Alexander Colle | Sports Editor
Featured Image: Receiver Colton Hunchak recorded 170 passing yards and two touchdowns in his season debut. | Courtesy of Anton Mak
The Lions certainly put on a show in their final home game of the season on Thursday, scoring four touchdowns against a Laurier Golden Hawks team who put up seven of their own.
The Golden Hawks quarterback Michael Knevel threw for five touchdowns and 431 passing yards in the victory, while his counterpart, Lions quarterback Brent Hunchak, threw for two touchdowns and a season best 388 passing yards.
Part York’s success in the air can be attributed to the return of receiver Colton Hunchak— brother of quarterback Brett Hunchak—who made his first start of the season, after sustaining an injury in the preseason against Sherbrooke.
After York’s offense stalled on their first drive of the game, Laurier showed the home team why they are the defending OUA champions, completing a 21-yard pass on the first play of the drive, and following it up with a 24-yard rush by Golden Hawks running back Levondre Gordon for the first touchdown of the game.
After failing to respond on their following drive, York punted the ball away, once again allowing Laurier to get to work on the offensive end. The ensuing drive consisted of four plays for 40 yards, which was capped off by a 17-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Knevel to wide receiver Brentyn Hall.
It would take York a full quarter to respond to the Laurier onslaught, as the Lions drove all the way down the field for their first major score of the game midway through the second, which featured a 47-yard bomb from Hunchak to receiver Adam Adeboboye, who finished with 98 yards receiving, and was capped off by a six-yard pass from Hunchak to his brother Colton for the score.
Colton would finish the day with an impressive 170 yards receiving and two touchdowns in his season debut.
It would not take the Golden Hawks long to respond, however, as Knevel launched an 80-yard rocket on the following drive to receiver Kurleigh Gittens Jr., who finished the game with 210 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
The touchdown barrage would not stop after the half, as Laurier came out of the gate with a two-play, 61-yard drive, highlighted by a 52-yard rush from Gordon, his second of the game. However, the celebration was short-lived, as the ensuing kick-off landed in the ever dangerous hands of Kadeem Hemmings who took it 96 yards to the house.
On Laurier’s next drive, the Lions defense finally made a stand, stopping the Golden Hawks deep in their own territory, and giving their offence excellent field position, which they would turn into three points courtesy of kicker Dante Mastroguiseppe.
Whatever York had in terms of momentum would be crushed in the first play of the following drive, as the Golden Hawks pivot would complete another huge pass down the field to Gittens Jr. for a 75-yard touchdown.
The York offense would not be discouraged after the deflating touchdown, as quarterback Hunchak completed his first of three passes on their next drive to brother Colton. After several short passes and timely penalties against Laurier, Hunchak finished off the drive himself, rushing past the Laurier defensive line for a 15-yard touchdown, cutting the Laurier lead to just 12 points.
In the fourth quarter, York and Laurier traded touchdowns once again, as York would respond to a 23-yard touchdown pass by Knevel with a passing touchdown of their own. Once again, it was the Hunchak brothers connecting, this time for a 17-yard score.
This would be the last score of the game for York, who could not match the terrific Golden Hawks passing game. Laurier would add a field goal and a touchdown, bringing the score to 53-31, and putting the game out of reach.
The Lions will close out their season with a pair of road games against the Queen’s Gaels and Windsor Lancers. First up is a trip to Kingston on October 14 for a matchup against the Gaels. Kickoff is at 1:00 p.m.
