Momentum can be a funny thing.
Sometimes, it lumbers – it starts small and slow and insignificant, but it never stops. It keeps churning, growing, and accelerating, like a snowball down a hill. And then sometimes, momentum can hit instantaneously: it's a sudden change, like flipping an hourglass just before the last few grains rattle through the neck.
For the last four weeks, the Waterloo Warriors were being chased by the snowball down the hill. Taking a three-game skid into their massive must-win regular season finale against the Laurier Golden Hawks on Saturday, the snowball had grown so big, and was rolling so fast, that it threatened their entire season.
But then, in a span of 92 seconds, the Warriors flipped the hourglass.
Waterloo erupted early in the fourth quarter, scoring an incredible 22 points in 1:32 en route to a 36-8 victory over their crosstown rivals on a wet and chilly Warrior field on Saturday afternoon. With the win, the Warriors secured a 3-3 record, their second Battle of Waterloo crown of 2021, and most importantly, a postseason berth in the OUA West division playoffs.
"Full credit to our guys, coming together as a football team today," said Waterloo head coach Chris Bertoia. "It was fun in the fourth quarter there, when momentum hits and you strike when the coals are hot, and we certainly did that. I'm really proud of our guys in the effort that they put forth today, and the effort they put forth all week. They made a collective agreement as players to come together as a team, and refuse to lose."
The explosive fourth quarter might have had the most direct impact on the scoreboard, but the Waterloo defense made the biggest difference throughout the entire afternoon. The Warriors held Laurier to 305 yards of total offense, including just 69 yards on the ground, while forcing three turnovers.
"Our defense has been outstanding all year," said Bertoia. "They answered the bell this week. They've been the strongest unit and the most consistent unit of our team this year. They've carried the weight of our team. They didn't surprise me today. It was fun to watch.
As has been the case countless times over the past five seasons, the defensive effort was sparked by heart-and-soul senior linebacker Michael Reid (Sault Ste. Marie/). The consensus most underrated player in the OUA came up with two huge interceptions to go along with five tackles on the day.
Meanwhile, Tre Ford (Niagara Falls/) and the Waterloo offense finally broke through and converted drives into points, putting together a methodical and balanced attack that looked more like the explosive Warriors of recent seasons. Ford completed 17 of 27 passes for 290 yards and 3 touchdowns, while adding 97 yards on 10 rushing attempts. Rushon Dagelman (Niagara Falls/) caught four balls for 105 yards and 2 scores, while OUA receptions leader Gordon Lam (Kitchener/) hauled in a team-high 7 catches for a matching 105 yards and a touchdown. Â
Nicklas Sua (Nepean/) added a touchdown for a diversified Waterloo rushing portfolio – seven Warriors had carries on the day, piling up 212 yards on the ground.Â
On the other sideline, the Hawks dropped the Battle of Waterloo for the third time in the last four matchups, falling to 3-3 on the season. Connor Carusello went 17-29 with 183 yards, one touchdown, and a pair of interceptions, while Kavantye Bailey corralled 7 catches for 104 yards and a major for the Hawks.
The Warriors were first to draw blood when they turned a Kevin Wong fumble into a 16-yard Cole Crossett (Ottawa/) field goal for an early 3-0 lead. But the Hawks responded with a high-tempo 75-yard touchdown drive, entirely through the air, capped off by a 24-yard pass-and-catch from Carusello to Bailey to make it 7-3 Laurier after one quarter of play.
The Warriors reclaimed the lead late in the second quarter on a monstrous 10-play, 90-yard drive that ate up nearly six minutes of clock, culminating in a 2-yard plunge from Sua to make the score 10-7. Crossett missed a field goal in the closing seconds of the half, but it had enough distance to bound out the back of the endzone for the single, and an 11-7 Waterloo lead at the half.
As the rain fell harder in the second half, both defenses dug in their heels. A 59-yard Dawson Hodge punt added a single on the board for Laurier, but Reid's first pick of the day snuffed out a promising drive from the Hawks, as the score stayed deadlocked at 11-8 through three quarters.
The Hawks again looked poised to start marching as the fourth quarter began, as Carusello and company looked to convert a 2nd-and-1 at midfield. But Jack Hinsperger (Waterloo/) came up with a game-changing sack, turning a promising Laurier drive into a punt, where the Warriors took over on their own 10.
From there, Waterloo pieced together their most clinical drive of the season – three rushes, five passes, and 100 yards, capped off by a 27-yard strike from Ford to Dagelman to make it 18-8. If the Warriors grabbed the hourglass on this drive, they flipped it over on the ensuing kickoff.
Crossett executed a perfect mid-distance pooch kickoff, landing at the 25-yard line and ricocheting above the head of Laurier returner Ente Eguavoen. After Eguavoen was unable to corral the ball inside the Laurier 10, Waterloo's Noah Lebar (Kitchener/) hopped on the football and gave the Warriors an unexpected possession with goal-to-go on the Laurier six-yard line.
One play later, Ford found Lam for another major score, and the game was officially blown open. Crossett crushed the ensuing kickoff through the endzone for his second single of the day, and the Warriors had 15 points in 11 seconds.
The Waterloo defense forced a two-and-out, and on the first play of the next drive, Ford hit Dagelman for a 63-yard bomb and another major. The hourglass was turned: 92 seconds, three offensive plays from scrimmage, three touchdowns, and a 33-8 lead.
Crossett rounded out the scoring with a 37-yard boot, and the Warriors salted away a victory. At the same time, Western was extending their lead over the Windsor Lancers en route to a 66-0 victory, which punched the Warriors' ticket to the postseason.
The Warriors will enter the OUA West playoffs as the #4 seed, traveling to London to take on the 5-1 Western Mustangs in round one next week. It's been two decades since Waterloo has defeated Western, but Bertoia said his team will embrace their new refuse-to-lose mentality.
And if all three phases show out like they did against Laurier, the Warriors believe they'll have every chance to flip another hourglass – and maybe flip the OUA playoff picture on its head.
