WINDSOR, Ont. - In a matchup of two undefeated teams, Western heads into hostile territory at the University of Windsor Stadium to take on the Windsor Lancers. 

The Windsor Homecoming game kicks off Saturday Sept. 15, at 7 p.m. Both teams are coming off strong, early-season performances. Western has soundly beaten two previously nationally ranked teams in the Ottawa Gee-Gees and Laurier Golden Hawks by a combined score of 62-24, while Windsor has won should-win games over both York and Toronto. 

When asked about what kind of challenge the Lancers pose for the No. 2 team in the country, Mustangs head coach Greg Marshall pointed to their defence. 

"They have a solid interior line, an experienced secondary and good, playmaking corners who really support the run," said Marshall. The Lancers will need all the support against the run they can get, as Western's two-headed monster in the backfield, known as 'Da Riva' in the Mustangs locker room, comes to town. Running backs Da'shawn Thomas (Conyers, Ga.) and Nathan Riva (LaSalle, Ont.) have combined for 313 rushing yards over the first two weeks of the 2009 OUA season. 

Windsor head coach, Mike Morencie noted that his team has "really held serve against two teams we (Windsor) should have beat. Western has handled two elite teams, and so both teams have travelled two different paths to get here. Now, we'll see where they both fit in the OUA this season." 

"I've not had many hours of sleep this week, instead I'm staying up late to find ways to stop [the Mustangs] on the offensive side of the ball," added Morencie. 

Western quarterback Michael Faulds (Eden Mills, Ont.) might be close to unstoppable this weekend as he chases down former Mustang great Chris Hessel's all-time passing yardage mark of 8,637. He needs just 252 more yards to break the record. He has yet to throw for under 315 yards in a game this year. 

On the subject of Faulds possibly breaking the record and the kind of athlete he is, Marshall had this to say: "He's a team leader and a kid that trains very hard to lead by example. He's also a fiery competitor who takes hits and plays quarterback like a linebacker. I've never seen him slide and sometimes I wish he would just run out of bounds. Once the game starts he gets in the zone, but he's so uptight in the beginning you have to get him into a groove. Once he gets comfortable though, he can take over a game." 

It will be up to Windsor's secondary and defensive line to keep Faulds from finding that groove. Windsor has featured a stingy pass defence so far, allowing a total of just 304 yards through the air so far this season. Still, that's a small problem compared to the difficulties Windsor is having with their quarterbacks. 

"The expectations in training camp were that the offensive personality of this team would change," Morencie said. "We wanted to spread the ball around more, not necessarily rely on running the ball to get it going." 

Their starting quarterback Sam Malian (LaSalle, Ont.) is day-to-day with an injury, and if he can't play Saturday, the Lancers may have to fall back on Daniel Carloni (Kleinburg, Ont.), who is also fighting through injury. Morencie revealed that the Lancers game plan may be predicated on which quarterback plays. Windsor may call more runs and short passes if Carloni goes in. 

Morencie said the Lancers' biggest concern going into the season was in recruiting running backs, with Darryl Stephenson graduating. 

"The best surprise of this season so far has been the number of good, young running backs who have been filling in," he said. 

Windsor's top three backs Paul Lefaive (Markham, Ont.), Cody Butler (Croton, Ont.), and Kamar Anglin (Newmarket, Ont.) have put up 'Da Riva'-like numbers so far with 340 rushing yards. With these great players coming for them, will the Mustangs defence be ready? Marshall said he believes so, pointing to how both Chris Greaves and Mike Van Praet have stepped up along the defensive line since the departure of former Mustang Vaughn Martin to the NFL. Run-stopping linebacker Adrian Kaiser is also getting healthy and is probable for the Windsor game. 

The unit Marshall thinks can really step up this coming weekend are the receivers. 

"I expect more production this year," Marshall said "and they need to play better as a group. We've had some dropped balls and we need to provide better targets for Michael [Faulds]. As a group, there's room for improvement." 

With the possibility of a record-setting day on the line for their quarterback and teammate, they will have all the motivation they need. The teams kickoff at 7 p.m. on Saturday Sept. 19 at University of Windsor Stadium in Windsor, Ont.  The game will air live on Rogers TV, Cable 13 in London (via Cogeco's feed out of Windsor).

Western's full schedule can be found here for the 2009 football season.