LONDON Ā ā After taking their first road loss of the season in Guelph last week, the Western Mustangs closed out their OUA regular season with a 43ā21 win over the Windsor Lancers on Saturday afternoon at TD Stadium.
With the victory, the Mustangs clinched third place in Ontario University Athletics and will now host the Laurier Golden Hawks next weekend in an OUA quarterfinal matchup.
However, Saturdayās win came at a cost as quarterback Will Finch left the game in the second quarter. Play was stopped late in the second quarter as Finch was taken off the field, leaving Stevenson Bone to step behind centre for the remainder of the game.
āIt was hard getting back at it, but I was really pleased with the way our team responded. They rallied behind Stevenson [Bone],ā said Western Mustangs head coach Greg Marshall. āOur kids are pretty resilient, probably more resilient than the coaches.ā
Bone had another solid performance in relief of Finch, as Westernās backup quarterback completed six of his 12 passes for 127 yards and touchdown. Bone also had a touchdown opportunity taken away when his pass was picked off by the Lancers defence in the end zone.
āEveryone did a great job today. It wasnāt one player ā Yannick [Harou] played awesome, [Alex] Taylor stepped up ā and thatās what our team needs to do going down the stretch,ā said Bone.
At the end of the day, the Mustangs walked away with the win, but a series of mistakes plagued them early on.
On their first drive, the Mustangs offence moved the ball efficiently down field, but a Brian Marshall fumble on the goal line halted the early game momentum.
The Lancers answered with touchdowns on their next two drives, as Austin Kennedy connected with Gilbert Stewart and then Evan Pszczonak to take a 14-point lead.
Despite giving life to the Windsor lancers, the Mustangs found success moving the ball on the ground. They ran the ball 45 times for 351 total yards with Harou carrying the brunt of the load in the backfield.
Late in the first half, on third down and only a yard, Harou busted out a 50-yard run to pick up the first down and put his team in scoring position. One play later, Finch found fullback Tom Marshall for the nine-yard catch-and-run for their first touchdown of the game.
Harou finished the day with a season high 21 carries for 209 yards, to average 10 yards per carry.
Also featured in the run game was rookie running back, Alex Taylor. As a change of pace back, the Winnipeg, Manitoba native carried the ball eight times for 82 yards and a touchdown.
Taylorās 82-yard performance was highlighted by a 41-yard touchdown run to put the game out of reach in the fourth quarter.
āObviously itās my first year so Iām trying to take it one step at a time. I had a decent start in that Waterloo game and now obviously weāre here,ā Taylor said. āIf the coaches give me an opportunity to get in, I see it as a small window and Iām going to take that chance to grasp it and play my best.ā
The rookie was also dynamic on special teams. Taylor returned six kickoffs for 168 yards, including one for 50 yards in the third quarter to set up a touchdown pass on the next play.
Along with the ground game, the Mustangs receiving corps was solid once again.
Justin Sanvido, the Mustangs third-year wide receiver, was sure-handed in the passing game. He led the team with four catches for 104 yards and a touchdown.
Despite conceding two first quarter touchdowns, the Mustangs defence shut down the Lancers until the fourth quarter. By that time, the Mustangs had taken a commanding 15-point lead.
Coach Marshall said he was pleased with the defensive performance.
āDefensively it wasnāt our best first half but we did a nice job at finishing ā and those three-and-outs made a difference so I was proud of the way they played,ā said Marshall.
Austin Kennedy, the Windsor Lancers quarterback, managed 17 completions for 293 yards and three touchdowns, but threw a costly pass that was intercepted by Jordan Beaulieu and taken back for a touchdown in the fourth quarter to seal the win for Western.
With his three-touchdown performance, Kennedy tied the OUA record for career touchdowns at 79. The Windsor quarterback also tacked on 12 carries for 112 yards rushing.
With the win at home over the Lancers, the Mustangs finish the season with a 6ā2 record and clinch third place in the OUA. The Mustangs will now get set to host Dillon Campbell and the Laurier Golden Hawks in the OUA quarterfinal next week. It will be the second time this season that the two teams have faced-off, with Western taking a 61-20 win at TD Stadium on Thursday, October 9.
Photo credit: Ā Dev Vasile
(Source: Ā Tony von Richter, Western Mustangs Sports Information)
Lancer fifth year quarterbackĀ Austin KennedyĀ had a remarkable day in his final regular season game for the Blue & Gold.
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With three touchdowns, the Windsor, ON native tied the OUA career passing touchdown record with 79 career touchdowns. He shares the record with Josh Sacobie (2004-08) from the Ottawa Gee Gees. He also finished his career with over 700 completions and 9,986 total passing yards.
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The Lancers fell to the Western Mustangs 43-21 on Saturday afternoon at TD Waterhouse Stadium in London, ON.
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Windsor finishes the regular season in fourth place overall with a 5-3 record. The Lancers will host their first playoff game since 2006 next Saturday, November 1st, when they host the Ottawa Gee Gees at 1:00pm at Alumni Field.
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Earlier this year, the Lancers defeated the Gee-Gees 39-29 during Alumni Weekend at Alumni Field.
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A strong defensive showing by the Blue & Gold in the first quarter kept the Mustangs at bay and allowed the Lancers to build a 14-0 lead after the first quarter of play.
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Kennedy connected withĀ Gilbert StewartĀ on a short five yard pass for his first touchdown of the quarter at 7:48. On their next drive, Kennedy moved one step closer to the OUA record when receiverĀ Evan PszczonakĀ caught an 8-yard pass with one minute remaining in the quarter.
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Kennedy’s touchdown pass to Pszczonak was also the Windsor, ON native’s 700th career pass completion. He finished the game and his CIS career with 710 completions to place him second overall in the OUA and third overall in the CIS.
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The second and third quarters were all Western as they went on an 29-0 run to lead 18-14 at halftime and 29-14 after three quarter.
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Windsor got back on the board in the fourth quarter. Kennedy tied the OUA record with his 12th of the season when he connected with Pszczonak for a 38-yard touchdown pass to bring the Lancers within a score midway through the quarter.
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The Mustangs once again increased their lead with two more touchdowns to earn the victory.
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(Source: Ā Windsor Lancers Sports Information)
| Windsor vs. WesternĀ at London, Ontario 10/25/2014 at 1:07 PM |
|
| Windsor 21 |
Western 43 |
| SCORING | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | FINAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Windsor (5-3) | 14 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 21 |
| Western (6-2) | 0 | 18 | 11 | 14 | 43 |
| London, Ontario | TD Stadium | |||||
| PRD | TIME | SCORING SUMMARY | WINDSOR – WESTERN |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 07:48 | WindsorĀ – Glbert Stewart 5 yd pass from Austin Kennedy. (H. Paulin kick is good). Drive: 6 plays, 48 yards in 1:03. |
7 – 0 |
| 1 | 01:03 | WindsorĀ – Evan Pszczonak 8 yd pass from Austin Kennedy. (H. Paulin kick is good). Drive: 6 plays, 90 yards in 2:17. |
14 – 0 |
| 2 | 12:03 | WesternĀ – Team safety | 14 – 2 |
| 2 | 08:24 | WesternĀ – Z. Medeiros 26 yd field goal. Drive: 5 plays, 39 yards in 1:31. |
14 – 5 |
| 2 | 03:59 | WesternĀ – T. Marshall 10 yd pass from W. Finch. (Z. Medeiros kick is good). Drive: 5 plays, 82 yards in 2:22. |
14 – 12 |
| 2 | 03:54 | WesternĀ – TEAM rouge point. | 14 – 13 |
| 2 | 00:44 | WesternĀ – Team safety | 14 – 15 |
| 2 | 00:00 | WesternĀ – Z. Medeiros 39 yd field goal. Drive: 5 plays, 24 yards in 0:35. |
14 – 18 |
| 3 | 04:10 | WesternĀ – Team safety | 14 – 20 |
| 3 | 03:40 | WesternĀ – J. Sanvido 50 yd pass from S. Bone. (Z. Medeiros kick is good). Drive: 1 plays, 50 yards in 0:17. |
14 – 27 |
| 3 | 02:11 | WesternĀ – Team safety | 14 – 29 |
| 4 | 08:22 | WindsorĀ – Evan Pszczonak 38 yd pass from Austin Kennedy. (H. Paulin kick is good). Drive: 6 plays, 90 yards in 2:33. |
21 – 29 |
| 4 | 03:13 | WesternĀ – A. Taylor 41 yd run. (Z. Medeiros kick is good). Drive: 5 plays, 69 yards in 2:14. |
21 – 36 |
| 4 | 01:32 | WesternĀ – J. Beaulieu 58 yd interception return. (Z. Medeiros kick is good). | 21 – 43 |
| WINDSOR | STATISTICS | WESTERN |
|---|---|---|
| 25 | FIRST DOWNS | 28 |
| 14 7 4 |
Passing Rushing Penalty |
9 19 0 |
| 394 | TOTAL OFFENSE | 589 |
| 68 5.8 |
Total Offensive Plays Average gain per play |
69 8.5 |
| 293 | NET YARDS PASSING | 258 |
| 17-42 7.0 1-1 1 |
Completions-Attempts Net yards per pass play Sacked: Number-Yards Had intercepted |
12-23 11.2 1-17 1 |
| 158 | NET YARDS RUSHING | 351 |
| 25 6.3 |
Rushing Attempts Average gain per rush |
45 7.8 |
| 5-137 | PUNTS: Number-Yards | 6-272 |
| 27.4 | Average | 45.3 |
| 130 | TOTAL RETURN YARDS | 258 |
| 6-49 5-81 1-0 |
Punt Returns: Number-Yards Kickoff Returns: Number-Yards Interception Returns: Number-Yards |
5-24 7-176 1-58 |
| 8-83 | PENALTIES: Number-Yards | 11-140 |
| 1-1 | FUMBLES: Number-Lost | 3-1 |
| 1-17 | SACKS: Number-Yards | 1-1 |
| 1-0 | INTERCEPTIONS: Number-Yards | 1-58 |
| 28:02 | TIME OF POSSESSION | 31:58 |
Windsor |
Western |
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| DEFENSIVE STATISTICS | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | WINDSOR | SOLO | AST | TOTAL | SACKS-YDS | TFL-YDS | FF | FR-YDS | INT-YDS | BRUP | BLKS | QBH |
| 35 | Luke Lefler | 6 | 4 | 8 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 13 | Marcel Ugoh | 5 | 5 | 7.5 | – | 1 – 2 | – | – | ||||
| 29 | Kuinton Elliott | 6 | 1 | 6.5 | – | – | – | – | 2 | |||
| 52 | Frank Renaud | 4 | 4 | 6 | – | 1 – 6 | 1 | – | – | 1 | 1 | |
| 7 | Matt Gayer | 4 | 3 | 5.5 | – | – | 1 | – | – | |||
| 98 | Tai Pham | 3 | 4 | 5 | 1 – 17 | 3 – 23 | – | – | ||||
| 51 | Joe Iatzko | 1 | 7 | 4.5 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 32 | Tarik Bonas | 3 | 1 | 3.5 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 57 | Stephon Miller | 2 | 2 | 3 | – | 1 – 5 | – | – | ||||
| 50 | Addison Olah | 1 | 2 | 2 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 56 | David Flewelling | 1 | 2 | 2 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 90 | Kellen Leclair | 1 | 1 | 1.5 | – | – | – | – | 1 | |||
| 93 | Jeremy Rogers | 1 | 1 | 1.5 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 99 | Jonathan Langley | 1 | 1 | 1.5 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 2 | Austin Crumb | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – | 1 | |||
| 18 | Evan Pszczonak | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 20 | Nigel Applewhaite | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 54 | Matt Chamberlain | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 8 | Josh Burns | 0 | 1 | 0.5 | – | – | 1-0 | 1-0 | ||||
| 22 | Donovan Selmes | 0 | 1 | 0.5 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| TOTALS | 43 | 40 | 63 | 1 – 17 | 6 – 36 | 2 | 1-0 | 1-0 | 5 | 1 | ||
| # | WESTERN | SOLO | AST | TOTAL | SACKS-YDS | TFL-YDS | FF | FR-YDS | INT-YDS | BRUP | BLKS | QBH |
| 36 | P. Huggins | 6 | 4 | 8 | – | 1 – 2 | – | – | ||||
| 42 | R. Northfield | 3 | 1 | 3.5 | 1 – 1 | 2 – 4 | – | – | ||||
| 12 | P. N’Djore | 3 | 0 | 3 | – | – | – | – | 2 | |||
| 13 | S. Bahru | 3 | 0 | 3 | – | – | – | – | 1 | |||
| 20 | K. Loebus | 2 | 1 | 2.5 | – | – | – | – | 1 | |||
| 99 | D. Waud | 1 | 3 | 2.5 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 6 | R. Rossi | 2 | 0 | 2 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 22 | M. Rombough | 2 | 0 | 2 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 31 | J. Beaulieu | 2 | 0 | 2 | – | – | – | 1-58 | 1 | |||
| 92 | J. Karroum | 2 | 0 | 2 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 10 | J. Poulin | 0 | 3 | 1.5 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 49 | J. Biewald | 1 | 1 | 1.5 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 95 | R. Connop | 0 | 3 | 1.5 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 1 | B. Marshall | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 7 | R. Osei-Kusi | 0 | 2 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 9 | M. Brown | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – | 2 | |||
| 18 | M. Brazier | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 24 | N. Vanin | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 75 | R. Butcher | 0 | 2 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 23 | A. Sinclair | 0 | 1 | 0.5 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 30 | J. Brooks | 0 | 1 | 0.5 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 80 | J. Sanvido | 0 | 1 | 0.5 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 97 | A. Pedda | 0 | 1 | 0.5 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| TM | TEAM | – | – | – | – | |||||||
| 32 | J. Woodman | – | – | – | – | 2 | ||||||
| TOTALS | 31 | 24 | 43 | 1 – 1 | 3 – 6 | – | 1-58 | 9 | ||||
| OTHER INFORMATION | |
|---|---|
| Location:Ā London, Ontario Stadium:Ā TD Stadium Attendance:Ā 3620 |
Referee:Ā A. Gyemi Umpire:Ā J. Schroeder Head Linesman:Ā G. Hill Line Judge:Ā B. Webster Back Judge:Ā G. MacRae Field Judge:Ā B. Carter Side Judge:Ā T. Whited |
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