A close game was blown open late in the second quarter by the No. 10 nationally-ranked Laurier Golden Hawks en route to a 74-3 victory over the York University Lions football team on Monday night (Sept. 5) at University Stadium in Waterloo, Ont.
 
The contest was a defensive affair to start, with the Lions holding a 3-1 lead after the first quarter of play following a rouge on a missed field goal by Laurier and a made 26-yard field goal by Nick Naylor (Abbotsford, B.C.).
 
The Golden Hawks pulled ahead two plays into the second frame on a 24-yard field goal that made the score 4-3, and added the first touchdown of the game on a 24-yard reception by Joshua Perez five minutes later for an 11-3 advantage.
 
The two teams continued to play a tight game until the end of the half, when in a span of 1:33 the Golden Hawks scored three touchdowns to take a 32-3 lead into the break. After a 46-yard touchdown run by Eric Guiltinan, Marcus Thompson had a 70-yard pick-six, thrown by York quarterback Brett Hunchak (Calgary), two plays later that proved to be the turning point in the game.
 
A two-and-out by the Lions gave the Golden Hawks the ball back and they needed only two plays to find the end zone again as Levondre Gordon rushed 57 yards for another score.
 
The second half was all Laurier as they added another six touchdowns, including a 65-yard punt return score for the final points of the game.
 
Hunchak finished 12-of-21 for 109 yards before coming out of the game in the third quarter in favour of rookie Matt Krason (Brantford, Ont.), who was 7-of-13 for 72 yards.
 
Adam Adeboboye (Toronto) was the leading receiver with six catches for 68 yards, while rookie Alex Daley (Etobicoke, Ont.) put up 185 kick-off return yards on just six touches.
 
On defence, Brett Colangelo (Oakville, Ont.) led all players with nine tackles.
 
Guiltinan had a huge game for the Golden Hawks, rushing for 180 yards on 18 carries and scoring twice. He was one of three rushers with over 100 yards on the evening, joining Gordon (115 yards on eight carries, two touchdowns) and Osayi Iginuan (110 yards on nine rushes, one touchdown).
 
With the loss the Lions fall to 1-1 on the season, while the Golden Hawks improve to 2-0 and are one of only three teams in the OUA without a loss after Week 2.
 
The Lions will return home next weekend to host the Windsor Lancers (1-1) at Alumni Field on Saturday (Sept. 10). Kick-off is set for 1pm.