After a close first half, the York Lions ran away with their first victory of 2016, blowing out the Waterloo Warriors by a final score of 57-13. The Lions effort was led by second year quarterback Brett Hunchak, who threw for five touchdowns on the unsuspecting Warriors.
“It was a huge win for this program, just what the doctor ordered. In years past we might’ve let them off the hook and this time we just kept going,” stated head coach Warren Craney.
Huge Win as York Lions Eat Up Warriors
Hunchak with Five Passing TDs
When Craney brought in his new offensive coordinator it solidified the development of his players into a team that could run offensive concepts. Last year York was competitive against Waterloo, the worst team in the league. This year Waterloo didn’t even belong on the same field as the Lions. Their second year quarterback threw for 325 yards, connecting on many difficult throws that the team of the last few seasons wouldn’t have completed. In this one game, the new starter more than doubled his scoring production from the year before.
FB | 9:04 – Hunchak finds Kalinic for the TOUCHDOWN! Lions lead 36-13 over @WlooWarriors pic.twitter.com/Btb2JwT31j
— York Lions (@yorkulions) August 28, 2016
“Considering he played 2.5 quarters last year and he just went 17 of 25 for five touchdowns, he was just incredible,” Craney said of his starting quarterback.
“This is the quarterback we thought we were getting when we recruited him and we’re glad that’s what we’re getting now.”
Hunchak welcomed the stability that offensive coordinator Kyle Quinlan has brought, and it could be a factor to watch in the future. “Coach Kyle has done tremendous work with for us, we’re in good hands with him,” according to the game MVP.
Two of Hunchak’s touchdown passes were caught by his younger brother, receiver Colton Hunchak. The Lions Hunchak-to-Hunchak combo proved deadly. One of the touchdowns came off a read option play that left a Waterloo defender needing to cover the receiver or get to the quarterback. The play ended with a fooled defender as Colton took a pass from the flats 77 yards to the house.
Crowd reaction to @ColtonHunchak's 77 yard touchdown! #standingRoomOnly pic.twitter.com/64rwNEwiTu
— York Lions (@yorkulions) August 28, 2016
Waterloo Offence Running Scared
The Lions couldn’t get much pressure to Waterloo’s quarterback consistently, and by halftime they seemed only to hope to contain the Warriors from taking off. After the game, coach Craney went into detail on how his team had adjusted to what Waterloo was giving him.
“We were trying to attack them on defence but they were max protecting to keep guys in. We couldn’t get a rush going so for the second half we said we’re going to play a little bit of man and heavy zone without pressure and make them beat us. Our kids played well on defence and the offence bailed us out with all the points we scored,” Craney said.
Moving Forward:
The huge win by York doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re going to be a contender for the Yates Cup this year. But it’s a good sign that the team is on the right track and no longer the doormat of the OUA. York hits the road to take on Wilfred Laurier next in Week 2. The Lions will need to keep this momentum going if they want to hang in with one of last year’s playoff teams. Laurier beat Queen’s this weekend by a score of 37-18 to open their season.