By Naol Denko
Laurier looks “almost” complete
After beating the Windsor Lancers last weekend in a blowout fashion, it’s safe to say that the Laurier Golden Hawks have the best odds in the OUA of taking down the reigning Yates Cup champion Western Mustangs.
Third-year quarterback Taylor Elgersma has demonstrated astute decision-making with his throws and makes decisive scrambles when needed. Statistically, the numbers don’t lie. Through seven games, Elgersma has thrown for 2,272 passing yards (1st in U SPORTS), and 16 TDs (2nd in U SPORTS), while completing 75.6% of his passes.
Not to mention, star receivers Ethan Jordan, Raiden Thorne, Jace Atkinson, and Jaxon Stebbings. Elgersma has the receiving corp that’s talented enough to make his job easier against opposing defences.
Their front seven is nothing to take too lightly. A powerful front led by Luke Brubacher (who didn’t play last Saturday) with a team-leading 5 sacks and Ife Onyemenam who collected 3 interceptions and 5 tackles for loss for the season. Laurier’s line should be able to destress their athletic secondary and allow them to make plays when the time comes.
Windsor needs to become more explosive offensively
Windsor was lacking offensive production heading into their meeting with Laurier, only producing 612 yards of total offence against Western and Queen’s.
To put that in perspective, they had 684 yards against Guelph earlier in the season!
Clearly, if Windsor wants a chance to compete and win a Yates, they must figure out how to gain more yards and have a better possibility to put points on the board.
With a touchdown from Cunningham in games against both Westen and Laurier, Windsor should find ways to get him the ball. He is one of the most electric players on the Windsor squad. Perhaps, teams have adapted to their rushing attack by film analysis, filling up the right gaps, etc. So, maybe it’s time to polish up their passing game due to the interceptions they have distributed and find more opportunities for Cunningham.
Defensively, Windsor held their ground for the most part against the Hawks. The Lancers’ defensive line is their strongest asset on the defensive side. Led by Kolade Amusan who leads the nation with 10.5 sacks, they continue to find ways to put immense pressure on the opposition.
Pass defence-wise, Windsor is currently ranked 5th in the nation with only 188.6 passing yards per game, but after Laurier exposed them with 332 passing yards on the game, there still needs to be a lot of work to be done.
Laurier is unofficially a contender for the Yates Cup.
With all that being said, Laurier is unofficially a contender for the Yates Cup. As previously mentioned, their offense and defense are “almost” complete and all they are doing now is waiting to play against the Western Mustangs.
The Golden Hawks have the coaches and players to make an exceptionally good run for this.
Laurier will be facing Western in the final game of the season. With playoff home-field advantage and playoff first-round bye on the line, it will be the most enticing game to watch to end the regular season.
