Coquitlam’s Dawson Hodge kicked two field goals and was good on all six touchdown conversions to help the Wildfrid Laurier Golden Hawks to a 48-24 win over the Bishop’s Gaiters in Saturday’s Uteck Bowl U-Sports football semi-final, Saturday in Lennoxville, Que.
The win puts the second-ranked Golden Hawks into next Saturday’s 59th Vanier Cup national championship in Kingston, Ont. They’ll play the winner of the Mitchell Bowl semi-final between Laval University and the Regina Rams.
Hodge, a fourth-year geography student who didn’t start playing football until his senior year of high school after his twin brother, Brandon, convinced him to parlay his soccer skills for the Terry Fox Ravens football team, opened the scoring in the first quarter with a 30 yard field goal following a 46-yard drive by the Hawks.
He then kicked the extra point on running back Tayshaun Jackson’s three-yard touchdown run to put Laurier up 10-0.
Bishop’s kicker Xavier Gervais and Hodge then exchanged field goals before the Hawks scored three straight touchdowns to take a commanding 34-3 lead at halftime.
In addition to his 12 points, Hodge also booted four punts for 167 yards and his seven kickoffs sailed an average of 51.9 yards.
The Gaiters had come into the game undefeated and were ranked sixth in the country.
Laurier last played in the Vanier Cup in 2005, when it beat the University of Saskatchewan.
Hodge started his career at Wilfrid Laurier in 2020, when the season was shut down because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In his first competitive season, he was named the team’s rookie of the year as well as a U SPORTS Academic All-Canadian.
In 2022, Hodge was a conference First Team All-Star and he was named U SPORTS Second Team All-Canadian.
Hodge scored 105 points this season, comprised of 19 field goals and 48 touchdown conversions. His 67 kickoffs travelled an average of 56.3 yards and his punts averaged 40.3 yards.
Hodge was also credited with one tackle, although that’s eight fewer than he had in the 2023 season.
