U of W Lancers upset Ottawa, 40-38 final is one of the biggest upsets in school history
University of Windsor Lancers head football coach Mike Morencie returned to the sidelines Saturday and his team got back in the win column with one of the biggest upsets in school history.
The Lancers claimed their first win ever over the fifth-ranked University of Ottawa Gee-Gees with a nail biting 40-38 victory at Alumni Field at University of Windsor Stadium Saturday.
“This is a huge win for us,” Morencie said. “There wasn’t a person around who thought we were going to win this one.”
A strike by university faculty and librarians kept Morencie off the field last week in a road loss against Laurier.
While the strike continues, Morencie talked with union president Brian Brown Friday about returning to the sidelines.
“I talked to him and he gave me a picket pass,” Morencie said.
And players praised having their head coach on the field, especially when a 34-point lead in the second quarter was eventually trimmed to two.
“Last week, we were missing that fire,” Lancers safety Bryan Quayson said. “He gets us in and set so we know what we’re doing.”
Trailing 3-2 after a quarter, the Lancer exploded for five-straight touchdowns.
Quarterback Josh Sacobie, who was the OUA offensive player of the year last season, was picked off five times in the game after having thrown just three in the first four games.
“I’ve never had a game like that,” said Sacobie, who was pulled briefly in the second quarter said. “We just started out flat. We played well in the second half, but it wasn’t enough in the end.”
Quayson had three of the picks while Daryl Townsend and Shea Pierre had the others. Matt Bucknor added a touchdown on a fumble recovery.
“Turnovers are costly and we just came up empty,” Sacobie said.
Daryl Stephenson, who rushed for 136 yards, scored on a six-yard and defensive lineman Seamus Postuma scored on a third-and-goal from the one. Quarterback Sam Malian added six-yard touchdown passes to Jordan Brescacin and Glenn Mackay, but the Lancers were holding on for dear life in the second half.
“When it got down to the last play, everyone was nervous,” said Lancers kicker Robert Euewes, who watched Ottawa close to within 21 by the half and just six after three quarters.
The fifth-year kicker ended up being a star at the end. Aside from kicking the game winning field goal, he wisely used the play clock and killed nearly 30-seconds with a scramble before conceding a safety that left the Gee-Gees with just 1.8 seconds left in the game.
His moves in the end zone would have made Stephenson proud.
“I taught him everything,” Eeuwes said. “First, I just wanted to catch the ball. Second, I didn’t want to get stripped.”
Now 3-2, the Lancers are in a three-way tie for third in the OUA and have a chance to tie second-place Western with a win on the road in London next week.
“We needed this win more than anything and while we almost let it slip away, we held on,” Eeuwes said. “It’s absolutely huge for us and gives us confidence against Western.”
