After just 16 seconds had ticked off the clock on Sunday night, the weight of expectation suddenly felt a lot heavier for the Waterloo Warriors. But, for the next 59 minutes and 44 seconds, they proved that they could handle the extra plates on the bar.
The Warriors rebounded from a 110-yard touchdown return on the opening kickoff with nearly 600 total yards of offense, en route to a decisive 53-32 victory over the visiting York Lions in front of a huge home opener crowd at Warrior Field.
The Warriors rode a dominant rushing attack in the win, putting up 402 total yards and four touchdowns on the ground. Rookie running back Quinten Springer (Cambridge, ON/) galloped for 134 yards and a pair of scores on just 11 carries, while veteran Anthony Miller (Brampton, ON/) added 10 rushes for 110 yards and a touchdown.
Second-year quarterback Nick Orr (Caledon, ON/) earned the win in his first career start, completing 8 of 11 passes for 204 yards and two long touchdown passes to James Basalyga (Thunder Bay, ON/). Orr also added 27 yards on the ground, including a 15-yard touchdown scamper in the second quarter.
The victory evens Waterloo's record at 1-1 on the season, as the Warriors begin an important stretch of their schedule in which they won't leave the region of Waterloo for over a month. There were plenty of positives from a young York Lions squad – who cracked the 30-point plateau for the first time since 2019 – but it wasn't enough for a victory, as the visitors fell to 0-2 in the early stages of 2023.
The Warriors came into the game as heavy favourites, but the Lions landed the first blow on the opening kickoff when veteran speedster Alfred Olay corralled the kick at his own goal line, and exploded for a 110-yard major. After just one special teams play, the hosts were behind by 7 points.
The Warriors responded later in the quarter when Orr found Basalyga on a bomb down the seam for a 63-yard major, and Cole Crossett (Metcalfe, ON/) added a rouge on the ensuing kickoff to make it 8-7 for Waterloo. But York swung back once again, with a 13-play drive that culminated with a 6-yard pitch-and-catch from Owen Webb to Dane Yuzdepski to give the Lions a 14-8 lead after one quarter.
An injury felled Webb late in the first, so the Lions turned to rookie Kobe Buraconak to start the second quarter. The Warriors forced an early punt on the fresh York signal-caller, and took advantage by establishing the run on an 8-play, 66-yard drive that Orr capped off with his 15-yard scramble to the end zone.
With the Warriors up just 15-14 late in the half, it was a Waterloo veteran who turned the tables for good: the electric Justin Succar (Niagara Falls, ON/) fielded a punt on his own side of midfield, and exploded for a 62-yard touchdown return to make the score 22-14. On the ensuing drive, Buraconak was knocked from the game on a strip-sack by Tyson Hergott (Waterloo, ON/), and the Lions were forced to use a rotating group of skill players at quarterback. But thanks to a huge punt block late in the half by Jason Janvier-Messier, the Lions added a 15-yard field goal to narrow the halftime deficit to 22-17.
After a first half that was marred by miscues and penalties, the Warriors came out for the third quarter a team possessed. After forcing a two-and-out, Orr hit Basalyga on their second lengthy hookup of the game – this time, a 74-yarder – to widen the advantage to 28-17. Then, after another two-and-out forced by the Waterloo defence, Springer capped a 7-play drive with a 17-yard major, his first career OUA touchdown. And on the next offensive drive, it was Miller with some highlight-reel carries, including a 10-yard score.
When the dust settled, the Warriors had scored three straight touchdowns in just over 11 minutes, they'd surrendered no first downs to York, and they had grown their lead to 42-17.
The Lions, though, refused to relent. With a hobbled Webb back in at pivot, he found Retsen Daley for a 54-yard hookup that set up an Avontae McKoy touchdown, and a 43-26 deficit for the visitors after three quarters.
The Warriors snuffed out the comeback bid early in the fourth though, when Springer rattled off a 48-yard run, and then finished the drive with a 12-yard touchdown to make the score 50-26 for the Warriors. McKoy added his second score of the night for York with an outrageous one-handed, leaping catch in the corner of the endzone, and Crossett hit from 15 yards to round out the scoring.
The Warriors will now look to make it two in a row at home when they welcome the 2-0 Windsor Lancers to Warrior Field in week 3 action. Kickoff is slated for 1pm on Saturday, September 9.
