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Laurier Athletics - Waterloo Campus

Raidan Thorne catches a pass from Taylor Elgersma
Hailey Tripodi
24
Guelph GUE 2-1 , 2-1
33
Winner Laurier WLU 2-0 , 2-0
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
GUE Guelph 0 14 7 3 24
WLU Laurier 9 14 7 3 33

Game Recap: Football | | Natasha Giannantonio

#4 Golden Hawks pass stiff test in win over Gryphons

WATERLOO, Ont. – The #4-ranked Golden Hawks welcomed the Guelph Gryphons to the newly renovated Knight-Newbrough Field for a home opener match-up on Saturday afternoon. 

The Hawks beat the Gryphons decisively in 2023, emerging victorious by 39 points. Still, this year's Guelph team, under new head coach (and former Golden Hawks coordinator) Mark Surya, provided a test as stiff as the wind and rain that came in spurts throughout the game. 

The Golden Hawks would overcome the adversity yet again though and emerged victorious by a 33-24 score in front of 2,698 fans in attendance who held their breaths as both teams traded blows for the majority of the game. 

The purple and gold struck first with 2:50 left in the first quarter as their defence forced Guelph into losing 13 yards and ultimately conceding a safety, putting the home squad up 2-0. 

On the ensuing Laurier drive, Jaxon Stebbings separated himself from the gang of Gryphons in the secondary, making Taylor Elgersma's job an easy one in airing out a 29-yard pass to the wide-open receiver in the end zone. Dawson Hodge made no mistake on the extra point lifting the Hawks up 9-0. 

The second quarter saw both teams jousting for the edge, combining for 28 points in the frame.

Guelph's opening possession to start the second quarter consisted of 11 plays totalling 92 yards, ending in Marshall McCray rushing into the end zone for the Gryphons' first major of the game to cut Laurier's lead down to 9-7. 

Tanner Nelmes has almost quietly had an impressive start to the season, breaking the century mark in rushing yards in both of Laurier's games. With 243 yards combined on the ground through two contests, Nelmes is on pace to breeze past his previous 387 rushing yards, combined from 10 games. 

"I think my coaches just put me in the right spot, gave me the right opportunities," Nelmes said after the game, having recorded a game-high 111 yards on the ground. "(Offensive coordinator) Todd Galloway gives us the plan, and we execute on that."

To cap off a 104 rushing yard and 15-yard receiving day, Nelmes picked up six points with a second under four minutes remaining in the second quarter putting the Hawks up 16-7. 

Despite the deficit, the Gryphons remained focused, working their way back up the field to bring the score within two points as Jarod Tessier brought down a 29-yard pass from Tristan Aboud,  cutting Laurier's lead to 16-14.

Guelph's celebrations were short-lived. Ben Lane sent a 63-yard kickoff to the Laurier two-yard line, falling into rookie running back Tayshaun Jackson's arms. Instead of conceding a safety, Jackson turned on the jets side-stepping multiple tackles, and once he was through there was no catching him as he took it to the house.
 

"My teammates, they're great blockers. We have great special teams coaches who set it all up for me. I made a few moves and I saw a hole and took it home. Honestly, I can't take all the credit for it," Jackson said.

His 108-yard kickoff return touchdown not only marked the Windsor, Ont. native's first career OUA major but also broke a 50-year Laurier record of 105 yards set by Dan Bovair on October 12, 1974 against Western at Kitchener's old Centennial Stadium.

Ironically, Laurier played home games at Centennial from 1973 through approximately 1978 while the then-named Seagram Stadium was, undergoing restorations.

"I didn't even know it was a record until they said it on the announcement.  I was still trying to be locked in. But I'm happy I got it," he added.

"Any time a team scores, you're worried about momentum. And then, 10 seconds later, Tayshaun Jackson's putting it in the end zone," said Laurier's manager of football operations and head coach Michael Faulds

"We collectively, as coaches, said this will be Tayshaun Jackson's coming out party this year. Not many people knew about him before week one. He's a special player for us."

The Golden Hawks took a commanding 23-14 lead into halftime. 

Guelph responded at the 6:14 mark of the third quarter when Aboud called his number, rushing three yards into the Golden Hawk end zone, once again getting the visitors back within two points. 

Right on cue, the Golden Hawks struck back making their way downfield when Elgersma picked out Ryan Speight for 28 yards before carrying the ball himself a stride past Guelph's goal line at 1:09 for a score of 30-21. 

Fittingly nonetheless, the kickers also duked it out late in the final frame with Lane securing the 12-yard field goal and, at 1:22, the wind did not affect Hodge who found the uprights from 38 yards out. 

The Golden Hawks improved to 2-0 on the season with a final score of 33-24.

"We knew Guelph was a much-improved team. We know that the team is rallying behind coach Surya, and you could see that out there today. So that's a quality football team," Faulds said, praising Laurier's opponents. 

"Coming in, we were coming off the bye, so did we play perfect football? No. But we are happy with the win. We got effort all around the field today."

Up next, it's a rematch of the 2023 Yates Cup final between the Golden Hawks and Western Mustangs at Knight-Newbrough Field on Saturday, September 14th with kickoff set for 1 pm. 

Tickets are on sale now.

The game will also be live on OUA.tv or follow @WLUAthletics on X for real-time score updates. 
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