The No.2-ranked Western Mustangs spoiled the Waterloo Warriorβs return to OUA football action with a record-breaking offensive explosion en route to a decisive 86-22 victory at TD Waterhouse Stadium Monday night in front of a crowd of 10,500 (including Doug Flutie).
The 86 points are a Western team record, eclipsing 76 scored at York on Oct. 16, 2010, and are just four shy of the OUA mark of 90 set by Wilfrid Laurier in 1974.
The 108 combined points are only three off the OUA record of 111 set on Oct. 12, 1974, when Ottawa defeated McGill 83-28.
Westernβs Lirim Hajrullahu (St. Catharines, Ont.) kicked 11 converts, one more than the former league record of 10 shared by four players including former Mustang Ray Macoritti (vs. Toronto; Sept. 18, 1987).
The Mustangs face a much tougher challenge Sept. 10 at 1 p.m. when they travel to Hamilton to meet the No. 3-ranked McMaster Marauders, who won their 2011 season opener 26-2 over Queenβs Gaels.
Mustangs erupted for 31 points in the first 9:31of the opening quarter. The defense forced a safety touch after only 1:11 of play and 72 seconds later, punter Darryl Wheeler (Hamilton, Ont.) kicked a 72 yard single.
Then the floodgates opened.
Rookie Tyler Varga (Cambridge, Ont.) scored his first of three touchdowns on an exciting 39-yard run. Before the half ended Varga found the end zone again on runs of two and 15 yards as Mustangs stormed to a 38-0 lead early in the second quarter. Overall Varga carried six times for 80 yards in an impressive OUA debut.
βI wanted to go full-speed on every play and I need to give credit to the whole offensive line,β said Varga. βThey make it easy and donβt get enough credit.β
Veteran running back Nathan Riva (LaSalle, Ont.) contributed two touchdowns to the Mustangs onslaught on runs of four and 21 yards.
John Leckie (Milton, Ont.) added touchdown runs of 10 and 23 yards. He contributed 115 yards on 12 carries, as Mustangs amassed 499 yards in net rushing on 48 attempts.
Quarterback Donnie Marshall (London, Ont.) combined with younger brother Brian on two spectacular plays: the first a sideline-to-sideline scramble setting up a 28-yard completion and the second a 25-yard touchdown strike late in the second quarter.
βPlaying with my brother is all about timing,β said the veteran quarterback. βWe have a little more chemistry, but practised I’ve with our veteran receivers a lot as well. I think the chemistryβs pretty even.β
Donnie Marshall finished with 14 completions in 24 pass attempts, good for 193 yards, while brother Brian had five catches for 78 yards.
Trailing 38-0, Waterlooβs offense connected for three second-quarter touchdowns. Marco Visentin (Kentville, Ont.) put the Warriors on the scoreboard with a one-yard run set up by Eric Roqueβs (Sudbury, Ont.) 105-yard kickoff return.
Waterloo quarterback Evan Martin (Kitchener, Ont.) connected with speedy receiver Dustin Zender (Kitchener, Ont.) on pass-and-run touchdowns of 35 and 80 yards. Martin completed 23 of 42 passes for 314 yards but was sacked three times. Zender led all receivers with seven catches, good for 188 yards.
In total the two teams combined for 47 points in the second quarter and the Mustangs went to the locker room sporting a 58-20 lead.
In the third quarter, Donnie Marshall continued his pinpoint passing, connecting with Oladipo Onayemi (Barrie, Ont.).
After Wheeler conceded a safety touch for Waterlooβs final two points, the Mustangs defense went to work. Linebacker Sean Blake (Hamilton, Ont.) picked off an errant Martin pass and returned the ball 48 yards for a touchdown.
Mustangs head coach Greg Marshall substituted freely throughout the game, to minimize injuries. Backup runningbacks Garret Sanvido (Vancouver, B.C.) and Kody Campbell (Sarnia, Ont.) added the final touchdowns on 15-and-13-yard runs respectively early in the fourth quarter.
Coach Marshall did not place great significance on the impressive offensive display and the numerous records and near-records. βThereβs no joy in the score of the game. We didnβt set out to do it, weβre not proud, but it happens.β
Nonetheless, Marshall pointed to several excellent rookie performances. βVarga ran the ball hard, Daryl Waud (Hamilton, Ont.) is as good a defensive lineman as Iβve seen. Kalvin Johnson (Brampton, Ont.) and Horace Finnikin (Brampton, Ont.) both played very well.β
Lost amid all the offensive thunderbolts were several solid defensive performances on both teams. Blake and Waud led Mustang defenders with 5.5 and 5.0 tackles respectively and defensive end David Lee (London, Ont.) had three quarterback sacks.
Waterloo linebacker Corey Dawson (Cambridge, Ont.) led all players with eight solo and six assisted tackles followed by teammate Reid Nicholson (Grand Haven, Mich.) who contributed six solo tackles and four assists.
Scoring Summary (Final)
Western Mustangs Football
WATERLOO vs #2 Western (Sep 05, 2011 at London, Ontario) WATERLOO (0-1,0-1) vs. Western (1-0,1-0)
Date: Sep 05, 2011 β’ Site: London, Ontario β’ Stadium: TD Waterhouse β’ Attendance: 10500
| Score by Quarters | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Score |
| WATERLOO | 0 | 20 | 2 | 0 | 22 |
| Western | 31 | 27 | 14 | 14 | 86 |
| SCORING SUMMARY | WATERLOO-WES | |||
| 1st | 01:11 | WES | TEAM safety | |
| 0 – 2 | ||||
| 02:23 | WES | D Wheeler 0 rouge | ||
| 0 – 3 | ||||
| 04:44 | WES | T Varga 39 yd run (L Hajrullahu kick) | ||
| 5 plays, 57 yards, TOP 1:17 | 0 – 10 | |||
| 06:04 | WES | Na Riva 4 yd run (L Hajrullahu kick) | ||
| 1 play, 4 yards, TOP 0:16 | 0 – 17 | |||
| 07:07 | WES | T Varga 2 yd run (L Hajrullahu kick) | ||
| 2 plays, 16 yards, TOP 0:39 | 0 – 24 | |||
| 09:13 | WES | Na Riva 21 yd run (L Hajrullahu kick) | ||
| 2 plays, 25 yards, TOP 0:57 | 0 – 31 | |||
| 2nd | 01:59 | WES | T Varga 15 yd run (L Hajrullahu kick) | |
| 7 plays, 90 yards, TOP 2:21 | 0 – 38 | |||
| 03:13 | WATERLOO | M Visentin 1 yd run (J Fiorucci kick) | ||
| 2 plays, 3 yards, TOP 1:02 | 7 – 38 | |||
| 06:42 | WES | J Leckie 10 yd run (L Hajrullahu kick) | ||
| 7 plays, 71 yards, TOP 3:22 | 7 – 45 | |||
| 10:20 | WATERLOO | D Zender 35 yd pass from E Martin (J Fiorucci kick failed) | ||
| 9 plays, 90 yards, TOP 3:32 | 13 – 45 | |||
| 12:56 | WES | B Marshall 25 yd pass from D Marshall (L Hajrullahu kick) | ||
| 8 plays, 64 yards, TOP 2:16 | 13 – 52 | |||
| 13:13 | WATERLOO | D Zender 80 yd pass from E Martin (J Fiorucci kick) | ||
| 1 play, 80 yards, TOP 0:12 | 20 – 52 | |||
| 14:09 | WES | J Leckie 23 yd run (D Wheeler rush failed) | ||
| 5 plays, 73 yards, TOP 0:49 | 20 – 58 | |||
| 3rd | 01:52 | WES | O Onayemi 8 yd pass from D Marshall (L Hajrullahu kick) | |
| 5 plays, 62 yards, TOP 1:40 | 20 – 65 | |||
| 08:13 | WATERLOO | TEAM safety | ||
| 22 – 65 | ||||
| 12:06 | WES | S Blake 48 yd interception return (L Hajrullahu kick) | ||
| 22 – 72 | ||||
| 4th | 04:18 | WES | G Sanvido 15 yd run (L Hajrullahu kick) | |
| 3 plays, 46 yards, TOP 1:07 | 22 – 79 | |||
| 10:33 | WES | K Campbell 13 yd run (L Hajrullahu kick) | ||
| 8 plays, 71 yards, TOP 3:47 | 22 – 86 |
| Kickoff time: 7 pm β’ End of Game: 10:25 pm β’ Total elapsed time: 3:25 Referee: Kev. Mickleboro β’ Umpire: Marc Cobb β’ Linesman: Peter Schmidt β’ Line judge: Glenn Hill β’ Back judge: Adam Hinks β’ Field judge: Herman Murphy β’ Side judge: Adelmo Monaco β’ Scorer: Jess Bechard β’ Temperature: 15 C β’ Wind: β’ Weather: Overcast/Cloudy Opening Game of the 2011 OUA Season |
| Team Statistics |
Team Statistics (Final)
Western Mustangs Football
WATERLOO vs #2 Western (Sep 05, 2011 at London, Ontario)
| Team Totals | WATERLOO | WES |
| FIRST DOWNS | 19 | 37 |
| Rushing | 3 | 26 |
| Passing | 11 | 9 |
| Penalty | 5 | 2 |
| NET YARDS RUSHING | 11 | 499 |
| Rushing Attempts | 15 | 48 |
| Average Per Rush | 0.7 | 10.4 |
| Rushing Touchdowns | 1 | 9 |
| Yards Gained Rushing | 28 | 504 |
| Yards Lost Rushing | 17 | 5 |
| NET YARDS PASSING | 322 | 199 |
| Completions-Attempts-Int | 24-44-2 | 15-26-0 |
| Average Per Attempt | 7.3 | 7.7 |
| Average Per Completion | 13.4 | 13.3 |
| Passing Touchdowns | 2 | 2 |
| TEAM LOSSES | -39 | -74 |
| TOTAL OFFENSE YARDS | 294 | 624 |
| Total offense plays | 63 | 74 |
| Average Gain Per Play | 4.7 | 8.4 |
| Fumbles: Number-Lost | 1-1 | 0-0 |
| Penalties: Number-Yards | 6-30 | 10-105 |
| PUNTS-YARDS | 8-240 | 4-183 |
| Average Yards Per Punt | 30.0 | 45.8 |
| Net Yards Per Punt | 24.5 | 42.0 |
| Inside 20 | 1 | 1 |
| 50+ Yards | 0 | 1 |
| Touchbacks | 0 | 0 |
| Fair catch | 0 | 0 |
| KICKOFFS-YARDS | 5-270 | 14-853 |
| Average Yards Per Kickoff | 54.0 | 60.9 |
| Net Yards Per Kickoff | 24.0 | 37.1 |
| Touchbacks | 0 | 0 |
| Punt returns: Number-Yards-TD | 4-15-0 | 6-44-0 |
| Average Per Return | 3.8 | 7.3 |
| Kickoff returns: Number-Yds-TD | 14-334-0 | 5-150-0 |
| Average Per Return | 23.9 | 30.0 |
| Interceptions: Number-Yds-TD | 0-0-0 | 2-48-1 |
| Fumble Returns: Number-Yds-TD | 0-0-0 | 0-0-0 |
| Possession Time | 29:15 | 29:46 |
| 1st Quarter | 8:35 | 6:25 |
| 2nd Quarter | 5:43 | 9:17 |
| 3rd Quarter | 6:47 | 8:13 |
| 4th Quarter | 8:10 | 5:51 |
| Third-Down Conversions | 1 of 5 | 2 of 5 |
| Red-Zone Scores-Chances | 1-1 | 7-7 |
| Touchdowns | 1-1 | 7-7 |
| Field goals | 0-1 | 0-7 |
| Sacks By: Number-Yards | 0-0 | 4-26 |
| PAT Kicks | 2-3 | 11-11 |
| Field Goals | 0-1 | 0-0 |
| Individual Statistics |
Individual Statistics (Final)
Western Mustangs Football
WATERLOO vs #2 Western (Sep 05, 2011 at London, Ontario)
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