Quarterback
Jahmari Bennett had a tremendous debut start for the York University Lions football team in a 27-10 loss to the Laurier Golden Hawks on Saturday afternoon (Oct. 4) at University Stadium in Waterloo, Ont.
The third-year pivot from Mississauga, Ont., who transferred to York from StFX this summer, finished 14-of-27 for 255 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions. He also rushed for 62 yards on 16 carries.
He completed passes to five different receivers, including six to rookie
Mahlique Marks (Toronto), who had a career day with 112 yards. The two of them connected on a dazzling 81-yard play that set up a field goal early in the fourth quarter.
Third-year kicker
Nick Naylor (Abbotsford, B.C.) accounted for all 10 York points in the contest. He kicked field goals of 38, 29 and 18 yards, and added a single on a missed field goal in the second quarter.
The Golden Hawks got on the board first with a rouge on a 65-yard punt, and on their next possession Dillon Campbell (Whitby, Ont.) scored on a 60-yard touchdown to make the score 8-0. They added another two points before the end of the frame on a conceded safety.
The Lions got on the board eight seconds into the second on Naylor's first field goal, and added another at 10:23 to cut the Laurier lead to 10-6. They had a chance to narrow the gap to just one less than 90 seconds before the half, but Naylor's field goal missed and the Lions settled for the single point.
Laurier added a field goal in the third quarter, and the Lions cut into the lead again with Naylor's third of the game to make it 13-10 with 12:21 remaining in the game. But the Golden Hawks' strong running game took over from there, as Campbell scored his second of the day and receiver Scott Campbell (Cambridge, Ont.) ran in a long 71-yard major to put the game away.
Dillon Campbell finished with 171 yards on 22 carries to eclipse the 1000-yard mark just five games into the season.
The Lions got to Laurier quarterback James Fracas (Waterloo, Ont.) all afternoon. He went just 13-of-24 for 95 yards and one interception, by rookie
Rees Paterson (Sherwood Park, Alta.), the first of his career.
Michael Runowski (Burlington, Ont.) finished as the team's leader on defence with eight tackles.
The loss dropped the Lions' record to 0-6 on the year, while the Golden Hawks improved to 4-1 with the win and moved into a four-way tie for second place in the OUA standings.
The Lions have their bye next week and will return to action on Saturday, Oct. 18 when they travel to Kingston, Ont., to face off against the also-winless Queen's Gaels at 1pm.
