TORONTO, Ont. – The Western Mustangs entered today’s game needing a win over the Toronto Varsity Blues to clinch top spot in the OUA regular season and it was mission accomplished with a 21-9 win in Toronto. Strong winds and a light rain played a part in the low scoring affair, but the Mustangs offense was able to put enough points on the board in the second half to overcome a disappointing opening 30 minutes to go home with the victory.
The Mustangs scored on their opening drive on a Tyler Varga (Kitchener, Ont.) rush, his CIS-leading 15th touchdown of the season to take the early lead 7-0. However, late in the first quarter Varga went down after being tackled deep in Mustang territory and did not return. The full extent of Varga’s injury is not known at this time, but today’s win clinches the first round bye in the playoffs which will provide much needed rest for some of the injured Mustangs.
The second quarter saw Toronto kicker Andrew Lomasney (Toronto, Ont.) account for all of the scoring as he was successful on three field goals to put the Varsity Blues up 9-7 at the half.
After a number of punts by both teams to start the second half, it was the Mustangs offense that was the first to click as Ben Rossong (Halifax, NS) led the team down the field with a strong pass to Zach Bull (Port Colborne, Ont.), and a couple of Garret Sanvido (Vancouver, BC) and Nathan Riva (LaSalle, Ont.) rushes later, it was Riva who ran the ball into the end zone from three yards out to put the Mustangs ahead for good, 14-9.
Lirim Hajrullahu’s (St. Catharine’s, Ont.) missed field goal attempt at the end of the third went through the end zone for a rouge to put Western up 15-9, although Hajrullahu and holder Darryl Wheeler both felt the ball went through the uprights.
Andrew Thibaudeau (Kitchener, Ont.) capped the scoring on a 20-yard pass from Rossong five minutes into the fourth quarter as the Mustangs held on to win 21-9.
Nathan Riva finished the day with 218 yards rushing and 1 touchdown, while Rossong and Ian Noble (West Vancouver, BC) split the duties at quarterback for only 88 passing yards as the rushing game was featured once again in today’s game.
Today’s win means the Mustangs will be hosting an OUA Semi-Final game on November 5th and host the Yates Cup the following weekend if successful in the Semi. The potential opponents for the Mustangs in the playoffs are far from being set as teams in the middle of the standings continue to jockey for position heading into the final weekend of the regular season.
The Mustangs close out the regular season next weekend with a trip to Kingston, Ont. next Saturday Oct. 22 to face the Queen’s Gaels which will be broadcast live on TheScore as the OUA University Rush game of the week.
Western Sports Info
The Varsity Blues football team dropped a 21-9 decision to the No. 1 Western Mustangs on Saturday, October 15, 2011.
Fifth-year veteran Andrew Gillis of Toronto became only the sixth Varsity Blues quarterback in history to throw for over 4,000 career passing yards. Gillis came into the game 173 yards short of the mark and surpassed it at the beginning of the third quarter, connecting a seven-yard pass to veteran receiver Michael Prempeh.
Gillis was 16-of-36 for 260 yards on the day. Sophomore receiver Alex Pierzchalski of London, Ont., led all receivers with four catches for 63 yards, while Paul de Pass had two receptions for 60 yards.
Fourth-year defensive back Dorian Munroe of Miami, Fla., was named the Varsity Blues player of the game after recording six tackles, one forced fumble and one sack. Fifth-year linebacker Scott Smith had eight tackles and one sack, while Kevin Asare added seven tackles in the loss.
Western running back Nathan Riva took advantage of the wet and windy conditions and had a great day on the ground. The Lasalle, Ont., native accounted for 218 of Western’s 304 rushing yards and added one touchdown in the win.
Tyler Varga had the only score of the first quarter, capping off a nine-play, 59-yard opening drive with a two-yard rushing touchdown, his 15th of the season.
Andrew Lomasney got the Blues on the board early in the second with a 27-yard field goal. Toronto marched down the field on their next possession, thanks in large part to a 37-yard pitch and catch to Pierzchalski; however, the Mustangs defence came up with two big stops, leaving the Blues kicker with an easy 10-yard field goal to cut the lead to one (7-6).
On Toronto’s last series of the second quarter, Gillis connected a 43-yard pass with de Pass to set up Lomasney’s third field goal of the first half, this time from 20-yards out, giving Toronto a narrow 9-7 advantage at halftime.
The Mustangs came out ready to go in the second half and, despite an interception on their first drive, they took control of the game. Riva scored a three-yard rushing TD at the midway point of the third to give Western the lead for good.
On the last drive of the third quarter, rookie defensive lineman Ricky Osei-Kusi tackled the Blues Willie Sharpe short of the first down, after a fake punt to give the Mustangs great field position deep in Toronto territory. Western kicker Lirim Hajrullahu would however miss a 19-yard field goal attempt, settling for a single and a 15-9 lead heading into the final frame.
Western quarterback Ben Rossong connected a 20-yard strike with second-year Mustangs receiver Andrew Thibaudeau with five minutes remaining to stretch the score to 21-9 for the visitors.
The Varsity Blues return to action next Saturday, October 22 when they host the Waterloo Warriors in their final home game of the regular season at Varsity Centre. Kick off is set for 1 p.m.
Toronto Sports Info
| Western Mustangs vs. Toronto at Toronto 10/15/2011 at 1:07pm |
|
| Western 21 |
Toronto 9 |
| Western (7-0) | 7 | 0 | 8 | 6 | 21 |
| Toronto (2-5) | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
| Toronto | Varsity Stadium |
Box Score Play by PlayDrive Summary
| 1 | 10:10 | Western – T Varga 2 yd run. (L Hajrullahu kick is good). Drive: 9 plays, 59 yards in 3:21. |
7 – 0 |
| 2 | 11:34 | Toronto – A Lomasney 27 yd field goal. Drive: 6 plays, 30 yards in 2:35. |
7 – 3 |
| 2 | 07:14 | Toronto – A Lomasney 10 yd field goal. Drive: 7 plays, 54 yards in 0:41. |
7 – 6 |
| 2 | 00:01 | Toronto – A Lomasney 20 yd field goal. Drive: 5 plays, 58 yards in 0:24. |
7 – 9 |
| 3 | 07:32 | Western – Na Riva 3 yd run. (L Hajrullahu kick is good). Drive: 6 plays, 51 yards in 1:48. |
14 – 9 |
| 3 | 00:01 | Western – L Hajrullahu rouge point. | 15 – 9 |
| 4 | 05:03 | Western – A Thibaudeau 20 yd pass from B Rossong. (2pt conversion pass by B Rossong failed). Drive: 8 plays, 60 yards in 4:06. |
21 – 9 |
| 23 | FIRST DOWNS | 17 |
| 5 15 3 |
Passing Rushing Penalty |
10 4 3 |
| 106 | NET YARDS PASSING | 260 |
| 10-15 7.1 3 for 16 1 |
Completions-Attempts Net yards per pass play Sacked:Number-Yards Had intercepted |
16-37 7.0 0 for 0 2 |
| 304 | NET YARDS RUSHING | 69 |
| 53 5.7 |
Rushing Attempts Average gain per rush |
24 2.9 |
| 9 for 343 | PUNTS: Number-Yards | 11 for 375 |
| 38.1 | Average | 34.1 |
| 49 | TOTAL RETURN YARDS | 131 |
| 10 for 44 1 for 5 2 for 0 |
Punt Returns:No-Yards Kickof Returns:No-Yards Int. Returns:No-Yards |
7 for 57 4 for 74 1 for 0 |
| 6 for 60 | PENALTIES: Number-Yards | 12 for 108 |
| 2-2 | FUMBLES: Number-Lost | 1-0 |
| 0 for 0 | SACKS: Number-Yards | 3 for 16 |
| 2 for 0 | INTERCEPTIONS: Number-Yards | 1 for 0 |
| 30:57 | TIME OF POSSESSION | 28:01 |
Western |
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| 36 | Ni Riva | 7 | 0 | 7 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 42 | R Hennessey | 6 | 0 | 6 | – | 1 – 2 | – | – | ||||
| 39 | L Reda | 4 | 0 | 4 | – | 1 – 1 | – | – | 2 | |||
| 5 | B Landry | 3 | 0 | 3 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 12 | P Kruba | 3 | 0 | 3 | – | – | – | – | 1 | |||
| 25 | S Blake | 3 | 0 | 3 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 37 | J Symianick | 3 | 0 | 3 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 51 | M Van praet | 3 | 0 | 3 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 99 | D Waud | 3 | 0 | 3 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 6 | A Handsor | 2 | 0 | 2 | – | – | – | – | 1 | |||
| 10 | J McCrory | 2 | 0 | 2 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 35 | D. Lee | 2 | 0 | 2 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 8 | M Spence | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | 1-0 | ||||
| 21 | K Johnson | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 24 | M Babic | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 26 | S Janz | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 30 | J Brooks | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 38 | E Gribbons-Shrubsole | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 97 | R Osei-Kusi | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | 1 – 8 | – | – | ||||
| 20 | H Finnikin | – | – | – | 1-0 | |||||||
| TOTALS | 48 | 0 | 48 | 0 – 0 | 3 – 11 | – | 2-0 | 4 | ||||
| 9 | S Smith | 8 | 0 | 8 | 1 – 2 | – | – | – | ||||
| 26 | K Asare | 7 | 0 | 7 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 3 | D Munroe | 6 | 0 | 6 | 1 – 10 | – | 1 | – | – | |||
| 43 | W DeSouza | 6 | 0 | 6 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 41 | C Johnson | 5 | 0 | 5 | – | 1 – 3 | 1-0 | – | ||||
| 16 | W Sharpe | 4 | 0 | 4 | – | 1 – 3 | – | 1-0 | ||||
| 55 | A Fehler | 4 | 0 | 4 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 88 | J Marra | 4 | 0 | 4 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 23 | E Williams | 3 | 0 | 3 | – | 1 – 14 | – | – | ||||
| 27 | A Oldacre | 3 | 0 | 3 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 40 | D Howes | 3 | 0 | 3 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 99 | Z Lukings | 3 | 0 | 3 | 1 – 4 | 1 – 2 | – | – | ||||
| 32 | J McBride | 2 | 0 | 2 | – | – | 1-0 | – | ||||
| 91 | A Olusoga | 2 | 0 | 2 | – | – | 1 | – | – | |||
| 28 | B Elliott | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 31 | K Kinahan | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 35 | O Lahnalampi | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 42 | H Beeforth | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 44 | T Shergold | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| TOTALS | 65 | 0 | 65 | 3 – 16 | 4 – 22 | 2 | 2-0 | 1-0 |
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