The Windsor Lancers took care of business and secured their first win of 2025 in a 29-13 victory over the now 0-3 McMaster Marauders at home.
The Lancers kicked to Mac to start the game off, but the ball was turned over due to a fumble by Isaac Leder at their own 20-yard line.
Nick Dimovksi (16-of-28, 172 yards, one touchdown) and the rest of the Lancer offence took the field for the first time in a drive that would end in a Brady Lidster field goal to put Windsor up 3-0 nearly two minutes into the game.
It would be a day to remember for Lidster as he became the school's all-time leader in career field goals at Windsor.
Mac's next drive would end in a two-and-out after a quick seven-yard completion from quarterback Luke Thalman (19-of-27, 166 yards, one interception) to Everett Reid (six catches, 63 yards), before Brayden Kelly (two rushes, 27 yards) was stuffed for no gain on second down.
Michael Horvat would punt back to Windsor with 11:30 left in the first quarter, and Dimovski and the rest of the Lancer offence got to work.
On the heels of a 14-yard rush from Weagbe Mombo, a penalty on the Marauder defence, and some nice passes from Dimovksi to Colby Ginn and Evan Martin, the Lancer offence found themselves on the goal line with just under six minutes to go.
On first down, Dimovski found Brett Bjorgan in the end zone for a seven-yard touchdown pass to make it 10-0 after a Lidster extra point.
Those would be the only points to come in the rest of the first quarter as the Lancers gave themselves breathing room with that ten-point lead that would last for the rest of the game.
The Lancers got the ball back to start the second quarter, but had to punt back to the Marauders after their drive fizzled out.
With about 13:30 to go in the second quarter, Thalman and the Marauder offence came back out to their own 24-yard line.
Immediately, they went to work with Thalman, completing passes to Shane Wismer (two catches, 12 yards), Adams Yuseph (one catch, 15 yards), and Everett Reid, to help set up Horvat for a field goal to make it 10-3 with under eight minutes to go in the first half.
Windsor answered right back on the next drive with big rushes from Tyriq Quayson (two rushes, 60 yards), Andrew Delaney (10 rushes, 101 yards, one touchdown), and Dimovski himself, to set up Lidster for another field goal to make it 13-3 for Windsor with about four minutes to play.
Mac's next drive did not yield anything, and once again, the Lancers were on the offensive, kicking another field goal to make the score 16-3 at halftime.
Because they kicked to the Marauders to begin the game, the Lancers naturally received the ball after halftime.
Tyriq Quayson returned the ball to the Windsor 31-yard line, but the drive was short-lived after a few runs from Mombo that did not net much of a return, so they punted back to the Marauders, who in turn drove down the field to kick a field goal with about nine minutes to play in the third.
16-6 was the score as the Lancers got the ball back at their own 35-yard line before driving and answering with yet another field goal attempt from Lidster with about 4:50 left in the third quarter.
In their final drive of the quarter, Thalman and the Marauders put together an incredible drive that used up the remaining time in the third quarter, punctuated by passes to Mathieu Gale and Everett Reid.
With literally no time left in the third quarter, Thalman decided to keep it himself and rushed through the scrum and over the goal line for the first Marauder touchdown on the ground of the year. Horvat came on to kick the extra point and cut the Lancer lead down to 19-13 entering the fourth quarter.
Everything was set up for a thrilling finish as both teams were locked in a six-point game; instead, the Lancers gradually pulled away with the lead, starting with another Lidster field goal to begin the fourth quarter, which made the score 22-13 after a Windsor offensive possession.
The Lancer defence kept the Marauders in check throughout the fourth, not letting up very many yards and no plays to stretch the field. After punting back and forth for a while, the Lancers again found themselves in Mac territory with about 1:45 left to play in the game.
At the McMaster 25-yard line, Dimovksi handed off to Delaney, who powered his way through the messy line of scrimmage before finding daylight and running into the end zone for the final score of the game to make it 29-13 after a Lidster extra point.
Unfortunately for Mac fans, that last touchdown was not the only negative part of the fourth quarter, as quarterback Luke Thalman was the subject of an unnecessary roughness penalty by Lancer linebacker Marco Piccioni. Thankfully, he appeared to be okay and completed the game.
Looking ahead
For Windsor, this win was meaningful because it gave them momentum heading into their next two games against Toronto and Waterloo. Their last three games are against Western, Queen's, and Ottawa, so whatever extra momentum they can accrue will be helpful for those gauntlet games down the stretch.
For McMaster, it was not as bad as the Queen's loss, but it was still not a good result. The offence looks a step off-beat as well.
They have not played with a consistent rhythm on offence once this year, but the defence has its moments every so often. Overall, in terms of getting their first win of 2025, things look bleak until the last two games against Waterloo and Carleton.
On September 20, Windsor plays Toronto at 1:00 p.m., while Mac takes on Guelph at home for their homecoming game at the same time.