The York Lions football team lost their season opener to the Laurier Golden Hawks by a score of 38-21 at York Stadium on the afternoon of August 30. The defeat casts a shadow over the Lions’ performance this season.
The first quarter was uneventful in terms of scoring until the Hawks’ Greg Nyhof scored an eight-yard touchdown with just 39 seconds left in the quarter. The Hawks then dominated the second quarter, scoring a total of 17 points compared to the Lions’ seven. These seven points came from a thrilling 55-yard touchdown pass from Brett Hunchak to Nathaniel Pinto. It was the first career touchdown for both Hunchak and Pinto, two of the talented young rookies who were recently recruited by Lions’ head coach Warren Craney.
At the half, the Hawks led the Lions by a score of 24-7. Commenting on their performance up until then, Lions alumnus Louis Taffo said that the Lions were “having trouble moving the ball consistently,” which allowed the Hawks to score a couple of big plays on them. Taffo played for the York Lions from 1985 to 1989 and was the 1986 OUA First-Team All-Star.
The Hawks’ Marcus Arkarakas scored another touchdown in the third quarter, which was followed by a touchdown by the Lions’ Jahmari Bennett, who successfully evaded a sack and ran 21 yards to make it happen. Arkarakas then dropped a touchdown near the end of the quarter, leaving the Hawks with a strong 31-14 lead.
As the crowd chanted “let’s go defense” early in the fourth quarter, the Lions toughened up their defense and made it difficult for the Hawks to gain much ground with a single play. Lions’ quarterback Eric Kimmerly, another young rookie, then ran 18 yards for his first career touchdown, cutting the Hawks’ lead to ten points (31-21) with six minutes remaining in the game.
The Hawks managed to score one final touchdown with only three minutes left in the game. The final score was 38-21.
Warren Craney commented that he was “definitely disappointed with the outcome” because he felt that the Lions were “a better football team than what was put in place” there.
Similar to the comment by Taffo about the Lions’ inconsistency, Craney cited the new young recruits’ lack of experience as the reason for the loss. The presence of so many of these recruits in the Lions’ roster is part of Craney’s “five year plan” to improve the Lions’ performance in football.
“We went out and recruited some highly-skilled positions that we thought could help us bring a championship here,” he explained.
According to Canadian sportscaster Mike Hogan, the inexperience of these players is going to remain a challenge for the Lions’ to overcome this season.
“This year will be all about growth,” wrote Hogan. “If they can win a couple of games and see progression with the players who will be wearing the red and white for the next few years, the season may be deemed a success.”
Craney says players like Hunchak, Pinto, Bennett, and Kimmerly could play a pivotal role in the Lions’ performance this season. “They come from good families and are good kids,” according to Craney. “It’s just a matter of keeping them in school,” he adds.
The success of his five-year plan, he claims, is beyond the sport itself.
Hassam Munir, Sports & Health Editor
Images courtesy of Michael Zusev, Photo Editor
