Golden Hawks take wild Battle of Waterloo in 3OT
Posted Oct 11, 2019 09:30:00 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
In what was one of the most anticipated clashes between University Avenue rivals in recent memory, the Battle of Waterloo did not disappoint.
Brentyn Hall took a short three-yard pass for the game-winning touchdown, as the Laurier Golden Hawks finished off a 53-50 triple overtime thriller over the Waterloo Warriors under the lights Thursday night at Warrior Field.
Four players rushed for over 100 yards — Laurier's Levondre Gordon (159) and Kevin Wong (109 + a TD); Waterloo's Tre Ford (135 + 3 TD's) and Dion Pellerin (102) — and the two teams combined for 1,154 offensive yards on the night.
The Hawks jumped out to a 12-0 lead early in the second quarter, and went into the half with the 26-12 lead.
But 21 second half points, capped off by a Ford nine-yard touchdown run with 4:30 remaining in the fourth, tied the game at 33.
And to force overtime, Laurier was able to block a potential game-winning field goal from the home team with no time on the clock.
Both sides would exchange a pair of touchdowns to bring it to the third OT period, before Jonah Zlatinszky was forced to convert a 35-yard FG that opened the door for the Golden Hawks.
Three plays into their possession, Hall was in the end zone to end the marathon.
Connor Carusello went 14-for-24 with 208 yards in the air and three touchdowns. Ford was 27-for-43, nabbing 351 passing yards (that's 486 all-purpose yards when you factor in his ground game), two TDs and a pick for the Warriors.
Hall's game-winner finished an impressive night for the veteran wide out, racking up 165 yards on eight catches with a pair of TDs.
Tyler Ternowski caught seven passes for 131 yards, including a 52-yard touchdown (the longest passing play of the night) in the second quarter.
After all that, both teams now move to 4-3 on the year, with Laurier undefeated in three games after their bye. Waterloo has now lost two in a row.
The game had massive playoff implications too, with Ottawa (4-2), Waterloo and Laurier all sitting in the final three playoff spots, and Toronto and Carleton sitting close behind at 2-4 ahead of their matchups this weekend.
Guelph moved to 5-2 with a 27-24 win in overtime over Queen's (2-5) in the other OUA Thursday nighter.
There's still plenty of football left this week, but there is bound to be a lot of scoreboard watching a week from now.
The Golden Hawks wrap up the regular season with their School Day Game, hosting Carleton at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, October 18 at University Stadium.
Waterloo will hit the road to Hamilton, facing McMaster on Saturday, October 19 at 1:00 p.m.
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