Western hosts Laurier in OUA Quarterfinal this Saturday
The Mustangs football team closed out the 2014 regular season last weekend with a 43-21 win over the Windsor Lancers, clinching third spot in the OUA and securing home field advantage in the first round of the OUA playoffs.
With the fans at TD Stadium behind them, the Mustangs will welcome a familiar foe to TD Stadium in the Laurier Golden Hawks. Saturday’s contest will be the second time in three weeks that the two purple-clad opponents have squared off, with Western taking their first meeting of the year with a 61-20 victory on October 9 at TD Stadium.
Although both the Mustangs and Golden Hawks will be fighting for a win and move a step closer to the Vanier Cup, as defending Yates Cup champions Western will be trying to make sure that another purple and white shield is placed upon football’s oldest trophy on November 15.
Western is coming off a strong regular season, although it hasn’t been without its challenges as the Mustangs have been plagued by injuries this season, including a major blow to their offence in last week’s game against the Lancers. Starting quarterback Will Finch sustained a hit late in the second quarter that would put him out for the remainder of the game. With Finch out of this Saturday’s contest, Stevenson Bone will be called upon to direct the purple and white offence in his second start of the season.
This will be not only Bone’s second start of the season but also his second start against the Golden Hawks, as the third-year pivot was behind centre for Western’s win prior to Thanksgiving. Bone was nothing short of excellent in his previous start, completing 19-of-25 passes for 285 yards and three touchdowns. He was also able to move the ball on the ground, rushing seven times for 86 yards and one score.
The Mustangs running game has been its usual strong self all season, although it appears to be peaking at just the right time as the team enters post-season play. Third-year back Yannick Harou displayed an impressive performance last weekend, recording a season high 21 carries for 209 yards and averaging 10 yards per carry. He wasn’t the only Mustang racking up big yards as rookie Alex Taylor also put up a solid effort, carrying the ball eight times for 82 yards and a touchdown. Taylor also stepped up on special teams, returning six kick-offs for 168 yards.
The Golden Hawks enter this Saturday’s game coming off of a three-game losing streak after losses to the Mustangs (61-20), McMaster (27-10), and Guelph (41-36). The Golden Hawks’ 4-4 regular season record was good for sixth place in the OUA and the final playoff spot.
Laurier’s offence is centred around Dillon Campbell, who has proven himself to be one of the top running backs in the CIS. Campbell finished the season atop the CIS leaderboard with 1,458 yards, good for sixth on the all-time rushing list. The Whitby native has run all over teams this season, averaging 182.2 yards per contest. However it was the Mustangs that held him to his worst outing of the season, limiting him to 111 yards and only one touchdown earlier this year. While those numbers would be cause to celebrate for most backs, prior to that game Campbell had been averaging 204.2 yards per game.
While the Mustangs defence will be trying to stop Campbell the team’s offence will need to be on the look out for defensive back Chris Ackie. Ackie has been a nightmare for opposing coordinators this season, ranking 11th in the country with 48.5 tackles, including eight against Western.
Saturday’s game time is set for 1 p.m. at TD Stadium. Fans can watch all the action live on OUA.tv, Rogers Cable 13 in London, Rogers Cable 20 in Kitchener, and Rogers Sports Plus throughout Ontario or listen live on CHRW radio and on Newstalk 1290 CJBK with Tom McConnell and legendary Mustangs coach Larry Haylor calling all the action.
Photo credit: Brandon Vandencaveye
Source: Western Mustangs Sports Information
Golden Hawks meet Mustangs in quarterfinals
WATERLOO – After missing the playoffs last season, the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks men’s football team will return to postseason play this Saturday, November 1 when they travel to London to face the No. 7 Western Mustangs in the OUA Quarter-finals.
Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. at TD Stadium. The game can be seen live on OUA.tv and heard on RadioLaurier.com.
Plenty of intrigue surrounds Saturday’s game as the Hawks (4-4) and Mustangs (6-2) meet in the playoffs for the first time since 2009. In that matchup five years ago, an OUA semifinal showdown at University Stadium, current head coach Michael Faulds guided the Mustangs to an upset victory over the host Golden Hawks, 26-16, in his final year with Western. This time around, it will be Faulds looking to propel his team, fro m the sidelines, to an upset win over a Mustangs team that is heavily favoured entering the contest.
The reason why most pundits are picking the Mustangs to come out on top lies in the fact that Western posted a 61-20 victory over the purple and gold back in Week 7 of the regular season. In that game, Western rushed for 431 yards, just two yards less than what the Hawks managed in the entire contest.
Although the Hawks admittedly struggled in that game, they have been a different team since that point in time, giving two Top 5 nationally-ranked teams very good games in their final two weeks of the season. The week following the Western match, Laurier held the No. 3 McMaster Marauders to just 27 points in a 27-10 loss and in their final week of the season, the Hawks played a great second half and nearly overcame a 32-point deficit against the No. 4 Guelph Gryphons before just falling short by five points 41-36.
Laurier also enters this week’s quarter-final ma tchup with the luxury of knowing who Western’s quarterback will be this time around. Going into their regular season game back on the week of Thanksgiving, the Hawks were unaware that Stevenson Bone of Toronto, would make his first career start. However, this time around Laurier has been able to prepare for the Mustangs second-stringer after starting quarterback Will Finch of Burlington, Ont., was reportedly lost for the season last week against Windsor.
One key area that coach Faulds has noted all week if the Hawks are to have success this weekend is the need for his team to play four strong quarters against the third-seeded Mustangs. In particular, the Hawks need to get off to a good start against Western. The first half has been the root of many of Laurier’s problems this season, particularly in the past three weeks. While the purple and gold have outscored their opponents 129 to 125 in the opening two quarters, those numbers pale in comparison to their second half scoring stats in which Laurier has dominated their opponents 148 to 73. If Laurier can get off to a quick start Saturday, it will give the team a chance to pull off the upset.
HAWKS TO WATCH
– RB Dillon Campbell will have all eyes on him on Saturday, particularly those of the Mustang defenders. While Western limited him to his lowest rushing total of the year in their first meeting, 111 yards, the versatile back finished as the team’s leading receiver to total nearly 200 all-purpose yards in the game. This year’s CIS leading rusher will need to be at his very best to help keep Laurier’s offence moving against Western.
– QB James Fracas is one of the few Laurier starters who has playoff experience as he played the majority of the Hawks last playoff game against Queen’s in 2012. In that contest, he threw for 161 yards after coming on when starter Steven Fantham went down with an injury. Fracas will look to call on that experience, as well as the experience gained this season in his first full season as a starter, on Saturday.
– DL Ese Mrabure-Ajufo and Laurier’s defensive line will play a key role in Saturday’s game. The fourth year defensive end will need to find a way to get pressure on Bone, who will be making just his second career OUA start and his first in the playoffs. Mrabure-Ajufo is coming off a career-high for single season sacks with 5.5 and will need to be in the Mustangs backfield all afternoon to give the Hawks a chance.
Photo credit: Trevor Mahoney
Source: Jamie Howieson, Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks Sports Information
Gee-Gees collide with Windsor in OUA quarterfinal on the road
For the second time this season, the uOttawa Gee-Gees will head all the way down the 401 to meet the Windsor Lancers. But this time it’s for a spot in the OUA semifinal. The two teams met earlier this month with Windsor coming out on top 39-29. Coming off a week nine victory over previously unbeaten McMaster to get them into the playoffs, the Gee-Gees are feeling confident ahead of Saturday afternoon’s OUA quarterfinal.
“I knew we had it in us,” says head coach, Jamie Barresi as his team works hard to prepare for this week. “I hope that our guys would carry it with them and build some confidence from it. But I feel kind of disappointed because we should have had a couple other wins but we didn’t. So we’re kind of up against it going into this game. I don’t think we should have been in that position.”
After a 4-0 start, the Lancers have basically backed into the playoffs, losing three out of their final four games. None of their wins have come against teams ranked ahead of them in the standings. The Gee-Gees did the opposite, after starting 2-2, finished strong by taking three of their final four games. uOttawa is 2-2 on the road this season while Windsor is 3-1 at home.
Staring at another marathon road trip, the Gee-Gees will take their week seven trip to Windsor as a valuable learning experience this time around.
“There were some glitches within the trip last time we went down there,” says Barresi. “Our people are very helpful and supportive but a few things happened. But now that we’ve done it we’ll be more prepared this time.”
The Lancers’ defence gave the Gee-Gees all sorts of trouble in that meeting, sacking Derek Wendel five times and hauling in two interceptions. They also contained a dangerous Gee-Gees running attack, holding them to just 3.9 yards per carry.
Alternatively, the Gee-Gees’ defensive front has combined for 19 sacks this season and look to make their presence felt by shrinking Austin Kennedy’s pocket and limiting his opportunities to break the CIS career touchdown passing record.
“Execution is really key. I don’t think our guys are going to be nervous or anything, they want to play. I always say this: ‘it’s about ourselves. It doesn’t matter who we play, just execute and be prepared.’”
The Gee-Gees’ offence has moved the ball well this season, as they finished second in total yards. In addition, when they move the ball into the red zone they’ve had success, scoring 91 per cent of the time. If they haven’t been able to find the end zone, kicker Lewis Ward has been very solid. He saved last week for his best, going five-for-five on field goals and contributing 18 points.
Above all, the Gee-Gees want to be effective throughout and get off to a more solid start than they did the last time against Windsor. “That’s the big thing every game (getting a good start). For us, it’s about being consistent for four quarters. That will be the critical thing.”
Saturday’s game will be webcast on OUA.tv
Photo credit: Richard Whittaker
Source: Ottawa Gee-Gees Sports Information
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