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Laurier spoils Gaels Homecoming with a 49-26 victory, Queen's will host Carleton next Saturday in OUA playoffs


KINGSTON, Ont. (October 24, 2015) - The Laurier Golden Hawks (4-4) spoiled the Gaels (5-3) Homecoming in the final regular season game with a 49-26 defeat at Richardson Stadium Saturday afternoon in front of a sold out crowd.

GAME FLOW
The Gaels opened up the game with a good kickoff return by Brad Innis (Toronto) to give the offence good field position to start. Queen's did not take long to open the scoring in the game as they drove down the field with ease during their first offensive possession ending with a rushing touchdown by Jonah Pataki (Wallaceburg, Ont.) to give the Gaels a 7-0 early lead. On the Gaels second offensive possession they conceded a safety to give Laurier their first two points of the game. The Golden Hawks next offensive drive saw them move down the field but were limited to a field goal to bring the score to 7-5. On the following offensive drive Queen's quarterback Nate Hobbs (Mississauga, Ont.) fumbled the ball with Laurier's Rashari Henry recovering and returning it 38 yards for a touchdown to give the Golden Hawks their first lead of the game 12-7. The Gaels had another great kickoff return this time by Chris Osei-Kusi (Brampton, Ont.) bringing the return back to midfield. Queen's was not able to capitalize on the great field positon late in the first quarter.

Early in the second quarter the Golden Hawks continued to build on their lead as they hit another field goal to bring the score to 15-7. Queen's and Laurier each failed on third down conversions on their next two offensive drives with the game at a stalemate. Laurier's defence continued their strong play as they forced another fumble from Pataki and recovered it in Gaels territory. The Queen's offence could not find any rhythm during the second quarter. The Gaels had a punt blocked on their own 35-yard line with Laurier taking over possession deep in Queen's territory but could not gain anything from their good field position. The Golden Hawks offence started to gain momentum late in the second quarter with another long drive that ended in another field goal to make the score 18-7. On the first possession after Laurier's field goal, Hobbs was intercepted by a Golden Hawks defensive lineman Asante Mizan who returned the it for another defensive touchdown to build Laurier's lead to 25-7. The pick six was Hobbs first interception thrown this season at Richardson Stadium. The Gaels quarterback continued to get pressured on almost every play as he was sacked on back to back plays to end another offensive drive and just before half Hobbs threw another interception on the last drive of the half.

Laurier began the second half with possession and finished their first drive with another field goal to take a 28-7 lead. The Gaels had one of their better drives of the game early in the third which ended with Pataki rushing for his second touchdown on the game to cut the lead to 28-14. Laurier's special teams started to contribute with a great kickoff return to the Gaels 30-yard line. The Golden Hawks capitalized on their great field position which ended with a touchdown reception to take their lead to 35-14. The touchdown reception was Laurier's first offensive touchdown of the day. With another great special teams play of a 57-yard punt return to the Gaels two-yard line, Laurier's running back Eric Guiltinan punched it in to give the Golden Hawks a 42-14 lead. The Gael's defence forced a fumble late in the third quarter by defensive back Jake Firlotte (Abbotsford, B.C.) to give Queen's offence another possession.

The fourth quarter began with the Gaels driving deep into Laurier territory but the drive ended with a field goal by Dillon Wamsley (London, Ont.) to bring the score to 42-17. The final quarter saw the Gaels offence play their best football on the day and added another touchdown score with a reception from Do