Cup MVPs (2021, ‘22) and was conference MVP (2022) during his tenure. Marshall said he plans to try to convince him to help coach next year . . . Laurier’s Darion Bacik-Hadden caught a touchdown pass and threw for one on a sneaky goal-line play after the half. That was a product of Western’s rough start to the third quarter. “We kicked off to them, needed a stop and didn’t get it,” Marshall said. “Now, we’re behind again (by 14) and their playbook is wide open. On the one-yard line, they’re trying a running back pass. It’s wide open. If it was a seven-point game, they wouldn’t try that play.” . . . Laurier’s joy from it was short-lived. Bacik-Hadden later suffered a serious leg injury and had to be taken to hospital . . . Western was impeccable in short-yardage situation all year with Jerome Rancourt, but they were stuffed on an early 3rd-and-short play and had to settle for a field goal after a great Xavier Allan catch put them in the red zone . . . Laurier will graduate many of its starters after this season. How about Western? “We’re fine,” Marshall said. “We won three years in a row. We have a good nucleus coming back. We have to keep it going. That (Laurier) was a very veteran team. They’re well coached. We’ll be fine.” . . . Wilfrid Laurier will head east to face Bishop’s in the Uteck Bowl next Saturday. The other semifinal is Laval-Regina.

Article content

rpyette@postmedia.com

116th YATES CUP

Golden Hawks 51, Mustangs 31

Wilfrid Laurier touchdowns: Tayshaun Jackson, Ryan Hughes, Ethan Jordan, Tanner Nelmes, Darion Bacik-Hadden, Khalil Derman

Western touchdowns: Keanu Yazbeck (2), Mohsen Jamal II, Brayden Misseri

Next: The unbeaten Golden Hawks face Atlantic champion Bishop’s in the Uteck Bowl next Saturday.

Game Summary

Saturday at University Stadium

Golden Hawks 51, Mustangs 31

First quarter
WES – TD Yazbeck run 62 (Garrity kick) 2:59
WLU – TD Jackson pass 59 from Elgersma (Hodge kick) 5:29
WLU – TD Hughes pass 26 from Elgersma (Hodge kick) 11:28

Second quarter
WLU – TD Jordan pass 27 from Elgersma (Hodge kick) 2:15
WLU – TD Nelmes run 3 (Hodge kick) 9:01
WES – TD Jamal II pass 7 from Hillock (Garrity kick) 12:11
WES – TD Yazbeck run 14 (Garrity kick) 13:25

Third quarter
WLU – TD Bacik-Hadden pass 10 from Elgersma (Hodge kick) 4:57
WLU – TD Derman pass 1 from Bacik-Hadden (Hodge kick) 7:19
WLU – FG Hodge 40 109:38
WES – FG Garrity 16 13:51

Fourth quarter
WLU – FG Hodge 36 1:38
WLU – FG Hodge 42 4:19
WES – TD Misseri pass 10 from Hillock (Garrity kick) 10:12

Wes  7 14 3 7–31
Wlu 14 14 17 6–51

Individual stats

Rushing: Wes – Yazbeck 9-124, 2 TD, Edwards 10-62. Wlu – Nelmes 23-170, TD, Jackson 6-52. Receiving: Wes – Robertson 4-97, Misseri 5-97, TD; Wlu – Hughes 7-113, TD, Jackson 2-59, TD. Passing: Wes – Hillock 18-29, 323, 2 TD, 0 Int. Wlu – Elgersma 18-30, 306, 4 TD, 1 Int, Bacik-Hadden, 1-1, 1, 1, 0

Article content