[PRE-GAME] Holding on to No. 1

Its not easy being No. 1.

For six weeks, the Western Mustangs lingered in the second-place position behind the reigning Vanier Cup champion Laval Rouge et Or. This weekend, the Mustangs moved up to the CIS No. 1 ranked spot after Laval suffered their first loss in almost 2 years.

"We're hurting. We've got a lot of injuries. We need to get guys back."

After a close-call 33-29 victory against the Guelph Gryphons last Saturday, Coach Greg Marshall is hoping to soon re-establish his roster to its pre-injury lineup.

"It helped getting Zach Bull back. He made blocks, he made catches, and he's a big part of our offense. But we need to get healthier. Mike Van Praet played but he was sore, and its going to take another week or two but I hope it will start to come together at the right time. If we're going to be a championship football team, we have to play better than we played [against Guelph]."

Still missing from the Mustangs roster is starting quarterback Donnie Marshall, and CFL prospect Matt Norman.

Although the defense wasn’t always pretty on Saturday against Guelph, it came up big when it was most needed. Guelph was in position to win the game in the final minute of play on the Western 16 yard line. On 3rd and 10, Guelph quarterback Jazz Lindsey threw the potential winning pass into the end zone, but it was Western’s Mike Spence who came up with the pass, ending the Guelph threat and sealing the victory for the Mustangs. The interception was Spence’s second on the day.

Rookie running back Tyler Varga continues to add touchdowns to his season total. Although his pace has dropped in the last two games he has still scored a rushing touchdown in each game this year to bring his total to 14 on the season. Varga is quickly catching up on former Mustang Tim Tindale’s team record of 16 in the 1991 season. Varga needs only 2 more touchdowns in the final two games of the season to tie Tindale, and 7 more to tie the OUA record of 21 held by McMaster’s Jesse Lumsden.

The Mustangs have defeated the Toronto Varsity Blues in 15 straight meetings going back to a 19-19 tie in 1995. However, this Varsity Blues team is having a more competitive season and should prove to be a stiffer challenge to the Mustangs. Toronto beat the Guelph Gryphons 21-12 in Week 3, following up on their win over York the previous weekend and sit at 2-4 on the season.

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