Coming in to the opening game of their 2019 OUA football season, the Waterloo Warriors' high-flying aerial attack dominated the headlines. But it was special teams and a relentless ground game that won the day for the black and gold.
The Warriors got a punt return touchdown from Tyrell Ford (Niagara Falls/) and 205 yards of total rushing in a 33-30 victory over the Toronto Varsity Blues on Sunday night at Warrior Field.
The Warriors led for all but the first 1:10 of the game, and they threatened to turn it into a blowout early on – they were ahead 21-3 by the end of the first quarter. The relentless Varsity Blues cut their deficit to a field goal on two occasions late in the fourth quarter, but it was as close as they would get. It was Waterloo's third straight victory over Toronto, and the third consecutive 1-0 start for the Warriors, while the Blues saw their OUA losing streak extended to 15 games.
Dion Pellerin (Abbotsford/) led the way for Waterloo's offense, rumbling for 113 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries, adding 50 yards on two catches out of the backfield. Reigning OUA MVP Tre Ford (Niagara Falls/) was 24-36 for 225 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions, while scrambling for 83 yards on just 8 carries. Gordon Lam (Kitchener/) hauled in 10 catches for 84 yards, while fellow All-Canadian Tyler Ternowski (Hamilton/) extended his OUA touchdown streak to 12 games, dating back to 2017.
Clay Sequeira led Toronto's pass-heavy attack, as the veteran QB completed 29 of an eye-popping 50 pass attempts, for 471 yards and four touchdowns. Nolan Lovegrove caught 8 balls for 135 yards and a score, while Nick Stadnyk caught 3 passes for 91 yards and a pair of touchdowns in defeat.
It was a dream start for the Warriors, courtesy of a miscue by the Blues' special teams unit: the opening kickoff hung high in the air and bounced back towards the charging Warriors cover team, where Waterloo's Aiden Palmer to emerge from the pile with the recovery. The Warriors' offense made short work of the short field, as Ford found Ternowski on a play-action pass for a four-yard major.
After forcing a two-and-out on Toronto's first offensive drive, the special teams shone again. This time, it was Tyrell Ford (Niagara Falls/), who hauled in the Ethan Shafer punt at his own 30, broke a tackle, and reversed course to the wide side, where his all-world speed carried him 80 yards for the touchdown. Just 2:16 into the game, the Warriors led 14-0.
After a 21-yard Shafer field goal gave the Blues their first points of the game, the Warriors again marched down the field for a major, as Pellerin plunged in from the two-yard-line to make it 21-3.
An early second-quarter safety made the score 23-3, but both defenses battened down the hatches for the rest of the first half. The Warriors earned a pair of big third-down stops (including one inside the red zone, fuelled by rookie Jethro Oleko's (Windsor/) first OUA sack), and Tyrell Ford (Niagara Falls/) added to his banner night with an interception late in the half. Meanwhile, the Blues picked off Ford twice in the second quarter (once in the end zone) to hold the Warriors' lead to just 20 heading into the break.
It was again tough sledding for the Warriors offense in the third quarter, but they were able to keep the Blues at bay, thanks in par, to the punting leg of Jonah Zlatinszky (London/) – the grad transfer from Carleton punted 8 times on the night for a 43.4-yard average, pinning the Blues inside their 20-yard line twice. Toronto was eventually able to find the end zone on a long ball to the back boundary, where Sequeira found Stadnyk for a 39-yard score to cut the deficit to 23-10.
A 23-yarder from Zlatinszky early in the fourth quarter extended the Warriors lead to 26-10, but the Blues wouldn't go away quietly. First, it was Lovegrove who scampered in on a 36-yard catch-and-run to cut the deficit to 26-16 after a failed two-point conversion attempt. Then, after penalties drove the Waterloo offense back into a punting position, Sequeira finished a 7-play, 96-yard drive with a 39-yard pass to a wide-open Stadnyk to pull Toronto to within three with just over two minutes to play.
But the stagnant Warriors offense was ignited once again on the first play of the ensuing drive, where Ford found Pellerin sneaking along the sidelines out of the backfield for a 43-yard catch-and-run. A Ford rush for 12 yards and a Pellerin carry for 17 put the Warriors on the doorstep, and a 2-yard touchdown reception from Lam restored the double-digit lead.
The Blues still didn't relent, taking advantage of the Waterloo prevent defense to get over midfield and within striking distance. After Sequeira hit Will Corby for a 34-yard major to make it 33-30 with 22 seconds to play, the Blues needed an onside kick recovery to try and force overtime. But the Warriors played the onside kick perfectly, and Lam secured the ball and the victory.
The Warriors will now head into their early-season bye, with a chance to get healthy and put some extra work in after a shortened training camp. The black and gold will take the field again on Sept 7 when they travel to face the Windsor Lancers, with kickoff slated for 1pm at Alumni Field in Windsor.
