Box Score The University of Toronto Varsity Blues football team held off a fourth-quarter rally to earn a 27-20 victory over the Laurier Golden Hawks on Monday night at University Stadium in Waterloo.

With the win, the Blues improve to 1-1 after Week 2 of OUA football action, while the Hawks drop to 0-2.

Second-year quarterback Chris Jugovic of Hamilton, Ont., was 17-for-34 for 259 yards and two touchdowns, while fourth-year receiver Alex Pierzchalski (London) had five catches for 72 yards and two majors. Rookie and Toronto native Llevi Noel recorded a team-high 101 receiving yards on four catches in the win.

Veteran linebacker Harrison Beeforth of Richmond Hill led Toronto's defence with seven tackles, two sacks and one fumble recovery. Second-year defensive back JJ Lam of Aurora tallied a game-high 7.5 tackles on the night.  

"There's still room for improvement," said Varsity Blues head coach Greg Gary. "We get back at it tomorrow. Our offence, defence and special teams played well but now we just have to get back at it and make those little corrections."

The  Blues got on the board first as Jugovic connected a 65-yard strike with Noel to set up a six-yard touchdown reception with veteran Paul de Pass (Ajax).
After a Laurier field goal, U of T extended their lead when Jugovic tossed it to running back Aaron Milton, who stopped and launched it 30 yards to Pierzchalski in the end zone. Blues kicker Eric Hewitson added a 32-yard field goal and Toronto took a 17-3 lead into halftime.

Pierzchalski notched his second major of the game early in the third, when he broke a couple of tackles for a 21-yard touchdown reception.

The Golden Hawks rallied, first with Greg Nyhoff's 35-yard touchdown reception late in the third quarter. Laurier continued to close the gap as quarterback Julien John connected a 38-yard pass with Anthony Pizzuti for the TD.

Hawks kicker Ronald Pfeffer brought the game within seven with a 45-yard field goal with six minutes to go, but the Blues came up with some big stops to secure their first win of the season.

The Varsity Blues return to the field next Saturday, September 7 when they head to Ottawa to take on the Gee-Gees. Game time is set for 1 p.m. U of T returns home the following Saturday, September 14, as they host the Guelph Gryphons at Varsity Centre.