The Varsity Blues football team saw their homecoming celebrations spoiled when they suffered their second straight defeat at the hands of the Waterloo Warriors by a score of 30-7.
A decent turnout of 1,726 fans crowded into Varsity Stadium to view the Saturday afternoon tilt against the Warriors. Waterloo had an identical record as the Blues coming into the game. The Warriors, at 1-5, were a beatable opponent for the home side. The Blues were coming off a 21-3 loss to the McMaster Marauders. The home team struggled to keep the visitors from gaining ground, as the Warriors ran the ball seemingly at will. The Blues were unable to get much going offensively for essentially the final three quarters.
“We didn’t throw the ball very well at all today,” said Blues head coach Greg DeLaval. “What they showed us was what we expected, and we could have taken advantage. We just didn’t convert on a lot of our passes.”
New starting quarterback Jansen Shrubb was coming off impressive outings at York and at McMaster, where he threw for 322 and 250 yards respectively. However, Shrubb struggled to find his footing early in this game, missing his targets and throwing a couple of errant passes. Backup quarterbacks Andrew Gillis and Jordan Scheltgen saw limited action in the second half, and threw a mere 22 yards combined.
Belleville, Ontario’s Jonathan Wright was perhaps the lone bright spot in the Blues offense. Wright muscled past Waterloo defenders, making an open reception in the corner of the end zone.
With Waterloo ahead by one point, the Blues had an opportunity to pull ahead. The team drove the length of the field, only to be frustrated close to the goal. The Blues went for it in close, and had to turn the ball over on downs inside Waterloo’s six yard line. The Warriors scored on their next drive, as fourth-year pivot Evan Martin connected with freshman Matt Socholotiuk for a 41-yard touchdown pass. That swing affected the timbre of the game for good.
“We had a real great opportunity to have a momentum change,” DeLaval said, of the failed attempt on third down. “They stopped us, then marched all the way down the field and scored. If you’re looking for a turning point, then that was it.”
The loss was an unfortunate end to the Blues final home game of the year. The Blues will travel to London next week to close out their season against the 5-2 Western Mustangs, one of the top teams in the OUA.
“We’re looking forward to playing the best,” DeLaval says of the Mustangs. “The only way we’re going to get better is to play the best, continue to see how we match up, and take a look at what we need to work on.”
