TORONTO, Ont. – The Western Mustangs entered today’s game needing a win over the Toronto Varsity Blues to clinch top spot in the OUA regular season and it was mission accomplished with a 21-9 win in Toronto. Strong winds and a light rain played a part in the low scoring affair, but the Mustangs offense was able to put enough points on the board in the second half to overcome a disappointing opening 30 minutes to go home with the victory.
The Mustangs scored on their opening drive on a
Tyler Varga rush, his CIS-leading 15th touchdown of the season to take the early lead 7-0. However, late in the first quarter Varga went down after being tackled deep in Mustang territory and did not return. The full extent of Varga’s injury is not known at this time, but today’s win clinches the first round bye in the playoffs which will provide much needed rest for some of the injured Mustangs.
The second quarter saw Toronto kicker Andrew Lomasney account for all of the scoring as he was successful on three field goals to put the Varsity Blues up 9-7 at the half.
After a number of punts by both teams to start the second half, it was the Mustangs offense that was the first to click as
Ben Rossong led the team down the field with a strong pass to
Zach Bull, and a couple of
Garret Sanvido and
Nathan Riva rushes later, it was Riva who ran the ball into the end zone from three yards out to put the Mustangs ahead for good, 14-9.
Lirim Hajrullahu’s missed field goal attempt at the end of the third went through the end zone for a rouge to put Western up 15-9, although Hajrullahu and holder Darryl Wheeler both felt the ball went through the uprights.
Andrew Thibaudeau capped the scoring on a 20-yard pass from Rossong five minutes into the fourth quarter as the Mustangs held on to win 21-9.
Nathan Riva finished the day with 218 yards rushing and 1 touchdown, while Rossong and
Ian Noble split the duties at quarterback for only 88 passing yards as the rushing game was featured once again in today’s game.
Today’s win means the Mustangs will be hosting an OUA Semi-Final game on November 5th and host the Yates Cup the following weekend if successful in the Semi. The potential opponents for the Mustangs in the playoffs are far from being set as teams in the middle of the standings continue to jockey for position heading into the final weekend of the regular season.
The Mustangs close out the regular season next weekend with a trip to Kingston, Ont. next Saturday Oct. 22 to face the Queen’s Gaels which will be broadcast live on TheScore as the OUA University Rush game of the week.
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Upcoming Games:
Saturday, October 22 - @ Queen's - 1 p.m.
Saturday, October 29 - OUA Quarter Final
Saturday, November 5 - OUA Semi Final
Saturday, November 12 - OUA Final (Yates Cup)
Friday, November 18 - Uteck Bowl (Moncton, New Brunswick - 7 p.m.)
Friday, November 25 - Vanier Cup (Vancouver, British Columbia - 7 p.m.)
Buy Tickets:
The Mustangs will host the OUA Semi-Final on November 5, 2011 at TD Waterhouse Stadium, game time and ticket information will be posted on www.westernmustangs.ca when details are finalized.
Adopt-a-Mustang:
Help Western's CIS and OUA sports teams remain competitive and carry on the proud Mustang tradition. Through the Adopt A Mustang program, you can help Western's student-athletes excel in and out of the classroom.
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