Golden Hawks are upbeat after Week 1 defeat
Laurier satisfied with performance in 32-19 opening loss
WATERLOO — To hear Tommy Bringi tell it, next time will be different.
The hard-hitting Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks linebacker was in a confident frame of mind Sunday, following his team’s 32-19 loss to the Western Mustangs.
The reigning Yates Cup champions capitalized on three massive plays to win the Ontario University Athletics regularseason opener at University Stadium.
“Our defence played really well today. The only times they scored on us, it was because of some simple mental mistakes that we can correct, as well as a couple of explosion plays,” said Bringi, a second-year linebacker from London who led the Golden Hawks with nine tackles.
“Honestly, if we play them again, we’ll match up well and I doubt the score will be the same.”
The Golden Hawks compiled 442 yards of total offence, compared to just 288 for the Mustangs, but the visitors made two key plays on offence and another on special teams to record their 12th consecutive regular-season victory over Laurier dating back to 2008.
Later Sunday, the Waterloo Warriors opened their OUA campaign against the Toronto Varsity Blues with a night game against the Toronto Varsity Blues.
Western fifth-year quarterback Chris Merchant tossed a pair of long touchdown passes — 62 yards to Justin Nickson and 36 yards to Savaughn MagnayeJones — and Brett Ellerman recovered a blocked punt in the Laurier end zone to stake Western to a 22-6 lead at the midway point of the third quarter.
Atwo-yard rushing touchdown by Trey Humes gave Western a 32-13 lead with 9:50 to play in the fourth.
Merchant finished the day by completing 15 of 24 passes for 236
Ultimately though, if they’re the premier team in the conference, we were right there with them for quite a bit of the game.
MICHAEL FAULDS
GOLDEN HAWKS HEAD COACH
yards, two touchdowns and one interception. He was sacked five times and faced constant pressure from the Laurier defence.
Connor Carusello, Laurier’s second-year quarterback from Caledonia, clicked on 34 of 48 passes for two touchdowns. Making his fourth OUA start, he was sacked twice and threw one interception.
Golden Hawks head coach Michael Faulds described Carusello’s performance as “good but not great.”
“He’s got to trust himself a little bit more ... (but) he’s going to continue to improve as the season goes along,” said Faulds.
Carusello’s first TD strike of the season was a thing of beauty, throwing a perfect sideline strike to Brentyn Hall for a 71-yard TD that cut Western’s lead to 22-13. Carusello padded his stats with a 32-yard scoring pass to Brendan McCracken with 12 seconds remaining. Laurier running back Levondre Gordon had 15 carries for 83 yards, while Hall and Ente Eguavoen had seven receptions apiece.
“I thought the effort was there, we played a tough football game. It was two quality football teams out there so you could see it was really physical.
“You could also see it was week one, so there were lots of penalties and lots of missed assignments here and there, that’s part of a 10-day training camp and it being Week 1,” said Faulds.
“Ultimately though, if they’re the premier team in the conference, we were right there with them for quite a bit of the game. We had three really good drives on offence but we weren’t consistent there. Our defence played outstanding and we’re going to continue to grow.”
The Golden Hawks committed a whopping 17 penalties for 160 yards, the Mustangs were flagged nine times for 85 yards.
Mustangs head coach Greg Marshall praised both defences and agreed with Faulds that the condensed 10-day training camp caused problems for both teams.
“It was kind of ugly but I think our defence did a really good job, (Marc) Liegghio our punter got us out of trouble, hammered the football, and we made some big plays,” said Marshall.
“Give credit to Laurier, their defence is stout, but we knew that.”
Liegghio, as his coach pointed out, turned in an outstanding performance, connecting on a 40-yard field goal and averaging 49.3 yards per punt on nine attempts.
Laurier kicker Nathan Mesher had field goals of 30 and 31 yards.
Laurier defensive back Will Amoah recorded a first-quarter interception, the Kitchener native’s sixth pick in his past nine games.
Laurier returns to action on Labour Day in Toronto against the York Lions.