TORONTO (September 3, 2012) - The Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks football team struggled in their opening game of the season as they were defeated by the Toronto Varsity Blues by a score of 19-0 on Monday night at Varsity Stadium.
Laurier, who lost to Toronto for the first time since 1996, failed to move the ball with consistency in the game, generating just 190 total yards.
"We're disappointed for sure," commented Head Coach Gary Jeffries after the game. "We've got a lot of young kids, a lot of new kids. We knew it would take us some time to get things together."
Both Laurier and Toronto were slow out of the gate in their season openers as neither team generated much offence in the first quarter. The Hawks and Varsity Blues combined for just 54 yards, which resulted in a 0-0 score line after 15 minutes.
Toronto would open the scoring four minutes into the second quarter after a botched punt by Laurier kicker Ronnie Pfeffer of Kitchener, Ont., set up the Blues on the Hawks two yard line. Two plays later, Blues quarterback Richard Quittenton of Ajax, Ont., punched the ball in from the one yard line but a missed convert kept the score 6-0.
As the Hawks continue to move the ball through the air, the Blues kept up the pressure and late in the half, connected on a 27-yard field goal to take a 9-0 lead at the half.
Laurier's defence continued to shine in the third quarter limiting the Blues to just a single point, giving the offence a chance to mount a late rally.
However, all hopes of that were put to rest three minutes into the final quarter when Quittenton punched in his second rushing major of the game, extending Torontos lead to 17 and putting the game out of reach.
The Hawks attempted one last drive late in the fourth quarter in an attempt to avoid the shutout but Emans pass to running back Tyrrel Wilson of Hamilton, fell through his hands, handing the purple and gold their first shutout loss in 27 years.
"We were kind of flat coming out," said Eman. "Once we got down we didn't look ahead. We're going to get better, we're a young team and we're going to get better with experience."
Eman would finish the first start of his OUA career a disappointing 8-for-27 through the air for 122 yards while adding a team-high 62 rushing yards. His counterpart Quittenton was 16-for-25 for 157 yards.
Laurier will attempt to rebound this Saturday when they host the No. 6 Queens Gaels at Knight-Newbrough Field in their home opener. Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. and will be broadcast live on theScore.
NOTES: Lauriers last shutout loss came at the hands of the York Yeomen back in 1984 when they lost 16-0...Rookie defensive back Anthony Petrucci of Sarnia, Ont., had an outstanding game in his Hawks debut finishing with six tackles and one sack...Felix Odum of Pickering, Ont., led the team with seven total tackles...Toronto rookie running back Ashton Nelson of Brampton, Ont., ran for 119 yards in his Varsity Blues debut...Attendance at the game was 4,397
Source: http://www.laurierathletics.com/createarticle.php?ID=6076
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