Waterloo, Ont. β The Western Mustangs faced a tough opponent today in Waterloo, Ont. as the Laurier Golden Hawks gave the Mustangs all they could handle, but the Stangs held on for a 34-28 win. The result was in doubt until a Shane Kelly (Basking Ridge, NJ) pass was intercepted by Western corner Jamie Symianick (Montreal, QC) in the final minute of play at the Western 46 . The win moves the Mustangs to 4-0 on the season, while the Golden Hawks drop to 1-3.
Rookie running back Tyler Varga (Kitchener, Ont.) added three more touchdowns for the Mustangs on his 18th birthday, bringing his season total to a CIS-leading 12.
Varga finished the day with 88 yards rushing, while QB Donnie Marshall (London, Ont.) added 83 yards on the ground, with many of those yards on improvised runs and avoiding would be Laurier tacklers. Marshall was 19 for 32 for 195 yards through the air, as Zach Bull (Port Colborne, Ont.) picked up 62 yards on 5 catches and Nathan Riva had 50 yards on 4 catches. Luke Reda (Toronto, Ont.) and Aaron Handsor (Chatham, Ont.) led the Mustangs defense with 7 tackles apiece, while Reda, Symianick and Beau Landry (Kitchener, Ont.) and Sean Blake (Hamilton, Ont.) had one interception each.
After both teams failed to move the ball on offense, the Golden Hawks opened the scoring on a 63 yard Dillon Heap punt return with 6:15 left on the clock in the first quarter to put Laurier up 7-0.
The Mustangs offense finally got into gear two drives later when they marched 66 yards down the field in under two minutes, using a balanced ground and air attack and Varga capped off the drive with a six yard run to the left side of the offensive line. The first quarter ended in a 7-7 tie.
After a number of stalled drives, Varga added his second TD of the game from one yard out after Donnie Marshall (London, Ont.) connected with Nathan Riva (LaSalle, Ont.) for a 17 yard gain, followed by a Riva run for 13 to put the ball on the one yard line.
The Mustangs forced a Laurier fumble on their next drive, but Lirim Hajrullahuβs (St. Catharines, Ont.) field goal attempt grazed the outside of the post, turning the ball over to the Golden Hawks offense, which eventually led to the biggest play of the first half.
Laurier quarterback Kelly was almost picked off by Handsor, but Mustang linebacker Sean Blake jumped Kellyβs next pass and returned the interception 25 yards for the score to put Western in the lead 21-7.
Two late Laurier touchdowns completed the first half scoring, as the teams went into halftime tied at 21.
Hajrullahu added a 22 yard field goal and Varga picked up his third rushing touchdown of the day in the third quarter as the Mustangs went up 31-21 going into the final quarter.
The Golden Hawks scored at the 11:55 mark of the fourth quarter on a 52 yard Kelly to Heap pass to bring Laurier within six of the Mustangs.
Neither team was able to score the rest of the way, although Laurier had the ball in the final minute but Symianickβs interception sealed the victory for the Mustangs.
The next game for the Mustangs is Saturday, October 1 at 1:00 p.m. against the visiting York Lions for homecoming at TD Waterhouse Stadium in London, Ont.
Western Sports Info
WATERLOO, Ont. (September 24, 2011) – The Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks saw their record drop to 1-3 as they fell to the No. 2 Western Mustangs (4-0) by a score of 34-28 on Saturday afternoon at University Stadium.
Coming off of two tough losses, the Golden Hawks needed a good start and they got it thanks to Dillon Heap of Waterloo, Ont. Just over six minutes into the game, Heap returned a punt 63 yards for a touchdown, his first special teams score of the season.
Before the quarter was out, the Mustangs would respond and tie the game at seven when the Mustang’s Tyler Varga of Kitchener, Ont., ran the ball in from six yards out.
With momentum on their side, Western’s offence continued to roll in the second quarter as Varga punched in another score before Sean Blake of Hamilton, Ont., intercepted Laurier quarterback Shane Kelly of Basking Ridge, N.J., on the Golden Hawks 25 and ran it all the way back for the major.
Needing a response before the half, the Hawks got it as the team drove 75 yards on eight plays, capped by a one yard touchdown run from Rashad La Touche of Whitby, Ont.
Laurier would get the ball back with 30 seconds on the clock and made the Mustangs pay as a screen pass to Heap got Laurier to Westerns six yard line and from there, Kelly hit Russ Jirgens of Burlington, Ont., in the endzone to tie the game at 21.
Despite the swing in momentum, Western came out and controlled the first 17 minutes of the second half. Liriam Hajrullahu of St. Catharines, Ont., kicked a pair of field goals and Varga rushed for another touchdown as the Mustangs opened up a 13 point lead.
The Golden Hawks would respond early in the fourth quarter when Kelly connected with Heap for a 52 yard touchdown to set to within six. However, Western’s defence would step up the rest of the way and sealed the victory in the final minute when Sean Blake of Hamilton, Ont., intercepted Kelly to end any hopes of a Laurier comeback.
Varga, Western’s rookie running back, finished the game with 88 yards rushing and three touchdowns, giving him 12 on the season. Quarterback Donnie Marshall of London, Ont., completed 19 of his 32 passes on the day for 195 yards.
Heap, who was easily Laurier’s best player on the day, finished with 176 yards on seven receptions and a touchdown. He added 102 yards and a touchdown on three punt returns and now sits just 15 yards shy of the all-time OUA record for career punt returns yards currently held by Windsor’s Don Hollerhead.
Kelly, who threw two touchdown passes and now has 12 on the season, was 27 of 48 on the day for 320 yards but was intercepted four times. He has now thrown eight interceptions in his last two games.
The Golden Hawks will look to continue their strong play next weekend when they host the Ottawa Gee-Gee’s as a part of Wilfrid Laurier University’s 100th Homecoming celebrations. Game time is set for 1 p.m. and will be broadcast live on theScore.
NOTES: Heap’s 176 receiving yards are the third most by a Laurier athlete in a single game…former Hawk Andre Talbot holds the single-game record with 289 against Guelph back in 2000…Mitchell Bosch of Langley, B.C., moved into third all-time at Laurier for career tackles with 7.5 against the Mustangs…he now has 143.5 for his career and trails current Hawks coach Rohan Thompson by 10 for second place in the Laurier record books…Attendance at the game was 2,688.
Laurier Sports Info
| Western 34 |
Laurier 28 |
| Western (4-0) | 7 | 14 | 10 | 3 | 34 |
| Laurier (1-3) | 7 | 14 | 0 | 7 | 28 |
| Waterloo | University Stadium |
Box Score Play by PlayDrive Summary
| 1 | 06:15 | Laurier – Dillon Heap 63 yd punt return for TD. (Ronald Pfeffer kick is good). | 0 – 7 |
| 1 | 01:40 | Western – T Varga 6 yd run. (L Hajrullahu kick is good). Drive: 7 plays, 66 yards in 1:51. |
7 – 7 |
| 2 | 05:31 | Western – T Varga 1 yd run. (L Hajrullahu kick is good). Drive: 7 plays, 47 yards in 2:19. |
14 – 7 |
| 2 | 03:09 | Western – S Blake 25 yd interception return. (L Hajrullahu kick is good). | 21 – 7 |
| 2 | 01:24 | Laurier – R. La Touche 1 yd run. (Ronald Pfeffer kick is good). Drive: 8 plays, 75 yards in 1:31. |
21 – 14 |
| 2 | 00:11 | Laurier – Russ Jirgens 6 yd pass from Shane Kelly. (Ronald Pfeffer kick is good). Drive: 2 plays, 69 yards in 0:19. |
21 – 21 |
| 3 | 10:03 | Western – L Hajrullahu 22 yd field goal. | 24 – 21 |
| 3 | 01:50 | Western – T Varga 3 yd run. (L Hajrullahu kick is good). Drive: 4 plays, 50 yards in 1:10. |
31 – 21 |
| 4 | 13:06 | Western – L Hajrullahu 17 yd field goal. | 34 – 21 |
| 4 | 11:55 | Laurier – Dillon Heap 52 yd pass from Shane Kelly. (Ronald Pfeffer kick is good). Drive: 4 plays, 77 yards in 1:00. |
34 – 28 |
| 29 | FIRST DOWNS | 25 |
| 9 16 4 |
Passing Rushing Penalty |
15 8 2 |
| 436 | TOTAL NET YARDS | 446 |
| 81 5.4 |
Total Offensive Plays Average gain per play |
68 6.6 |
| 195 | NET YARDS PASSING | 325 |
| 19-32 6.1 0 for 0 0 |
Completions-Attempts Net yards per pass play Sacked:Number-Yards Had intercepted |
27-48 6.8 1 for 6 4 |
| 241 | NET YARDS RUSHING | 121 |
| 49 4.9 |
Rushing Attempts Average gain per rush |
20 6.0 |
| 9 for 388 | PUNTS: Number-Yards | 12 for 318 |
| 43.1 | Average | 26.5 |
| 163 | TOTAL RETURN YARDS | 293 |
| 6 for 43 5 for 89 4 for 31 |
Punt Returns:No-Yards Kickof Returns:No-Yards Int. Returns:No-Yards |
9 for 169 6 for 124 0 for 0 |
| 8 for 76 | PENALTIES: Number-Yards | 7 for 70 |
| 1-0 | FUMBLES: Number-Lost | 1-1 |
| 1 for 6 | SACKS: Number-Yards | 0 for 0 |
| 4 for 31 | INTERCEPTIONS: Number-Yards | 0 for 0 |
| 33:49 | TIME OF POSSESSION | 26:11 |
Western |
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| 39 | L Reda | 7 | 0 | 7 | – | 1 – 1 | – | 1-6 | ||||
| 6 | A Handsor | 5 | 2 | 6 | – | 1 – 1 | – | – | 2 | |||
| 13 | S Bahru | 5 | 1 | 5.5 | – | – | – | – | 1 | |||
| 37 | J Symianick | 4 | 2 | 5 | – | – | – | 1-0 | 1 | |||
| 5 | B Landry | 3 | 2 | 4 | – | – | – | 1-0 | ||||
| TM | TEAM | 4 | 0 | 4 | – | 1 – 8 | 1-0 | – | ||||
| 12 | P Kruba | 2 | 2 | 3 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 36 | Ni Riva | 2 | 1 | 2.5 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 42 | R Hennessey | 2 | 1 | 2.5 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 51 | M Van praet | 2 | 1 | 2.5 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 20 | H Finnikin | 1 | 2 | 2 | – | – | 1 | – | – | 2 | ||
| 24 | M Babic | 2 | 0 | 2 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 26 | S Janz | 2 | 0 | 2 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 35 | D. Lee | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 – 6 | 1 – 1 | – | – | ||||
| 8 | M Spence | 0 | 2 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 10 | J McCrory | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 21 | K Johnson | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 25 | S Blake | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | 1-25 | 1 | |||
| 95 | S Fournier | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 97 | R Osei-Kusi | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| TOTALS | 48 | 16 | 56 | 1 – 6 | 4 – 11 | 1 | 1-0 | 4-31 | 7 | |||
| 41 | Samuel Aird | 7 | 2 | 8 | – | 1 – 1 | – | – | ||||
| 33 | Mitchell Bosch | 5 | 5 | 7.5 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 5 | Nick Sapone | 5 | 2 | 6 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 6 | Carlos Naranjo | 3 | 5 | 5.5 | – | – | – | – | 1 | |||
| 45 | Felix Odum | 5 | 1 | 5.5 | – | 1 – 1 | – | – | ||||
| 51 | Drew Galpin | 4 | 1 | 4.5 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 60 | Alex Brouwers | 3 | 3 | 4.5 | – | 1 – 1 | – | – | ||||
| 91 | George Kourtesiotis | 3 | 2 | 4 | – | 1 – 1 | – | – | ||||
| 99 | Ese Mrabure-Ajufo | 4 | 0 | 4 | – | 1 – 1 | – | – | ||||
| 16 | Scott McCahill | 1 | 4 | 3 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 21 | Chris Ackie | 2 | 2 | 3 | – | – | – | – | 1 | |||
| 3 | Shane Herbert | 2 | 1 | 2.5 | – | – | – | – | 3 | |||
| 9 | Shane Burns | 2 | 0 | 2 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 10 | Luke Thompson | 2 | 0 | 2 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 42 | Spencer Troop | 2 | 0 | 2 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 50 | Daniel Smith | 0 | 4 | 2 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 25 | Christian Turner | 1 | 1 | 1.5 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 7 | Mark Surya | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 55 | Jeremy Brecevic | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| TM | TEAM | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 35 | Karl Prud’Homme | 0 | 1 | 0.5 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 36 | Jeff St. Louis | 0 | 1 | 0.5 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 56 | Sydney Odum | 0 | 1 | 0.5 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| TOTALS | 54 | 36 | 72 | 0 – 0 | 5 – 5 | – | – | 5 |
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