WINDSOR, Ont. - It was over after the first quarter.
The Western Mustangs (3-0) spoiled the Windsor Lancers (2-1) Homecoming, winning 60-7 in front of 4,176 fans at Alumni Field.
The only thing in question was when, not if, Michael Faulds would become Western's all-time leading passer.
It happened in the second half when Faulds hit slotback Da'shawn Thomas for a 14-yard gain.
"It's an honour to put something on my name at Western and it's great to help Michael out with the record," said Thomas. "I told him when I got here that I knew he was close. I am really glad he got it, and I'm happy I was part of it."
"I hope he breaks the OUA record."
Faulds breaks Hessel's mark of 8,674 yards and now chases Ben Chapdelaine's OUA all-time passing yardage record of 9,974 set during his time, coached by Greg Marshall, at McMaster.
The fifth year grad student in kinesiology, Faulds finished 16/21 for 307 yards with one touchdown and an interception. He had 240 yards in the opening half.
He now has 8,693 career passing yards, 1,192 behind second-place Josh Sacobie and 1,281 yards behind all-time OUA career passing yardage leader Chapdelaine.
Despite throwing an interception on his first play, Faulds (Eden Mills, Ont.) was impressive the rest of the night.
He found his rhythm on the second drive, throwing for 83 of 88 yards on the series which finished with a short pass to Nathan Riva (Lasalle, Ont.) who finished the passing scoring play dashing it in, eluding a couple of sideline tackles for the score just four minutes into the contest.
Perhaps overshadowed on the day was the four touchdown first half for Riva (LaSalle, Ont.). He finished with a career-high five touchdowns to add to the mix, four on the ground and one reception, while Thomas (Conyers, Ga.) had two.
Riva finished the day with 14 carries for 131 yards, four catches for 94 yards. Thomas had 10 carries for 126 yards and three catches for 13 yards.
For the second straight year, Riva had an outstanding day against the Lancers, a team with many friends and former teammates and opponents on it.
"I have a lot of friends out there, I get pretty excited to play these guys," Riva said. "Working with Da'shawn has been great, I love splitting time with him and it just opens things up for both of us when we work together."
Thomas agrees.
"It is great, we talk to each other on the sidelines and try to share the play... it also opens Michael Faulds up to have more options throwing the ball," Thomas said. "I think a lot of our chemistry has to do with the fact we're both positive... at the end of the day, if a team keys on me, it opens him up. If they key on him, it opens me up."
The Western defence held Windsor to 210 total yards offence. Craig Butler (London, Ont.) led the way with five solo tackles and an interception.
John Surla (Niagara Falls, Ont.) had two interceptions.
Marshall's Mustangs could have continued to build the lead in the first half, but had Faulds take a knee three yards out from the endzone as the quarter ended.
"We worried about running up the score, it's tough that's why stats are so tough to put anything into... the record isn't important to me," said Faulds. "Other than that first pick (interception) I thought we were pretty crisp."
The Mustangs led 48-7 at the half. Windsor's only scoring of the half occurred when Marcel Samuel (Mississauga, Ont.) took an 26-yard pass from quarterback Dan Carloni (Kleinburg, Ont.) to tie the game at 7-7.
The Lancers forced a Western two-and out and got great field position, using great running from Paul Lefaive (Markham, Ont.) to set up the score.
Western responded quickly and regained the lead after a 67-yard drive which lasted just over a minute. Faulds adding another 38 with a deep pass to Nick Pasic (London, Ont.).
A roughing the passer penalty took it inside the 10-yard line, and Riva ran it in twice, his second a three-yard scamper behind the big package, to make it 14-7 with 4:38 remaining.
The offensive highlights for Western were a 52-yard pass to Riva, a 72-yard touchdown run by Riva and a 68-yard shake-and-bake run by Thomas.
Daryl Wheeler (Hamilton, Ont.) added a 34-yard field goal and a single, while Windsor conceded a safety for other first-half points.
In the second half, Riva tied a Western scoring record, taking in another touchdown on the ground to make it 56-7 Western.
The Lancers allowed a rouge, and it was 56-7 Western after three quarters.
Donnie Marshall got the ball at quarterback for Western in the fourth quarter. Wheeler added a single off a punt to make it 57-7 Western.
The No. 2 nationally ranked Mustangs travel to play Guelph (2-1) next Saturday Sept. 26 at 1 p.m. (The Score). Windsor travels to play at Waterloo on Sept. 26.
Other Week 3 OUA Scores
Guelph 53 Toronto 25
Laurier 29 Waterloo 18
Queen's 20 Ottawa 8
McMaster 49 York 8
