Around U Sports: Laurier Golden Hawks upset Western Mustangs to set up playoff rematch

Photo: Hailey Tripodi/Laurier Athletics

Around U Sports is a weekly feature on 3DownNation that takes readers across the country to summarize collegiate football action, highlighting standout performances and tracking possible playoff matchups. It will run until the second round of the playoffs, at which point 3DownNation will produce standalone articles for each game.

Laurier Golden Hawks, 55 — Western Mustangs, 39

The Golden Hawks trailed 21-7 in the first quarter before an offensive eruption that powered them to an upset win over their former head coach, Michael Faulds. Will Russell threw for 481 yards and five touchdowns in the win, three of which were caught by Ryan Hughes, and two of which were caught by Tayshaun Jackson. Ben Casselman, who recently took over the starting job at quarterback for Western, threw for 428 yards, three touchdowns, and two interceptions in the loss. These two teams will meet again in the OUA playoffs next week in what will be a must-see rivalry quarterfinal.

Mount Allison Mounties, 7 — Saint Mary’s Huskies, 17

Saint Mary’s continued their quest for an undefeated regular-season with a strong defensive performance, which saw three different players intercept Mounties quarterback Spencer Joudry. The Huskies weren’t able to get much going through the air but Keene Shigehiro and Malcolm Bussey combined for 178 yards and two touchdowns along the ground to improve the team’s record to 7-0, clinch first place in the AUS standings, and a first-round bye in the playoffs.

UBC Thunderbirds, 21 — Regina Rams, 17

Riley Michaud scored a touchdown with one minute left in the fourth quarter to give UBC the lead, then Derek Durand intercepted Owen Sieben moments later to seal the win. It was one of three interceptions Sieben threw on the day, while Thunderbirds quarterback Drew Viotto had a quiet night with 152 passing yards, one touchdown, and one pick. The visitors clinched a home playoff game with the win, and could still finish first in the Canada West standings with a win over the Saskatchewan Huskies next week.

Alberta Golden Bears, 19 — Saskatchewan Huskies, 21

James Keane made a 41-yard field goal on the final play of a rainy, windy game at Griffiths Stadium to secure the victory for Saskatchewan and avoid a massive upset. Anton Amundrud threw for 239 yards in the win to surpass Brent Schneider as the program’s all-time leading passer, while Kayden Miller added 101 yards and a touchdown along the ground. Alberta quarterback Christian Veilleux threw a touchdown pass to Jack Dumont and avoided turning the ball over in the narrow defeat.

Acadia Axemen, 18 — St. FX X-Men, 21

Tyson Heather kicked a 35-yard field goal with one minute left in the fourth quarter to give the X-Men the lead, then the team’s defence slammed the door to force a turnover on downs on Acadia’s ensuing possession. St. FX is now locked into second place in the AUS standings, while Acadia will face Mount Allison next week. The winner will visit St. FX in the conference semifinal, while the loser will be eliminated from playoff contention.

Waterloo Warriors, 26 — York Lions, 25

A win would have given York its first playoff berth since 2004, but the team was unable to secure the victory despite holding a double-digit lead well into the second half. Waterloo quarterback Nick Orr threw a touchdown pass to Yinka Ogunnote, while Grand Valley, Ont. native Roy Van Der Veen added 156 yards along the ground. Jayden Shallow was the top performer for the Lions, as he made six catches for 173 yards and one touchdown.

Windsor Lancers, 27 — Guelph Gryphons, 23

Hec Crighton Trophy hopeful Kareame Cotton threw his 26th touchdown pass of the season and rushed for 62 yards and a score to knock off Guelph and clinch a home playoff game for Windsor. Gryphons quarterback Tristan Aboud suffered an injury early in the second quarter and did not return. Marshall McCray took over the controls and threw for 120 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions, and rushed for 81 yards and three scores in relief. These two teams will meet again next week in the OUA quarterfinal round.

Toronto Varsity Blues, 16 — Carleton Ravens, 31

Something had to give in this battle of winless teams, and it did — for Carleton. Elijah Barnes threw for 292 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception in the win, two of which were caught by Dante Spadaccini. Kaleb O’Donoghue threw touchdown passes to Dawson Sjoberg and Jack Kenney in the loss. This marks Toronto’s first winless season since 2018, while Carleton avoided its first winless season since 2013.

Queen’s Gaels, 25 — McMaster Marauders, 17

The Tricolour clinched first place in the OUA standings and a first-round playoff bye with this win, which saw Tyler Mullan kick six field goals, five of which came in the first half. Ashton St. Germain scored Queen’s only offensive touchdown, while Lucas Barresi scored twice for McMaster on one-yard plunges. After finishing third in the OUA standings, the Marauders will now host the Ottawa Gee-Gees in next week’s quarterfinal round.

Concordia Stingers, 34 — Sherbrooke Vert et Or, 13

The Stingers took 16 penalties for 163 yards but still managed to get the win and stay ahead of Sherbrooke and Bishop’s in the RSEQ the standings. Glenn Valentine threw a touchdown pass and scored a rushing touchdown for Concordia, while Montreal native Coslens Clairveaux recorded two interceptions. Jerome Deblois scored Sherbrooke’s only touchdown on a reception from Jeremy Fyfe.

Laval Rouge et Or, 58 — Bishop’s Gaiters, 0

This was a beatdown from start to finish, as Laval out-gained the home side by 355 yards and allowed only six first downs. Victor Charland, Thomas Lamarche-Leroux, Jeremy Ouellette, and William Tremblay combined for five touchdown passes to five different receivers, while Thomas Allain made 3.5 total tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, and 0.5 sacks on defence. With a win over Montreal next week, the Rouge et Or would finish with a perfect regular-season record of 8-0.

Montreal Carabins, 37 — McGill Redbirds, 36

Esteban Bedoya started in place of injured Carabins quarterback Pepe Gonzalez and played well, throwing for 384 yards and three touchdowns. Simon Larose caught all three touchdown passes, while Merton Theagene and Lucas Dembele Bertet combined for 121 yards along the ground. Elliott Drapeau threw for 421 yards and two scores in the loss, while Zachary Couture added two rushing scores. Jerry Momo, McGill’s standout running back, did not play due to injury.

Manitoba Bisons, 33 — Calgary Dinos, 11

The Herd clinched a playoff spot with this win as Aidan Wiberg and Ishe Matanga dominated along the ground, combining for 220 yards and two touchdowns. Calgary quarterbacks Jet Zakrzewski and David Jordan combined for three interceptions as the team failed to reach the end zone. The Dinos can still make the Canada West playoffs, though they’ll need to beat Alberta next week and hope that Regina loses to Manitoba.

Canada West

Saskatchewan Huskies — 6-1
UBC Thunderbirds — 5-2
Manitoba Bisons — 4-3
Regina Rams — 3-4
Calgary Dinos — 2-5
Alberta Golden Bears — 1-6

Ontario University Athletics (OUA)

Queen’s Gaels — 7-1
Western Mustangs — 6-2
McMaster Marauders — 6-2
Windsor Lancers — 6-2
Guelph Gryphons — 4-4
Ottawa Gee-Gees — 4-4
Laurier Golden Hawks — 4-4
Waterloo Warriors — 3-5
York Lions — 3-5
Carleton Ravens — 1-7
Toronto Varsity Blues — 0-7

Réseau du Sport Étudiant (RSEQ)

Laval Rouge et Or — 7-0
Montreal Carabins — 6-1
McGill Redbirds — 4-3
Concordia Stingers — 2-5
Sherbrooke Vert et Or — 1-6
Bishop’s Gaiters — 1-6

Atlantic University Sport (AUS)

Saint Mary’s Huskies — 7-0
St. FX X-Men — 5-2
Mount Allison Mounties — 1-6
Acadia Axemen — 1-6