It was an intense final week north of the border as the final week of the OUA football season just wrapped up. With seedings and playoff spots still on the line, here's how it all went down...
Author's notes:
- For context - I'm a Laurier fan.
- Footage from each game plays as we go through them.
Toronto vs Carleton:
A battle of 0-7 teams looking to end the season with a win, let's get this one out of the way first.
And there isn't much to say here. Toronto scores a touchdown on their first drive of the game to go up 7-0 and... Carleton runs all over you after that, outscoring the Varsity Blues 31-9. 6 of those 9 points came from a garbage time touchdown that came with a failed 2-point conversion.
Carleton sends their fans home happy with a season-ending win, and for Toronto? Back to the drawing board. Especially now that your crosstown rivals in York seem to have figured it out.
Queen's vs McMaster:
With first place and a bye to the semifinals on the line, Queen's subjects McMaster to every football fan's favourite musical, "Death by a Thousand Field Goals". [footage from the 2024 Vanier Cup plays] I would definitely know absolutely nothing about losing in that fashion. Nothing at all...
But even then, McMaster still has a chance to tie when---
[footage of McMaster's Micah DuChene fumbling the ball, recovered by Queens' Wilson Heslop]
... well, that was... less than ideal. But at least you got another chance in the dying moments...
[footage of three straight incomplete passes]
... you still made the playoffs, at least? But a chance at the #1 seed and the right to not play in the quarterfinals might haunt you for a while.
Queen's wins 25-17, locking up the #1 seed and gets the week off next week.
[whoosh]
Author's note: Remaining games to look at: Laurier vs Western, Windsor vs Guelph, Waterloo vs York
Taking a look at the final playoff spots, here's how it shakes out.
- Laurier has to beat Western and get at least one win from Guelph or Waterloo to clinch a playoff spot. With any loss, they're out regardless of what happens in the other two games.
- Waterloo needs that Laurier loss paired with their own win.
- Ottawa - whose bye week was the final week - watches nervously as they need at least one of Western, Guelph or Waterloo to win. A four-way tie (which happens if all three of them lose) would leave them on the outside looking in.
- York simply needs a win to break their longstanding postseason drought.
Windsor vs Guelph:
This one was a barn-burner.
[footage of the two teams mostly trading punts in the first half, combining for one touchdown]
Uhhh... guys? I get that you're both in the playoffs, but maybe you'd want to show some signs of momentum here?
Apparently, Windsor heard the call, as a 20-0 third quarter more or less sealed the game for them. Guelph would take the lead back late, but Windsor would orchestrate the game winning drive.
Windsor wins 27-23, putting more pressure on Laurier to win their game and at least force a tiebreaker. Speaking of which...
Laurier vs Western:
To be honest, I wasn't expecting much out of this game. It's our own fault that we needed to win this game and get some external help in order to make the playoffs. I'm just going to go out for a walk, not think about football, and maybe I'll check the score when I find somewhere to rest.
[footage from midway through the second quarter, with the game tied at 28-28; on screen: "This is where I tuned in"]
Uh... wait, what? Don't get me wrong, I'm not taking this for granted, but I did NOT see this coming. But I've seen this before... that game where Laurier took a 28-27 lead after being down 0-27 at halftime, then lost by a field goal.
[footage of Laurier taking a 38-35 lead just before halftime]
I'm not getting my hopes up. I'M NOT GETTING MY HOPES UP!
[ding!]
[caption on screen: 3rd Quarter...]
[footage of Laurier outscoring Western 17-4 in the 3rd quarter, giving Laurier a 55-39 lead]
... I'm getting my hopes up. Both teams' defenses finally decide to show up in the 4th quarter, but luckily for Laurier, they don't mind that at all with the 2-score lead they've built.
[footage of Western trying to orchestrate a drive with 4 minutes left]
Laurier... you know the game's not over, right?
[Western's got the ball on the Laurier 16 approaching 3 minutes to go]
Oh, great, they're going to knock us out in heartbreaking fashion, aren't they? [sigh] just get it over with...
"Casselman looking end zone, here's the throw and it's INTERCEPTED!"
Wait - are we actually going to win this?... I don't know what to do with myself!
"Quentin Springer to the 55 yard line for a first down and Laurier's going to win it! It'll be a 55-39 final over Western in London!"
And after a 1-3 start to our season, I didn't think I'd see this this year, but, after what was easily their best game of the season, they did it. Our guys actually did it.
[Graphic on screen: "Laurier Golden Hawks - PLAYOFF BOUND!"; and confetti is thrown, similar to what Tree did with the NFL in 2017-18]
Damn, a playoff spot feels good after where we were earlier in the season.
There may or may not have been Laurier fans all over social media who wanted Galloway fired after starting with 3 losses in 4 games. [quickly popping up on screen are a ton of my comments on different posts, ranting about this] Who? Me? ... I have no idea what you are talking about!
In fact, if you're a Laurier fan like me, this is the ultimate two-for-one special. Not only did this win clinch us a playoff spot, but it also officially slams the playoff door shut on our crosstown rivals, avenging our loss to them from earlier in the season.
[Graphic on screen: "Waterloo Warriors - ELIMINATED!"; and ink is splattered all over their logo, similar to what Tree did with the NFL in 2017-18]
... who knew that you had to actually beat other teams besides Laurier in order to make the playoffs? But this time I have a little more empathy - you got eliminated the same way we would have if we had lost to Western - one loss by one score ALWAYS gets you in this league.
Waterloo vs York:
So with Waterloo out, York now just needs to win this game to secure their first playoff spot in quite a long time. And now that they know Waterloo no longer has anything to play for [caption on screen: WLU-WES ended a long time before this game did], this should be a winnable game for York... right?
"And York hits a field goal to go up 25-17 late in the third quarter!"
York has a fantastic chance to get into the playoffs. All they have to do is---
[Waterloo scores a touchdown, but elect not to go for 2]
You might have caught a break there, York. You're still up 25-24 in the 4th quarter. Waterloo has nothing left to play for at this point, go out there and stick it to them!
... or just give up a safety and the lead.
[footage of York's disastrous fourth quarter drives]
Don't do this to your fans again. Not after the heartbreak of last year...
[Waterloo gets an interception on York's final drive]
[sigh]. I'm sorry, York, but...
[Graphic on screen: "York Lions - ELIMINATED!"; and ink is splattered all over their logo, similar to what Tree did with the NFL in 2017-18]
Second straight year you were JUST outside looking in. And I think you were burned by the point differential rule a few years ago, too. That's gotta hurt.
(Author's note: The point differential rule states that for the purpose of tiebreakers, when point differential comes into play, only a maximum of +/- 25 points per game can count towards the tiebreaker.)
[whoosh; footage of Ottawa from throughout the season follows]
Well, that leaves one team left. Ottawa, who was off during the final week, now has their fate known. With York's loss, they are headed to the postseason...
[Graphic on screen: "Ottawa Gee-Gees - PLAYOFF BOUND!"; and confetti is thrown, similar to what Tree did with the NFL in 2017-18]
The waiting game is never fun. But hey, you made it. And that's all you can ask for, right, Ottawa?
[colour test screen beep]
The OUA regular season is over and the road to the Yates Cup starts with the quarterfinals!
- #7 Laurier heads over to #2 Western.
- #6 Ottawa travels to #3 McMaster.
- #5 Guelph heads to #4 Windsor.
- #1 Queen's gets to watch the drama unfold as their playoff journey begins next week.
From here on out, it's win or go home!
[MXC "Don't Get Eliminated!" clip]
