The Waterloo Warriors know that they are never out of any game.
So when the Warriors found themselves down three scores to the Windsor Lancers late in the second quarter on Saturday afternoon, their patience – and status as an offensive juggernaut – was put to the test. And as they capped off an explosive comeback as the clock hit zero, their reputation was once again ratified.
Jonah Zlatinszky (London/) hit a 23-yard field goal as time expired, and Waterloo scored 34 points in the final 33 minutes of the game to escape with a 45-42 victory over the Lancers at Alumni Field in Windsor.
The win moves Waterloo to 2-0 on the season, as they earned their third consecutive early-season victory over the Lancers (1-2). Over those three head-to-head matchups, the Warriors have been lethal with the ball in their hands – they scored 54, 53, and now 45 points in those contests against Windsor. But on Saturday, the Lancers struck right with the Warriors to produce a high-flying shootout – the teams combined for 1143 yards of offense, 60 first downs, and just four punts.
The difference in the game, though, was Waterloo's ground attack - fourth-year back Dion Pellerin (Abbotsford/) rushed for 200 yards on 18 carries, including a 69-yard TD scamper in the opening minute of the second half. Quarterback Tre Ford (Niagara Falls/) added 7 carries for 132 yards and a 61-yard major score, as the Warriors outgained Windsor 335 yards – 193 yards.
The aerial attack was still effective as well: Tyler Ternowski (Hamilton/) caught a team-high 8 passes for 74 yards and a touchdown, while Gordon Lam (Kitchener/) added 114 yards on 6 catches. Meanwhile, Lancers quarterback Sam Girard threw for 351 yards, 5 touchdowns, and 3 interceptions, and Queen's grad-transfer Chris Osei-Kusi hauled in 137 yards on 6 receptions, with a pair of scores.
The Lancers got out to an early lead, thanks to a 27-yard hookup between Girard and Carson Ouelette that made it 7-0 Lancers. After Lam responded with a 3-yard run to get the visiting Warriors back to even, the Lancers poured it on – two touchdown receptions from Matthew James and a scrambling touchdown from Girard helped pad the Windsor lead, as the hosts held a 28-11 advantage with just over three minutes to play in the first half.
But Ford and Waterloo's high-octane offense never panicked, and the reigning OUA MVP sparked the fuse with a massive 61-yard touchdown run late in the second quarter. On the ensuing Lancers drive, Lautaro Frecha (Sault Ste. Marie/) picked off a Girard pass and tacked on a massive return to set up his offense, and Ford eventually found Ternowski from 6 yards out to cut the deficit to just three points in the closing seconds of the half.
The Warriors continued their offensive onslaught on the first play from scrimmage of the second half, as Pellerin rumbled 69 yards for a touchdown and Waterloo's first lead of the afternoon. All told, it took the Warriors just 3:12 of game clock to erase the deficit, as they used just 11 plays over three straight touchdown drives to take a 32-28 advantage.
The Lancers responded later in the third quarter with a 70-yard bomb from Girard to Osei-Kusi, as the hosts once again grabbed the lead. But A 34-yard field goal from Zlatinszky knotted the score back up at 35-35, and the exciting contest entered the fourth quarter all knotted up.
Waterloo's defence made the first big play of the final stanza, as Devon Hinsperger (Waterloo/) and Joshua Brown (Etobicoke/) helped generate a turnover on downs when they denied Girard on a third-and-short plunge. That gave the ball back to the Warriors near midfield, and they capped a 7-play, 67-yard drive with an 8-yard Ford-to-Pellerin hookup to take a 42-35 lead. Despite having a promising drive snuffed out by a Daeshaun Jupiter-Deane (Pickering/) interception, the Lancers still wouldn't go away, and Osei-Kusi's second touchdown of the afternoon once again tied the game at 42-42 with under two minutes to play.
But with ample time to operate and weapons all over the field, Ford and the Warriors set out to end the game in regulation. After a risky third-and-one conversion from Pellerin, Ford went on a highlight-reel 26-yard romp to get Waterloo on the edge of field goal range. When Pellerin ripped off 13 more yards and the Warriors called timeout with three seconds left, the stage was set for Zlatinszky – and the veteran made no mistake, splitting the uprights for a game-winner at the buzzer.
Lost in the offensive performance was a solid ball-hawking performance from Waterloo's defence. In addition to the Jupiter-Deane and Frecha interceptions, Tyrell Ford (Niagara Falls/) also came up with a pick for the second straight game, while Hinsperger forced a fumble that was recovered by Andy Melo (Georgetown/). The four takeaways loomed very large, as it gave the Warriors extra possessions in the offensive shootout.
The Warriors will now return home for a playoff rematch from a year ago, as they host the Guelph Gryphons on Saturday, September 14. Kickoff from Warrior Field is scheduled for 1pm.
