The University of Toronto Varsity Blues (0-1) football team fell 36-0 to the No. 7 Laurier Golden Hawks (1-0) in their season opener at Varsity Centre on Monday, Sept. 7.

Third-year running back Michael Montoya (Burlington, Ont.) rushed for three touchdowns and 160 yards while teammate Josh Bishop (Mississauga, Ont.) had five receptions for 134 yards to lead the visiting Hawks to a Labour Day victory.

When asked about battling Montoya with three and sometimes four tacklers, Blues head coach Greg DeLaval could only comment; “Yeah, he steamrolled us. We definitely lost the physical battle today.”

After the Blues conceded a safety in the first quarter, Montoya (Burlington, Ont.) would find the end zone three times, scoring on runs of 11, nine, and six yards. Add his scores to a Chris Mamo’s (London, Ont.) 24-yard field goal and the Golden Hawks had a 26-0 going into halftime.

Laurier quarterback Luke Thompson (London, Ont.) completed a 37-yard pass to Dillon Heap (Waterloo, Ont.) at 11:15 in the third quarter for the fourth touchdown of the night.

Thompson was 8-of-15 for 184 yards and one touchdown. Mitchell Bosch (Langley, B.C.) led the Golden Hawk’s defence with five tackles and one sack.

Despite the lack of scoring, the home team showed good promise, threw in a variety of looks and showed some defensive prowess - Varsity Blues player of the game, Willie Sharpe (Renfrew, Ont.) had five tackles, blocked a field goal and averaged 30 yards per punt.

“Every game is about adjustments,” said DeLaval. “We weren’t able to run the ball early in the game so we went to the pass but we’d like to establish the run. Running the football is going to control the clock and keep the other team’s offence on the sidelines so we’re going to find a way to run the football whether it’s our running back, quarterback or receiver.”

Wilkerson DeSouza (Mississauga, Ont.) and Kyle Kennedy (Metcalfe, Ont.) totalled eight tackles apiece to lead Toronto.

Fourth-year quarterback Andrew Gillis (Markham, Ont.) completed seven passes for 102 yards and fifth-year transfer Jansen Shrubb (Toronto) went 6-for-9 for 46 yards.

Toronto (0-1) travels to Windsor to take on the Lancers (1-0) next Saturday, Sept. 12. Game time is 7 p.m.


NOTES:

Eight tackles in a game are new career-highs for both Wilkerson DeSouza and Kyle Kennedy.

Josh Bishop’s 134 receiving yards is a new career-high.

Dillion Heap’s 37-yard reception for a touchdown was the first of his career.