For the first time since the 55th edition of the Vanier Cup, two top 10 teams met up on Saturday as the fifth-ranked Waterloo Warriors travelled to University Stadium to take on the eighth-ranked Laurier Golden Hawks.
This highly-anticipated affair gained much attention in it’s build up, but couldn’t live up to its previous instalments as the Warriors defeated their crosstown rivals by a score of 36-12.
Despite its lopsided nature, this weekend’s “Battle of Waterloo” presented football fans with much-needed insights about the two nationally-ranked teams from the KW region.
James Basalyga Is a Problem For Defences
Entering 2021, many wondered how Waterloo’s passing attack would fair after the departure of the Warriors all-time leading receiver Tyler Ternowski.
It was clear they still had an All-Canadian in Gordon Lam, but he’s overseen the boundary wideout position since 2017. So who would be next-up to fill the field-side slot position left behind by #25?
The answer? James Basalyga.
The Thunder Bay, ON native made himself known in Waterloo’s season opener against Windsor, finding the endzone on a 44-yard dime from Tre Ford en route to a game-high 96 yards.
Basalyga wasted no time engineering his encore performance against the Golden Hawks on Saturday. He connected with Ford for a tone-setting 76-yard touchdown on the opening drive. It would the third-year receivers first of two touchdowns during the contest.
It’s clear why Basalyga is the perfect fit for the position. Like his predecessor, he’s an above-average route-runner who has the speed to burn most field-halfs on the deep ball.
Among all receivers in the OUA, Basalyga currently ranks second in receiving yards with 206 and is first in receiving touchdowns with three.
It will be intriguing to see how Basalyga’s role continues to grow on this offence as the Warriors continue their run at a Yates Cup - and potentially a National Championship.
Connor Carusello Is Missed
It would be wrong to critique Laurier’s performance without acknowledging that they were without their starting quarterback.
Connor Carusello was sidelined for this week’s game after sustaining a shoulder injury in Week 1 against York. This left first-year quarterback Taylor Elgersma as the lead signal-caller for the Golden Hawks offence.
Elgersma showed promise in Week 1 against the Lions, completing seven of his 18 attempts and throwing for major. But the true freshman was no match for a veteran Warriors defence as he threw four costly interceptions.
In years prior, the Golden Hawks have always been known to carry elite depth at the quarterback position. In 2016, Michael Knevel took over for Julian John after four games and established Laurier’s offence to be among the top in the nation. Carusello himself took over in relief of Tristan Ardnt during the 2018 season and proved he has the pedigree to be a long-term starter.
In this year’s case, the Golden Hawks have a great prospect in Elgersma, but the void left behind in Carsusello’s absence would be a huge task for any first-year quarterback to fill.
The seriousness of Carusello’s injury is unknown along with the timetable for his return, but rest assured that his presence will make a huge difference for the Golden Hawks offence.
Waterloo Is a True Top 10
The release of last Tuesday’s U SPORTS Top 10 rankings were met with great criticism. With only a handful of teams having played two or more games after coming off a pandemic year, fans questioned the legitimacy of the teams on the list and their placements.
If Saturday was an opportunity for both teams to validate their place in the powerhouse conversation, then the Warriors put together a very convincing case.
Tre Ford had an MVP-worthy performance, surpassing the century mark in passing and rushing yards along with three touchdowns.
In addition to the mobile services of Ford, the Warriors showed that they have a backfield trio of Metz, Miller and Sua, that will run downhill on any defensive line.
Their front seven proved to be suffocating, finding the ball-carrier in the backfield on seven different occasions.
Waterloo’s secondary remains one of the most athletic in the conference, giving up only one touchdown while hauling in two of the defence’s four interceptions on the day.
And of course, let’s not forget that Tyrell Ford is already on pace to become an All-Canadian kick returner in addition to repeating as an All-Canadian defensive back.
Yes, the Waterloo Warriors belong in the top 10.
Whether or not Laurier is a true top 10 program is still to be determined. They’ll have plenty of opportunity to plead their case, though, as they take on the top-ranked Western Mustangs next week followed by the ninth-ranked McMaster Marauders on October 16. They’ll also have a shot at avenging this loss in a rematch with the Warriors on October 30.
The term “new normal” has been thrown around a lot over the past 12 months.
After an impressive 2-0 start that has them sitting at the top of the hardest division in Canadian football, the new normal in the OUA might just be the Waterloo Warriors running roughshod over their opponents on any given Saturday.
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