His three touchdowns allowed the Marauders to keep pace in a frantic first quarter, but it was Asher Hastings' fourth in the final quarter that ultimately iced Saturday's game.

The McMaster quarterback drew within one touchdown of the CIS single-season record of 30, and the Marauders withstood the challenge of the Laurier Golden Hawks to win 30-21 and move to 6-1 on the season.

Hastings now has 29 touchdowns through seven games, just one back of the record set by legendary Saint Mary's Huskies signal caller Chris Flynn in 1989.

His favourite target in the red zone, receiver Danny Vandervoort also enjoyed a notable day for the history books, grabbing his 10th touchdown reception of the season as part of that first-quarter flurry to move into sole possession of the McMaster single-season record.

Usual suspect Dan Petermann was a workhorse once again for the Marauders, hauling in a game-high nine receptions for 113 yards and two touchdowns.

Alarm bells rung early for McMaster, as Laurier got on the board first when Kurleigh Gittens Jr. beat his marker down the sidelines and hauled in a 37-yard catch and run touchdown from Eric Morelli.

Misfortune struck on the Marauders next offensive possession, as what looked to be a routine dump-off pass turned into a pick six when slotback Declan Cross planted oddly in the turf and fell, allowing Ben Millar to return Hastings' interception 65 yards to the end zone.

Just as the game threatened to run away from McMaster, Hastings and the offence roared to life, and Vandervoort marched in for his record-setting touchdown just two plays after the interception with a 54-yard catch and run.

A Laurier two-and-out was immediately punished with another score, as Petermann snagged his first touchdown of the afternoon after beating one-on-one coverage in the end zone for a 23-yard major that tied the game at 14 with 4:24 to play in the quarter.

Momentum firmly in their corner, the Marauders forced another two-and-out to set up another lightning touchdown drive, this time ending with a milestone in the career of Andrew Sinclair, who hauled in his first career touchdown pass to thrust Mac into the lead.

That advantage lasted only 14 seconds, however, as Gittens made his presence felt yet again, this time in the role of the kick returner, slashing through the Marauder coverage team en route to a 101-yard return touchdown to complete the 42-point quarter.

Neither team would add to their score until the final minute of the third quarter, when McMaster retook the lead through a Laurier safety. After a fruitless drive from both teams, the Marauder defence provided a definitive turning point.

With Laurier inside the McMaster 10-yard line, Morelli dropped back to pass and bobbled the ball in the face of blitz pressure, with Marauder linebacker Jake Heathcote grabbing his second turnover of the game and instantly flipping the field by recovering the resulting fumble.

Hastings and the McMaster offence responded appropriately, piecing together a 11-play, 92-yard drive that ended with Petermann's second touchdown and consumed 4:50 of crucial game time.