Hughes looks to carry postseason dominance into 2025

WATERLOO, Ont. - "He was patient, he was humble. I give him a lot of credit. He waited for his time and then everyone got to see how talented he is," manager of football operations and head coach Michael Faulds said about receiver Ryan Hughes.  

Last season, Hughes returned for his second year with the program, dressing in all eight regular season games where he split 276 yards between the kick and punt return units, and collected 53 receiving yards.  

But it was all hands on deck for the Golden Hawks when the playoffs rolled into town. Their first test was the Queen's Gaels.

While Hughes did not see his name on the starting unit, his impact was felt when he came off the bench. In his first career playoff game, he practically matched his regular season receiving total with 52 yards.  

There was another first in store for Hughes: a playoff touchdown.  

Set up at the Queen's 31 with the score knotted at 12, Hughes recounted his big moment, saying, "The play call came in, and I'm looking at everything pre-snap, seeing the way they set up, and I was like, 'Yeah, okay, I can take a shot on this one.' When I ran the route, I already knew I was going to be open, and then I was in the end zone."  

The Golden Hawks jumped in front and would not relinquish their lead, going on to win 29-21.  

"It was surreal," Hughes said.  

Patient Hughes truly was. He waited for his moment, and when it came, he shone. Albeit it came with a price: an injury to Raidan Thorne.  

"After that game, Ray went down. I didn't think too much of it, but you never want to see your teammate go down. When he went down, it didn't look like he was coming back in."  

Throughout the week, Hughes and the team learned the extent of Thorne's injury.  

"We found out that Ray wasn't going to be able to play for the next game. It's the biggest game of the season; it's the Yates Cup."

Thorne handed the torch to Hughes, and this time he found his name in the starting lineup.  

"For that to be my first start, I feel like there should have been some pressure, but I got a taste in that Queen's game, and with all the preparation and work we put in throughout the week, I felt confident in my ability."

"I knew I had to go make the most of that opportunity," said Hughes.  
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After running the table and preparing for their rivals in the Western Mustangs, pressure should have been part of the equation for the Golden Hawks.  

"No, I don't think we really felt any pressure at all," Hughes said.  

"It was like we've worked this hard to get to this point, like we're the most deserving team. We're gonna go there and take it. After everything we accomplished, we can't let this go to anybody else."

In front of a packed house at Knight-Newbrough Field, Hughes went to work in the Yates Cup. Late in the first quarter, the scoreboard read seven a piece, and Hughes once again broke the deadlock.  

"Western was in a zone, and I had a little cross route. I go; we snapped the ball. I didn't really expect to even get the ball on that play because I got pressed up a little bit at the start, but I found a way to slip through, get behind the backs, Taylor [Elgersma] scrambled out and just found me. I was able to capitalize on the play."

"It was great to celebrate with my guys. I saw Ray on the sideline when I was coming off, he was all happy, turning me up. It was great."

For the first time since 2016, and ninth time in program history, the Golden Hawks were Yates Cup champions. Hughes ended the day with a career and playoff best of 113 receiving yards and a touchdown.  

"I have to credit our offensive coordinator, Todd Galloway. He puts us in advantageous situations, and he's the genius behind the scenes," he said.

If Hughes didn't put his name on the map already, he certainly did a week later in the Uteck Bowl.  

"The look that they were giving us all game and the defensive scheme that they had dialed up, we knew we could capitalize on them. After that first quarter and the way everything was going, they weren't changing up the plan or anything," detailed Hughes.

Hughes found the endzone for his third touchdown in as many games just before halftime. A 74-yard touchdown to be exact.  

"Shout out my guy Ray because he hopped on the mic and he told coach Galloway, 'Yo, you gotta dial up a shot. These DBs cannot guard.' A couple plays later, they call one up, and I see they're in man press, so no safety help over top, so if I win there's nobody between me and the endzone. I knew I had to get out quick because the shot was coming, and I was ready for the moment."

He turned on the jets and left his defender in the dust to just watch as he crossed the goal line. But he was not done there. Hughes didn't just have one, or two, but three touchdowns in the game, leaving with 212 receiving yards.  
Hughes is now fourth in the program's all-time history for pass receiving yards in a single game.

In the Vanier Cup, Hughes scored the first of Laurier's two majors in the game. What should have been a highlight of a lifetime for Hughes was only a footnote to a painful ending as the Golden Hawks fell to Laval.
"It's kind of bittersweet to be honest. Yeah, it's a great thing, I guess. But it doesn't feel right," he reflected.  

"I was just focused and worried about the next one and the next one, because I really wanted to win that game. I wasn't really too worried or hung up on just scoring, like I wanted everybody else to score too, enough to win us the game."
Hughes said it was gutting to watch the defense getting stop after stop and not being able to replicate that on the offensive end.  

"I wasn't in for the last few plays, and I was just on the sideline talking to God. I was thanking Him for getting us this far and giving us this opportunity."

"But I was also just praying for the chance to go in there and win it because after everything we worked to accomplish, to go out without that final one just didn't feel right. I really wanted to go in there and make the final play."

Hughes made a stat line that other players could only yearn for. In four playoff games, he accumulated 393 receiving yards and six touchdowns on 21 receptions.  

"Hearing that feels pretty good. It's just a little taste of what I'm going to be able to do in this league, and that's just the start for me."

Despite the ending, Hughes and the team gained a great deal from their postseason run. "The experience in general, just from being in that situation and getting the opportunity to play more games than the other teams in the conference, I think it just adds to the program. It makes us that much better."

"Leaving on a sour note like that, it just adds fuel to the fire for what we're trying to accomplish this season."

It certainly adds fuel to the fire going into the 2025 season. Hughes and company are looking to recreate that Vanier run, but this time with a better ending. It all starts on August 23 when the Golden Hawks head down Highway 7 to face the Guelph Gryphons.  

"We're excited to be back. We know a lot of guys on Guelph, so it's going to be a pretty good game."