The Windsor Lancers football team continued their winning ways with a dominant 34-14 victory over the University of Toronto Varsity Blues at Varsity Stadium in Toronto, Ont. on the afternoon of Saturday, September 20.
STATS
Windsor quarterback Nick Dimovski led the charge for the Lancers, completing 27 passes for 257 yards while making an impact on the ground, rushing for two touchdowns and 37 yards. Weagbe Mombo also did damage, rushing for 93 yards and a touchdown. Colby Ginn led all receivers with 64 yards. Defensively, Matt Garcia led the Lancers with five total tackles while Ethan John had 4.5. Derek Anderson recorded two sacks, with Braxton Johnson and Garcia each adding one of their own. Istvan Assibo-Dadzie and Robert Springer each had an interception.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Lancers entered Varsity Stadium in downtown Toronto riding high off their first win of the season last week against McMaster, looking to build momentum at the halfway mark of the season. On the other hand, the Blues were desperate to end a three-game losing streak that included a heartbreaking overtime defeat to crosstown rivals York and a blowout loss to Queen's.
The tone was set from the opening kickoff with Windsor's Sean Adams delivering a crunching tackle on the first play of the game that energized his squad on the sideline. On Toronto's first offensive drive, Windsor's Robert Springer came up with an interception deep in Blues territory. The turnover led to a two-yard touchdown run from quarterback Nick Dimovski, his fifth touchdown of the season. After converting the point after and scoring a rouge on the ensuing kickoff, the Lancers led 8–0 and never looked back. Toronto tried to respond through the air but couldn't gain meaningful yardage. Windsor's offense continued to grind down the field, aided by Blues penalties. Dimovski found Andrew Delaney for two first downs before settling for a Brady Lidster field goal to push the lead to 11–0 late in the first quarter.
The Lancers defense kept the pressure on Toronto, stifling their passing game and forcing another quick three-and-out. Dimovski connected with Delaney on a tough catch to move the chains, and he found Evan Martin on a short gain to get inside the 25-yard line. A handoff to Mombo capped the drive with another Windsor touchdown, stretching the lead to 18–0. Later in the quarter, the Blues executed a successful trick play with their punter Sam Henke throwing on third down for a 71-yard touchdown. Henke added a field goal to bring the score to 20–11 heading into the break.
With the CN Tower visible over Varsity Stadium, Windsor came out of the half looking to seal the game. Their defense remained locked in, holding Toronto to just two first downs before forcing another punt. Windsor held Toronto at bay and forced them to settle for another field goal, closing the gap to 20–14, but the Lancers wasted no time responding. After Dimovski found Colby Ginn for a big gain to bring them inside the ten-yard line, the quarterback showcased his mobility again—dodging defenders and weaving through tackles for his second rushing touchdown of the game, extending the lead to 27–14.
In the fourth quarter, Windsor kept their foot on the gas. Dimovski nearly connected with Quayson for another score, but with tight coverage forcing an incompletion, the Lancers settled for a field goal to go up 30–14. From there, the Windsor defense continued to shine, with Istvan Assibo-Dadzie coming down with an interception to put the game further out of reach.
Lidster, already the all-time leader in Lancer career field goals after setting the record last week, added his third field goal of the game to make it 34–14 and officially seal the win.
UP NEXT
With the victory, Windsor improves to 2–2 on the season, moving up the OUA standings and gaining valuable momentum ahead of their Week 6 home clash against the Waterloo Warriors. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Saturday, September 27 at Alumni Stadium. Tickets can be purchased at golancers.ca/tickets and the action can be streamed live on oua.tv.
