How the Warriors stole a win from the York Lions in UW’s Senior Game
On a scorching Saturday afternoon at Warrior Field, where the stands were painted black and gold, UW supporters ground their teeth while the football team played its most bellicose game of the year.
In a matchup against the favoured York Lions, who led by as much as eleven points, the lead changed five times. Fortunately, in the final throes of the fourth quarter, sixth-year running back Anthony Miller, who wears the number zero, leapt and spun over the Lions to find a touchdown that put the Warriors within two points. With 28 seconds left, an onside kick followed by a field goal from rookie kicker Evan Astolfo kept the Warriors’ playoff hopes alive and led to a 34-33 win for UW.
Holding a record of 1-5 prior to this game and reeling from losing star quarterback Nick Orr earlier this season, many had written the Warriors off this season. But UW’s fighting spirit wouldn’t let them give up so easily.
“We knew we were going to be playing a do-or-die game. We have an acronym, what’s important now or WIN, [that] we like to use so we don’t dwell on the past or worry about the future. We just focused on what we needed to execute during practice,” Miller said.
The Warriors’ first drive of the game got them going. A field goal from Astolfo put them up by three, and UW’s defence held down the fort. Expert coordination and haunting hits led to a 6-2 halftime score for the Warriors. The Lions’ only two points were from a mistake by UW’s offence, which was tackled in the endzone late in the second, forcing a safety.
The second half turned the crowd silent. York scored a touchdown, a safety, and two field goals in the third quarter to enter the fourth up by eight, 17-9.
But once again, the Warriors stuck their mouthguards back in and refused to roll over for the Lions.
Players could hardly hear each other’s calls as the fans bellowed, cheering for every yard the Warriors gained. With two minutes left on the clock and up 33-24, the Lions got complacent.
That’s when the magic happened.
The Warriors gained possession and barreled down to York’s ten-yard line, forcing their defence to use energy they simply didn’t have. A handoff from quarterback Nolan Kaban to Miller on second and goal set him up for success.
In a clip that’s been viewed 96 thousand times on Instagram, Miller hurdles one Lion, gets hit twice in the air and does a 360 spin, and still lands on his feet to score a touchdown. He then coolly walks off, having played what could be his last game on Warrior Field.
“My brothers got me the block I needed on the edge. I’ve made some brothers for life on this team, and I had an opportunity to hurdle someone [against Windsor], but I didn’t take it. I didn’t mean to flip like that, but I wanted to make a play, and I jumped. God took it from there,” Miller said.
The Warriors play another must-win game in Hamilton this weekend against the McMaster Marauders. They’re 2-4 after winning against Toronto’s Varsity Blues last week.
