The Waterloo Warriors football team wasn't able to claim their first playoff spot in 14 seasons, but they once again proved that they can compete with anyone in the OUA.

A Jackson Bennett interception return for a touchdown broke a 30-30 tie late in the fourth quarter, as the Ottawa Gee-Gees defeated the Warriors 40-30 in Waterloo's 2017 regular season finale in Ottawa on Saturday afternoon.

The loss puts the Warriors at 4-4 on the campaign, and, coupled with Guelph's win over Laurier, the result puts a postseason berth in severe doubt for the black and gold. With their bye week on the season's last Saturday of regular season games, Waterloo will now need some help from the Toronto Varsity Blues and the Guelph Gryphons in their closing games next weekend.

Meanwhile, the Gee-Gees escaped with a victory, fuelled once again by Bennett's late-game heroics – he also scored the eventual game-winning touchdown with a 99-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in the closing minutes of Ottawa's week two win over Queen's. Ottawa is now 5-2 on the season, as they've punched their ticket to the playoffs.

But they didn't have an easy path towards clinching a spot, as the Warriors gave the host Gee-Gees everything they could handle. Rookie Tre Ford (Niagara Falls/) was once again a force in the platooning quarterback system, passing for 143 yards and 2 touchdowns, while rushing for 164 yards on 14 carries. Veteran Lucas McConnell (Waterford/) went 12-20, with 177 yards and a touchdown as well. Tyler Ternowski (Hamilton/) was once again a favourite target of both pivots, catching 8 passes for 121 yards and a touchdown.

The Gee-Gees offensive attack was led by quarterback Alex Lavric, who threw for 337 yards and 3 TDs in the victory. Bryce Viera also starred with 199 yards from scrimmage (111 rushing and 88 receiving), with a touchdown. Also leading the way was kicker Lewis Ward, who was 4-4 in field goals on the day, including hos OUA record-breaking 85^th career made field goal. Lewis hit from 15, 37, 32, and 42 yards.

The see-saw affair was a nail-biter from start to finish – the contest was a one-score game for the first 58:32 of playing time. Trailing heading into the 4^th quarter, Ternowski turned a short passing play into a 27-yard touchdown to square the score at 30-30, and set up the photo finish. Unfortunately for the road Warriors, Bennett's pick-6 gave the Gee-Gees the lead for the final time, as they were able to hold off the late Waterloo charge.

The contest was highlighted by some poor discipline, but some explosive offense – the teams combined for 250 yards of penalties on a whopping 30 flags, but they also combined for a total of 1084 yards of total offense.

On the defensive side of the ball, Bennett added a game-high 8.5 tackles and a sack to his difference-making interception. For the Warriors, Mike Strumos (NewMarket/) came up with his first career pick, while Kurtis Gray (Waterloo/) added 7 tackles and a sack.

The Warriors will now anxiously watch the OUA's final week of action to see where the final standings shake out. However, they have already secured the team's best record in over a decade, as Waterloo's 4-4 record comes on the heels of back-to-back 0-8 seasons. Regardless if their next game action is in two weeks or 10 months, the immediate future is full of promise for the upstart Warriors.