Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks receiver Brentyn Hall catches a touchdown pass in overtime against the Waterloo Warriors on Thursday night. (Photo by Mike Veltri)

Laurier football prevails in triple-OT thriller against Waterloo 

The best game of the Ontario University Athletics football season so far officially belongs to the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks and Waterloo Warriors. The cross-town rivals thrilled fans on Thursday night in the latest installment of the Battle of Waterloo, with triple overtime needed to settle the showdown. 

The first quarter did little to foreshadow how the rest of the game would go, as Laurier took a 5-0 lead into the second quarter after a field goal by Waterloo native Nathan Mesher, and two rouge points. The offense exploded in the second as the teams combined for 33 points, with Laurier’s lead getting as large as 26-12 just before the half. Laurier got three touchdowns from three different players in the frame, while Waterloo forced a safety, kicked a field goal, and scored on a 52-yard pass from Tre Ford to Tyler Ternowski. 

The third quarter was all black and yellow as Ford threw another touchdown pass for the Warriors and Jonah Zlatinszky kicked his second of four field goals on the night to make the score 26-22 Laurier. Zlatinszky would promptly bring Waterloo to within a point early in the fourth quarter with his third successful kick. After the Golden Hawks scored on a Kacantye Bailey rushing touchdown, Ford took Waterloo’s fate into his own hands, scoring on a nine-yard rush before converting the two-point attempt on a pass to Ternowski to tie the game 33-33 with four minutes remaining. 

The game would stay tied until the last minute, when Waterloo got the ball back at its own 43 yard line with 26 seconds to play. A 35-yard trick play from the Warriors put them in Zlatinszky’s kicking range as Ford spiked the ball with one second left in regulation. With the game on the line, Laurier’s special teams stepped up in a massive way, blocking Zlatinszky’s 42-yard attempt as time expired, sending the Battle of Waterloo fittingly into overtime, and it did not disappoint. 

In the OUA, overtime features each team getting the ball at the opponent’s 35-yard line with a chance to score points. It follows a sudden-death version of a hockey shootout, with teams rotating who goes first on offense each round. Waterloo was given possession of the ball first, and drove the 35 yards in five plays, capped off by a four-yard touchdown run by Ford to put the Warriors up by seven. Laurier began its must-score drive with a 15-yard penalty that backed them up to the 50 yard line. Two plays later, Connor Carusello hit Brentyn Hall in stride for a 46-yard touchdown that tied the game. Laurier retained possession in the second round, and would drive again taking the lead on a 1-yard rush by Bailey, this time putting the pressure on the Warriors. Ford answered the bell for Waterloo, tying the game again 47-47 with an 8-yard rushing touchdown. It was Laurier’s defense coming up big on the next possession, holding Waterloo to just 8 yards and forcing Zlatinszky to make his fourth field goal of the game, putting Waterloo up 50-47, and giving Laurier a chance to win the game with a touchdown. The Golden Hawks did just that, as Bailey broke off a 25-yard rush before Carusello faked a play action and hit his receiver Hall in the endzone to seal the victory. 

Both teams’ kickers were clutch in this game, with Zlantiszky and Mesher needing to convert each extra point in overtime for their teams to continue. Tre Ford was electric in this game, throwing for 351 yards and two touchdowns and adding 135 yards and three touchdowns on the ground. Carusello passed for 208 yards and three TDs for Laurier. Ternowski continued to be Ford’s main target, catching seven passes for 131 yards and a touchdown. Malcolm Thompson picked off Ford for the game’s lone interception. 

With the victory, Laurier’s record moves to 4-3 after a shaky 1-3 start to the season, putting them in a tie with 4-3 Waterloo for fifth in the OUA. The Golden Hawks wrap up their regular season with a home date against the Carleton Ravens next Saturday at 11 am, while Waterloo finishes at McMaster next Saturday afternoon. Both teams can clinch a playoff spot with a victory.