Matt Dionne | Sports and Health Editor
Featured image: The Hunchaks led the Lions to put up a 50 burger in their best start to a season since 2005. | Photo courtesy of York Lions
The Lions football team kicked off their season on Sunday against the Waterloo Warriors, and there was never a moment of doubt that the Lions would win.
The final score was 57-13 for York, who outplayed and outclassed the Warriors in front of a rambunctious home crowd.
York opened the scoring with four minutes left to play in the first quarter on a 1-yard touchdown run from backup quarterback Matt Krason.
The Lions scored the second touchdown of the game on the last play of the first quarter, a pass from quarterback Brett Hunchak to receiver D’Saun Greenaway.
Waterloo managed to get on the scoreboard with eight minutes to go in the second quarter with a field goal, but York answered back just 30 seconds later with a 77-yard touchdown pass from Hunchak to his brother Colton Hunchak.
Waterloo’s first touchdown of the game came with two minutes left in the second quarter on a pass from quarterback Lucas McConnell to receiver Mitch Kernick.
The score at halftime was 22-13 for York. The third quarter was where York put the game out of reach, scoring three times in the frame to build a 43-13 lead.
Things began to get chippy in the fourth, as Waterloo, presumably out of frustration, started throwing cheap shots, with one of their players taking a swing at a York running back.
Former Lion and current Argonaut Jamal Campbell was in attendance. Campbell says the season with the Boatmen has been going well and he’s been learning a lot. Being a rookie is tough, but fortunately he hasn’t experienced much hazing.
“I’m loving this. This is everything we worked for during my five years at York. We’ve got a lot of young guys and this is just the beginning. We’re showing what we can do, and I think down the road they’re going to show that they’re a team that can compete with anyone,” Campbell says on York’s performance.
Campbell feels York’s success against Waterloo is something they can maintain throughout the season and is not just a fluke performance. He believes this is the year York will finally end their playoff drought.
“One hundred per cent, and if you don’t believe it you shouldn’t be here,” Campbell says with a laugh.
It was no surprise that Campbell, a former offensive lineman himself, showed some love to his former teammates. Campbell said he felt the player of the game was York’s entire offensive line.
York’s next game is Monday, September 5 against Laurier in Waterloo.
