Elgersma, Laquintana, Ojutalayo named OUA football players of the week
Burlington, Ont. – Taylor Elgersma, Matteo Laquintana, and Layomi Ojutalayo have been named the Canadian Football Perspective's OUA Players of the Week for the Yates Cup.
Offensive Player of the Week – Taylor Elgersma, Laurier Golden Hawks
Elgersma and the Laurier Golden Hawks capped off their perfect OUA season with a Yates Cup victory, 51-31 over the Western Mustangs. Redeeming their 2023 loss in the OUA championship, the London, Ont. product put on a show, with 18 completions for 306 yards and four touchdowns.
Western struck first but as he did all game Elgersma had an answer, finding Tayshaun Jackson who took his pass 59-yards to the house to tie the game. The Golden Hawks jumped ahead as the fourth-year kinesiology and physical education student connected with Ryan Hughes for the 26-yard major. The 2024 OUA MVP added to his point total and Laurier's lead at the start of the second frame as he found one of his go-to receivers, Ethan Jordan deep in the endzone.
His final touchdown of the afternoon was a perfectly placed pass to Darion Bacik-Hadden as he dashed to the outside and brought it into the end zone.
It was a busy week for Elgersma, starting with a Canadian Football Perspective player of the week nod on Tuesday, capturing the league MVP award on Thursday, and ending the week with a Yates Cup and the Dalt White honours for MVP of the championship game.
Defensive Player of the Week – Matteo Laquintana, Laurier Golden Hawks
Laquintana joined the sack party not once, but twice in the Laurier Golden Hawks 51-31 Yates Cup win over Western. He took Mustangs quarterback Evan Hillock to the turf on consecutive drives, the losses totaling 11 yards.
The defensive linemen's sacks could not have come at a better time to disrupt the Western offence late in the game and help lock in the Golden Hawks win.
The Hamilton, Ont. native recorded his first ever multi-sack game and finished with four solo tackles in front of a rocking purple and gold home crowd.
Laquintana was named to the OUA all-rookie team at the OUA football awards lunch.
Special Teams Player of the Week - Layomi Ojutalayo, Laurier Golden Hawks
Ojutalayo had a day on special teams in the Golden Hawks 51-31 Yates Cup Victory over the Western Mustangs. He was an important contributor with 5.5 tackles helping to limit the Western return game.
He kept the Mustangs returners to single digits yardage on multiple occasions to help give his defence strong starting field position time and time again.
In addition to his special team's efforts, the third-year economics student rushed for 11 yards and he caught three balls for a total of 51 yards. His catches set his team up for success on multiple occasions. Once, to move the sticks 16-yards prior to Hughes touchdown and twice by perfectly catching Elgersma's 23-yard pass to put them in position for Tanner Nelmes to sprint across the goal line
The Shelburne, Ont. product will look to continue his dominance next week in Lennoxville, Que. as the Laurier Golden Hawks will face the Bishop's Gaiters in the Uteck Bowl.
