The York University Lions were unable to overcome a good start from the Wilfrid Laurier University Golden Hawks, with Laurier sending their fans home happy after earning a convincing 37-6 win to kick-off the campaign.
 
It was York's first OUA football game in 698 days – the last one being a loss to Queen's on Oct. 19, 2019.
 
Laurier began the game with 27 straight points in the first three quarters, giving them an insurmountable lead despite a good push back from York in the early stages of the fourth quarter.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• After the teams traded possessions for the opening nine minutes, Laurier struck first off an interception. On first-and-10, Noah Craney's long pass attempt was taken away by Laurier's Will Amoah and brought back to the Lions 38-yard line. The Golden Hawks would later give the ball to Ben McAlpine, who opened the score at 4:10. The convert was good, making the score 7-0.
• Laurier kicker Dawson Hodge then converted on two field goals late in the half, first capitalizing on a recovery after a snap over the head of Craney, then after Laurier blocked a punt deep in York territory. After the first quarter, the score was 13-0 heading to the second quarter.  
• Laurier had a change at quarterback in the second quarter. Taylor Elgersma came into the game in relief of an injured Connor Carusello and promptly orchestrated two rushing plays to bring the ball into York territory. But an offside and a timely Kwadwo Boahen tackle for a loss resulted in a punt, rather than a field goal – a win for York's highly touted defence.
• Laurier would then add a safety at 5:33 of the second after a high snap on York's 15-yard line. Craney would boot the ball out of play to avoid a Laurier recovery in the end zone, and the score became 15-0.
• Laurier got the ball late in the second quarter off their second blocked punt recovery of the game, and Kavantye Bailey would be the next point scorer. After an unnecessary roughness penalty against York gave them a first down, Elgersma found Bailey deep in the Lions end zone to make the score 22-0 after the convert.
• The score would remain that way until half, but the Lions regrouped and came out swinging in the second half. It began with a bang – literally. Kevin Musai brought down Elgersma with York's first sack of the game on Laurier's first possession, forcing a two-and-out.
• Craney then lugged the ball to the York territory, but Dante Mastrogiuseppe had his field goal attempt blocked. It kept York scoreless.
• Laurier would add five more points on the board before the end of third quarter. First, they got the ball back by sacking Noah Craney, then Elgersma completed a 56-yard pass to get the team down the Lions red zone. Hodge nailed his third field goal of the contest on third down, bringing the score to 25-0.
• Laurier added a safety before the start of the third and going into the fourth quarter.
• York got their first points of the game when Brady Crowe was inserted into the contest for the fourth quarter. Her marched down the Laurer territory with multiple-play sequence which included both passes and rushes, and he eventually found first-year Darren Bumstead for his first career OUA at 9:47. York went for two points, but the play was no-good, and the score was 27-6.
• Tanner Nelmes got the last touchdown of the game, scoring his first touchdown of the season to put a stop the late Lions rally, and an exclamation point on the win for the Golden Hawks. 

NOTABLE NUMBERS

• Brady Crowe introduced himself to the OUA with a touchdown on his first drive as a quarterback, after coming into the game. He went 8-for-14 with 78 yards and one touchdown.
• Desi Dixon and Rickey Parsons were the defensive leaders for the Lions, logging 6.5 and 4.5 tackles respectively.
• Also of note, highly touted defensive end Jason Janvier-Messier has two solo tackles, tied for the team lead with Dixon.
• Darren Bumstead's fourth-quarter touchdown for York was his first career OUA touchdown.  

LOOKING AHEAD

York heads home to their new field next Saturday, as they play host to the Carleton Ravens at 4 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 25. It will be York's first contest at York Lions Stadium, the former Pan Am Games track and field venue retrofitted this past offseason to include a Canadian football-regulation field.
 
It will be a game of firsts for one of those teams. The Lions and Ravens will both be searching for their first win of the campaign, after Carleton dropped their home opener to Queen's 18-6 Saturday.
 
You can catch the game live on OUA.tv, the streaming home of all OUA football events in 2021-22.