LONDON Β β In the coldest game of the season so far, the Western Mustangs downed the Laurier Golden Hawks 25β10 in an Ontario University Athletics quarterfinal matchup on Saturday afternoon at TD Stadium.
The Mustangs trailed the Golden Hawks for most of the game but with two field goals, and three safeties they inched forward to take the lead in the fourth quarter.
The defensive chess match kept things close but a late fourth quarter rally by the Mustangs offence blew the game wide open.
Western Mustangs head coach Greg Marshall said it was a tough game but that he was satisfied with the result.
βGive them credit, they played a physical, physical game and our guys did too. We ran the ball when we needed to and kind of wore them down a little bit,β said Marshall.
The Mustangs defence completely shut down the Golden Hawks passing game, limiting quarterback James Fracas to seven completed passes for 36 yards. Even Dillon Campbell, the top rusher in the regular season was kept relatively in check. Averaging 182.2 yards per game coming into today, Campbell finished the game with 25 carries for 134 yards and a touchdown that was set up by an interception thrown inside the Mustangs 20-yard line.
The Mustangs defence had three sacks, two interceptions and held the Golden Hawks to 165 total offensive yards. They also recovered two fumbles.
βOur defence had a whale of a game out there, and thatβs the best game theyβve played all season. Give them credit, we got the win in the in the fourth quarter, and were able to put them away,β said Marshall.
The first Mustangs touchdown didnβt come until the very end of the contest, as Yannick Harou crossed the goal line with 2:03 left in the fourth quarter to cement the Mustangs victory. Instead, the Mustangs relied on field goal kicker, Zach Medeiros to put points on the board.
Medeiros said kicking into the wind was a challenge.
βAt the beginning of the game it was a bit frustrating, it wasnβt really going in one direction β it was a bit of a crosswind. Once we got going though I felt more comfortable β we made some adjustments on punt β after a while it was smooth sailing from there,β Medeiros said.
Medeiros hit four of his five field goal attempts including one from 49-yards early in the fourth quarter to give Western a 15-10 lead.
With Will Finch out of the lineup, Stevenson Bone got the start again for the Mustangs. Bone was impressive in his first OUA start three weeks ago against the Laurier Golden Hawks on Thursday night. Round two in a must-win playoff game wasnβt as easy.
βItβs tough playing eight quarters of football against a team because you start getting to know them well and theyβre a good team,β said Bone.
High winds made it almost impossible to move the ball in the air. By the end of the first quarter, Bone had only completed one pass for seven yards and had thrown two interceptions.
βI always just try to play the next play. I donβt try to worry about the ones that already happened,β said Bone. βI felt fine the whole game and I know the guys have my back and we finished strong.β
The Golden Hawks pass rush got to Bone early and often as well. Bone was sacked five times by the Golden Hawks defensive front.
To make matters worse, the Mustangs lost both of their top receivers from last season. Brian Marshall left the game in the first half and was followed shortly after by George Johnson.
Bone, however, eventually settled down and managed the game. With a shaken up receiving corps, Bone completed nine of his 22 passes for 142 yards. He also picked up 59 yards rushing on six carries.
Stepping up for Bone was the second-year receiver Matt McDougall who seemed to have instant chemistry with his quarterback as McDougall led the team with four catches for 79 yards.
βBeing on the second team, usually the whole year, I was comfortable with guys like Matt McDougall because I do the reps when theyβre in,β said Bone. βWe did a good today of running the football and we stopped the run. It was a really good team victory.β
With poor conditions and injuries causing problems in the passing game, the Mustangs run-game carried the load for the purple and white offence. Five Mustangs running backs carried the ball in Sundayβs quarterfinal for a total of 301 yards.
Third-year running back Yannick Harou got the bulk of the carries for the Mustangs. Harou ran the ball 22 times for 162 yards and recorded Westernβs lone touchdown on the day.
Also getting a piece of the pie was running back Garret Sanvido, who carried the ball six times for 35 yards before he forced out of the game in the third quarter.
Taking over for the injured Sanvido was rookie running back Alex Taylor. Taylor had a breakout game for the Mustangs last week against the Windsor Lancers where he ran for 82 yards on only eight carries. He showed flashes of brilliance once again this week. Taylor ran the ball 11 times for 46 yards, and was also heavily featured as a kick returner on special teams.
βThe way our defence stepped up today, Jean-Gab [Poulin] was playing with an arm that basically hanging, Rossi went in and played well, it was a great team win today β one of our best team wins all season,β said Marshall.
The Mustangs will now prepare for their OUA semi-final where theyβre set to face the Guelph Gryphons at Alumni Stadium.
βWeβre looking forward to it. I know weβve got guys injured but the guys that show up next week in Guelph will be ready to play and theyβll play their hearts out as our guys did today,β said Marshall.
Kickoff for next weekendβs game is scheduled for 1 p.m.
Source: Tony Von Richter, Western Mustangs Sports Information
LONDON – The Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks menβs football team had their season come to an end on Saturday as they lost 25-10 to the No. 7 Western Mustangs in the OUA Quarter-finals at TD Stadium.
For three quarters, the purple and gold went toe-to-toe with the third-seeded Mustangs. However, a 15-point fourth quarter outburst from Western, which included their lone touchdown of the game late in the contest, helped the hometown team avoid the upset and eliminated Laurier.
Western kicker Zack Medeiros of St. Thomas, Ont., was a difference maker in the game for the Mustangs as he was successful on four of five attempts. Westernβs other 13 points came off of three conceded safeties and a touchdown from Yannick Harou of Gatineau, Que., with 2:03 left in the fourth quarter to put the game out of reach.
Laurier did all of their scoring in the opening quarter of the game but struggled the rest of the contest. A seven-yard touchdown run by Dillon Campbell of Whitby, Ont., opened the scoring after Ben Millar of Campbellville, Ont., picked off Western quarterback Stevenson Bone of Darien, CT, on his first pass attempt of the game.
Ronnie Pfeffer of Kitchener, Ont., kicked a field goal later in the quarter which gave the Hawks a 10-0 lead early on
Photo credit: Will Huang
Source: Jamie Howieson, Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks Sports Information
STAT BELOW
—–
Lancers fall to Ottawa in Quarterfinals
The Lancer Football season came to an end on Saturday afternoon when they fell 46-29 to the No. 10 Ottawa Gee-Gees in the OUA quarter-finals at Alumni Field.
Windsor held a two point lead very early in the first quarter before the Gee Gees scored a pair of touchdowns to take a 14-2 lead.
Austin Kennedy connected with Evan Pszczonak with three and half minutes remaining in the quarter on a three yard scoring pass to inch closer to the visitors heading into the second butΒ the visitors remained in the league for the duration of the game.
Windsor’s other two touchdowns came off a pair of fumbles from the Ottawa offense. Defensive back Austin Crumb returned a fumbled for 78 yards, while second year DB Matt Gayer scored his first OUA touchdown with a 70-yard run.
Kicker Anthony Malandruccolo finished the game with a pair of singles and three converts.
Playing in their final game for the Blue & Gold, Kennedy finished the contest with 206 passing yards and one touchdown, while Pszczonak had 35 yards on five catches and one TD.
The Department of Athletics would like to thank and congratulate all of our fifth year seniors on a tremendous career with the Lancers. Best of luck to Josh Burns, Kuinton Elliott, Austin Kennedy, Stephon Miller, Tai Pham, Louis Polyzois, Evan Pszczonak, and Kyle Tyo.
On a very blustery day in Windsor the uOttawa Gee-Gees blew out to a 14 -2 lead and didnβt look back, riding an impressive offensive performance to an OUA quarterfinal victory over the Windsor Lancers.
Unlike the last time these two teams played, the Gee-Gees showed early that they wanted a quick start.
After a Mitchell Baines touchdown on their second drive of the game, the ensuing kickoff was recovered by the Gee-Gees on an onside kick. Bryce Vieira then took over and rumbled 20 yards for the touchdown, the Gee-Geesβ second score in a minute and 50 seconds.
βIt was big to get that start,β said head coach Jamie Barresi. βWe were playing right into the wind. They made the choice to play with it so we kind of turned the tables on them in the first couple possessions.β
The relentless wind was a big factor. It blew out of the north at 30km per hour with gusts to 50km. It also made already cold day even colder. But that only seemed to really effect decisions in the kicking game.
Vieira was kept in check in the teamsβ last meeting but was able to run at will this time. He broke free for just under 100 yards this time and took in two touchdowns on the ground.
The Gee-Gees kept rolling in the second quarter, extending the lead to 15 with a Lewis Ward field goal and a 29-yard Wendel bullet to Ian Stewart for their third TD of the game.
Everything seemed to be going the Gee-Geesβ way in the first half. The defence got off the field quickly not allowing any extended drives for the Lancers. That was until Vieira fumbled as the Gee-Gees were driving in Windsor territory with 2:44 to go in the half. Austin Crumb collected it and took it back 78 yards for the TD. That gave Windsor life but the teams entered half-time with uOttawa leading 30-16.
After Windsor and uOttawa traded early touchdowns in the third quarter, the Lancers couldnβt generate much offence and their only chance to get back in it came early in the fourth when Matt Gayer forced a fumble and returned it for a touchdown to draw within 10.
But the Gee-Gees would take their opportunities to run out the clock and put the exclamation mark on the game with Vieiraβs second rushing TD with 2:36 left in the game.
Gee-Gees quarterback Derek Wendel turned in a solid performance going 28-for-40 for 264 yards, two touchdown passes and a rushing touchdown. His main targets were Ian Stewart and Ben Fisher who racked up 107 and 97 yards, respectively.
Middle linebacker Nick Lecour recorded 13.5 tackles while the rest of the Gee-Gees defence combined for four sacks on Windsor quarterback Austin Kennedy.
βThe defence did a great job. Austin Kennedy is a good quarterback. We put a lot of pressure on them and were able to force them into situations they werenβt comfortable. Again, our score zone issues was bothersome to me today. We had to end up settling for field goals a few times but overall we did some good things on offence.β
Seeing a few of his players catch bad breaks and go down to devastating injuries, Barresi praised his training staff whom he said did an excellent job today with that and getting his other players ready to play.
The Gee-Gees now move on to the OUA semifinals to face the McMaster Marauders on the road. uOttawa handed the Marauders their only loss of the season when they topped them 38-18 in the final week of the season.
Ottawa Sports Info
STATS BELOW
| Laurier vs. Western at London, Ontario 11/1/2014 at 1:07 PM |
|
| Laurier 10 |
Western 25 |
| SCORING | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | FINAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Laurier (4-4) | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| Western (6-2) | 0 | 7 | 3 | 15 | 25 |
| London, Ontario | TD Stadium | |||||
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PRD TIME SCORING SUMMARY LAURIER – WESTERN 1 13:22 Laurier – Dillon Campbell 8 yd run. (Ronnie Pfeffer kick is good).
Drive: 2 plays, 14 yards in 1:09.7 – 0 1 02:48 Laurier – Ronnie Pfeffer 35 yd field goal.
Drive: 7 plays, 0 yards in 2:20.10 – 0 2 10:05 Western – Team safety 10 – 2 2 04:12 Western – Z. Medeiros 30 yd field goal.
Drive: 5 plays, 13 yards in 1:59.10 – 5 2 00:31 Western – Team safety 10 – 7 3 10:54 Western – Z. Medeiros 29 yd field goal.
Drive: 7 plays, 33 yards in 2:30.10 – 10 4 14:50 Western – Team safety 10 – 12 4 13:00 Western – Z. Medeiros 49 yd field goal.
Drive: 4 plays, 12 yards in 1:43.10 – 15 4 04:50 Western – Z. Medeiros 15 yd field goal.
Drive: 7 plays, 78 yards in 2:40.10 – 18 4 02:03 Western – Y. Harou 2 yd run. (Z. Medeiros kick is good).
Drive: 5 plays, 42 yards in 1:40.10 – 25
| LAURIER | STATISTICS | WESTERN |
|---|---|---|
| 11 | FIRST DOWNS | 26 |
| 1 9 1 |
Passing Rushing Penalty |
6 15 5 |
| 165 | TOTAL OFFENSE | 415 |
| 56 2.9 |
Total Offensive Plays Average gain per play |
73 5.7 |
| 36 | NET YARDS PASSING | 142 |
| 7-20 1.8 3-16 2 |
Completions-Attempts Net yards per pass play Sacked: Number-Yards Had intercepted |
9-22 6.5 5-27 2 |
| 190 | NET YARDS RUSHING | 301 |
| 33 5.8 |
Rushing Attempts Average gain per rush |
46 6.5 |
| 8-266 | PUNTS: Number-Yards | 7-215 |
| 33.2 | Average | 30.7 |
| 82 | TOTAL RETURN YARDS | 187 |
| 6-44 1-14 2-24 |
Punt Returns: Number-Yards Kickoff Returns: Number-Yards Interception Returns: Number-Yards |
9-55 5-110 2-22 |
| 13-127 | PENALTIES: Number-Yards | 7-63 |
| 2-2 | FUMBLES: Number-Lost | 1-0 |
| 5-27 | SACKS: Number-Yards | 3-16 |
| 2-24 | INTERCEPTIONS: Number-Yards | 2-22 |
| 25:11 | TIME OF POSSESSION | 34:49 |
Laurier |
Western |
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| DEFENSIVE STATISTICS | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | LAURIER | SOLO | AST | TOTAL | SACKS-YDS | TFL-YDS | FF | FR-YDS | INT-YDS | BRUP | BLKS | QBH |
| 11 | Nakas Onyeka | 7 | 5 | 9.5 | – | 2 – 2 | 1 | – | – | 1 | ||
| 3 | Kwaku Boateng | 4 | 7 | 7.5 | 3 – 18 | 4 – 20 | – | – | ||||
| 21 | Chris Ackie | 4 | 7 | 7.5 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 44 | Sam Montazeri | 5 | 3 | 6.5 | – | 1 – 1 | – | – | 1 | |||
| 99 | Ese Mrabure-Ajufo | 3 | 6 | 6 | – | 0.5 – 2 | – | – | ||||
| 40 | Brandon Calver | 2 | 6 | 5 | 0.5 – 1 | 1 – 2 | – | – | 1 | |||
| 90 | Emerson Gourdet | 4 | 2 | 5 | 1 – 5 | 1 – 5 | – | – | ||||
| 13 | Benjamin Millar | 4 | 1 | 4.5 | – | – | – | 1-16 | ||||
| 22 | Godfrey Onyeka | 2 | 3 | 3.5 | – | – | – | 1-8 | 1 | |||
| 26 | Anthony Petrucci | 2 | 2 | 3 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 91 | Asante Mizan | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0.5 – 3 | 0.5 – 3 | – | – | ||||
| 19 | Scott Campbell | 2 | 0 | 2 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 41 | I Guzylak-Messam | 1 | 1 | 1.5 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 1 | William Pitt-Doe | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 30 | Eric Guiltinan | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 54 | Tommy Griffiths | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 55 | Jonathan Timmons | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 95 | Kyle Lees | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 98 | Rashari Henry | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 52 | Stuart Smith | 0 | 1 | 0.5 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| TOTALS | 48 | 46 | 71 | 5 – 27 | 10 – 35 | 1 | – | 2-24 | 4 | |||
| # | WESTERN | SOLO | AST | TOTAL | SACKS-YDS | TFL-YDS | FF | FR-YDS | INT-YDS | BRUP | BLKS | QBH |
| 36 | P. Huggins | 4 | 7 | 7.5 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 99 | D. Waud | 1 | 7 | 4.5 | 1 – 7 | 1 – 7 | – | – | 1 | |||
| 49 | J. Biewald | 4 | 0 | 4 | 1 – 9 | 1 – 9 | 1 | – | – | |||
| 32 | J. Woodman | 3 | 1 | 3.5 | – | – | – | – | 2 | |||
| 7 | R. Osei-Kusi | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 – 0 | 1 – 2 | – | – | ||||
| 13 | S. Bahru | 3 | 0 | 3 | – | 1 – 2 | – | 2-22 | 1 | |||
| 9 | M. Brown | 2 | 1 | 2.5 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 31 | J. Beaulieu | 2 | 1 | 2.5 | – | – | 1-0 | – | 1 | |||
| 95 | R. Connop | 0 | 5 | 2.5 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 97 | A. Pedda | 1 | 3 | 2.5 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 80 | J. Sanvido | 2 | 0 | 2 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 12 | P. N’Djore | 1 | 1 | 1.5 | – | – | – | – | 1 | |||
| 30 | J. Brooks | 1 | 1 | 1.5 | – | – | 1-0 | – | ||||
| 10 | J. Poulin | 0 | 2 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 18 | M. Brazier | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 25 | L. Bureau | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 55 | M. Van praet | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 5 | A. Taylor | 0 | 1 | 0.5 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 6 | R. Rossi | 0 | 1 | 0.5 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 34 | A. Maj | 0 | 1 | 0.5 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 42 | R. Northfield | 0 | 1 | 0.5 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 84 | M. McDougall | 0 | 1 | 0.5 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| TM | TEAM | – | – | – | – | |||||||
| TOTALS | 29 | 36 | 47 | 3 – 16 | 4 – 20 | 1 | 2-0 | 2-22 | 6 | |||
| OTHER INFORMATION | |
|---|---|
| Location: London, Ontario Stadium: TD Stadium Attendance: 0 |
Referee: M Drinkwalter Umpire: K. Baird Head Linesman: A. Wakefield Line Judge: B. Pawlowsky Back Judge: A. Monaco Field Judge: D. Podetz Side Judge: J. Cecchini |
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