The University of Windsor Lancers football team delivered a dominant performance on Saturday (Sept. 19) afternoon, defeating the Waterloo Warriors 44-18 on the road in Waterloo, Ont.
GAME FLOW
The Lancers opened the game with an early setback, as Waterloo's Hayden Crowe intercepted a pass from Kareame Cotton and returned it five yards for a touchdown just moments into the contest. Windsor quickly responded, with Alex Patrinos connecting on a 15-yard field goal to get the Lancers on the board.
Cotton and the Lancer offence then took control, as the Windsor quarterback connected with Jake Scott for a 25-yard touchdown to give Windsor its first lead of the afternoon. Cotton followed with another scoring strike, finding Tyson Clarke for 11 yards to extend the Lancers advantage. Patrinos added another field goal late in the opening quarter, giving Windsor a lead after the first 15 minutes.
Waterloo responded with a 24-yard field goal from Evan Astolfo with 25 seconds remaining in the half, sending the Lancers into halftime with a 20-10 advantage. Windsor continued to pull away in the third quarter. Cotton capped a Lancers drive with a one-yard rushing touchdown early in the frame, before Waterloo answered with a seven-yard touchdown pass from Nick Orr to Evan Basalyga. The Warriors added a rouge shortly after to cut into the deficit.
The Lancers responded with another touchdown late in the third quarter, as Cotton connected with Brendan Talbot for a 22-yard score. Windsor's two-point conversion attempt was unsuccessful, but the Lancers carried the lead into the fourth quarter.
Windsor put the game out of reach in the final frame. Cotton found Tyson Noel Charles for a seven-yard touchdown, followed by a successful two-point conversion pass from Cotton to extend the lead to 38-18. Patrinos capped the scoring with a 35-yard field goal with just seconds remaining and shut the Warriors out in the final quarter to secure the 44-18 victory.
STATS
Cotton led the Lancers offensively, completing 23-of-38 passes for 245 yards and four touchdowns, while also rushing nine times for 68 yards and a touchdown. Josh Foulis added four completions for 43 yards.
On the ground, Tyson Noel Charles paced Windsor with 113 rushing yards on 12 carries, averaging 9.4 yards per attempt. Brady Smith added 64 yards on seven carries. Jake Scott led the Lancer receiving corps with four receptions for 55 yards and a touchdown, while Tyson Clarke recorded four catches for 37 yards and a touchdown. Brendan Talbot added two receptions for 31 yards and a touchdown, while Charles contributed two catches for 16 yards and a score.
Patrinos was perfect on the afternoon, converting all three of his field-goal attempts, including a long of 35 yards, while also making all three extra-point attempts. Defensively, Ahmad Taylor led Windsor with seven total tackles and two sacks. Kevin Rakowska added three tackles, a sack and a forced fumble, while Dylan Simpson recorded two tackles and a forced fumble. Carter Dmytrow also recorded a sack.
As a team, Windsor accumulated 548 yards of total offence, including 288 passing yards and 260 rushing yards. The Lancers recorded 30 first downs and controlled the ball for 45:27.
For Waterloo, Nick Orr completed 15-of-25 passes for 178 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. Orr also led the Warriors on the ground with 64 rushing yards.
UP NEXT
The Lancers return to action next week when host the Toronto Varsity Blues at Alumni Stadium. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. on Saturday, September 26. Tickets are available at golancers.ca/tickets, and the game can be streamed online via oua.tv.
