The Laurier Golden Hawks, fresh off a 33-28 tough road victory at the University of Guelph, will face the incoming Windsor Lancers at 7:00 pm this Saturday at University Stadium in downtown Waterloo.
The Lancers are the only team in the OUA that has not played a game this season, so Saturday night's matchup under the lights will serve as their inaugural game of the 2025 season.
In the last five games played between these programs, dating back to 2021, Laurier has won all five games by a combined score of 176-66.
Coming into this game, Laurier has some reasons to feel positive. Firstly, they withstood a more than competent comeback effort by a premier OUA team in the Guelph Gryphons last weekend.
Secondly, Callum Wither, in his first Golden Hawks start in an intense road environment, was a maestro, throwing for 243 yards, completing 64 per cent of his passes, and joining five other quarterbacks nationally as the only ones to throw for three-plus touchdown passes in Week 1.
Lastly, they will have the opportunity to square off against an opponent they have dominated for the better part of nine years, on their home turf on Saturday.
Those are all very good things for the Golden Hawks' faithful to keep in mind as their team heads into their home-opener.
On the flip side, in 2024, Windsor, led by head coach Jean-Paul Circelli, was a defensively dominant team. That fact is evident in them, placing them in the bottom half for both passing (202.0) and rushing (137.3) yards allowed per game in the country last season.
They were also fourth in the country for total sacks with 24. Although this year may appear to be slightly different, as they are losing a big piece of that identity in linebacker Devin Veresuk, the Lancers still have plenty of talent on the defensive side of the ball to roll out on the field.
Fortunately for the Lancers, they still retain some strong contributors to those marks from last year, including defensive backs Ethan John, Robert Springer, and Istvan Assibo-Dadzie, as well as linebackers Marco Piccioni, Sal Raap-Kopiyka, and Liam Hoskins.
John was the second-ranked Lancer on the team in tackles (38) in 2024 behind Veresuk, while Assibo-Dadzie picked off two passes to finish second on the team behind Springer's outrageous four interceptions.
Meanwhile, Piccioni, Raap-Kopiyka, and Hoskins were tackling machines, as each finished the season with at least one tackle for loss, which showcases the agility and speed of the linebacker corps.
The Lancers add defensive tackle Braxton Johnson to that core from Arkansas Tech (NCAA DII). The 6'0", 275-pound North Little Rock, Ark. native recorded 59 tackles over 20 games with the program, including 13 tackles for loss, two sacks, and a forced fumble.
With those strong remaining pieces from last year's defence, Wither and the offence will need to be smart in their decision-making, as they were last week.
The Laurier offensive line, a week after only giving up two sacks, will need to dig deep again to hold strong against these Windsor defensive playmakers.
Fortunately for him, Ethan Jordan (eight receptions, 123 yds, two touchdowns), Ryan Hughes (five receptions, 51 yards), and Jace Atkinson (two receptions, 50 yards, one touchdown) are some pass-catchers coming off of great performances against Guelph who will be at Wither's disposal on Saturday.
Layomi Ojutalayo, another great Golden Hawk receiver who had a touchdown catch called back in Week 1, will provide size and physicality for Wither to rely on if needed.
At running back for Laurier will be the effective duo of Tayshaun Jackson and Quentin Scott again. Both players were very entertaining to watch in week one, as their styles contrasted significantly, with Jackson being the lightning rod and Scott providing the power.
In week one, Jackson rushed for 70 yards and a score while Scott rumbled for 47 tough yards on nine carries. The way that they are utilized on Saturday will be a difference maker and something that Windsor will need to keep in mind as they alternate carries.
For Windsor, on offence, quarterback Danny Skelton and team receiving yards leader, Jaylen Miller, are some notable departures, with running back Joey Zorn also seemingly not returning as a Lancer in 2025 after a release from the CFL's Toronto Argonauts.
Christopher John, Windsor's second-ranked rusher in 2024, will also not return after he aged out of his eligibility.
At quarterback for the Lancers will be third-year signal-caller Nick Dimovski, who appeared in three games in 2024 due to absences by starter Danny Skelton. At 6'2" and 215 pounds, Dimovski brings great size, as Skelton did, and a knowledge of the playbook already.
In his limited time on the field, Dimovski has put up some respectable numbers, including 625 yards passing, three touchdowns and an interception while rushing for 136 yards and four total touchdowns across 13 game appearances from 2023 to 2024.
Since two of Windsor's top receivers from 2024, Jaylen Miller and Javonni Cunningham, appear to be leaving the team, it may be logical to expect them to be a rushing team in 2025, even if Joey Zorn does not return. Zorn's heir appears to be either Liam Talbot or Weagbe Momo.
Windsor also added an Arkansas product on offence in wide receiver Kareame Cotton, who transferred from the Northwestern State Demons of NCAA's DI Football Championship Subdivision (FCS).
The 6'3", 205-pound athlete saw action at each of wide receiver, running back, and quarterback during his final season with the Demons.
Laurier is well-prepared to face this Windsor offence as their defence features some very productive performers from Week 1. Linebacker Jessie Wilkins-Flaricee and safety Maliek Cote have each placed themselves in the top five nationally for tackles thus far.
At the same time, Ethan Gregorcic, a fellow linebacker, was the only Golden Hawk to notch an interception as he virtually sealed the week one win by picking off Tristan Aboud in the final minutes.
Matteo Laquintana and Joseph Edlington will be key factors on the Laurier defensive line, aiming to disrupt Dimovski's thought process in real-time.
Both players are tenacious and violent when needed, and they excel at putting pressure on quarterbacks to misjudge their throws.
On paper, this appears to be a relatively easy game for the Golden Hawks ahead of next week's road trip to play Queen's, due to the talent imbalance and momentum that Laurier is currently riding after defeating an excellent Guelph Gryphon's team.
However, it would be falling into a trap to think that Windsor will let up easily, especially since their defence is returning so many great starters from 2024.
Lancer head coach Circelli is a great team builder who knows how to field competitive lineups and will undoubtedly be bringing his best on the road against a true national contender.
Five performers to look out for
Nick Dimovski, Windsor, QB: It will be interesting to see how Dimovski reacts in a hostile Laurier road environment on Saturday night in the Lancers' first game of 2025.
His talent is evident, as is his athleticism; the only thing left to prove is whether he can put the Lancers in the best position to stay competitive with the Golden Hawks and potentially even secure their first win against them since September 26. 2015.
Ryan Hughes, Laurier, WR: Since Ethan Jordan exploded against Guelph for 123 yards and two touchdowns, the Lancer defence will likely stick to him like glue in an effort to keep him contained.
If Wither gets into a position where he needs to spread the ball around to different receivers, there are not many better players with the ball in their hands than Ryan Hughes.
Windsor linebacking corps: If the Lancers' linebacker corps can shut down the run to force Laurier to pass more, it would be very advantageous for them, as Windsor's secondary is a great coverage group. From there, they can keep sustained pressure on the backfield to force Wither into errors on passing plays.
Layomi Ojutalayo, Laurier, WR: Ojutalayo is a fascinating athlete who moonlights as a special teams tackling weapon when not running routes on offence. Expect him to get more involved this week than last week on offence, especially since Wither has had a complete game to establish his comfort within the team. At 6'2" and 209 pounds, Ojutalayo has great size to dwarf smaller corners but also possesses the requisite speed to turn a 10-yard catch into a 70-yard score.
Joseph Edlington, Laurier, DL: Edlington registered a sack and tackle for loss in Laurier's victory over Guelph last week. At 6'0" and 251 pounds, Edlington is a smaller defensive lineman who can contort his body in various ways to slip through the line of scrimmage. He can disrupt a backfield very quickly and will be someone to monitor for Windsor's offence.
Score prediction: Laurier wins 32-21.