The beautiful football weather isn't all the Western Mustangs football squad has to be thankful for this weekend.
The Mustangs football team has been named the OUA Male Team of the Month for September 2011. The team has started the season with a perfect 5-0 record and they have been ranked No. 2 in the CIS Top Ten since the start of the season. The Mustangs are the top scoring team in the OUA and CIS, averaging 51.4 points per game and have already dismantled two CIS Top Ten teams, after beating McMaster in Week 2 by a score of 48-21 when they were ranked No. 3, and followed that up in Week 3 with a 41-13 win over the Ottawa Gee Gees when they were ranked No. 9.
The Mustangs hope to continue their dominance against the Guelph Gryphons, having won nine of the previous 10 meetings. The Gryphons last win over the Mustangs was a 31-17 win in 2007 in Guelph and the last time the Mustangs lost to Guelph in London was in 1996, a span of 7 straight home wins.
With Thanksgiving approaching, it is only appropriate to give thanks to the dynamic duo of Western Mustangs running backs who are leading the CIS and OUA in touchdowns. Rookie Tyler Varga (Kitchener, Ont.) leads the CIS with 13 touchdowns (all rushing), while veteran Nathan Riva (LaSalle, Ont.) now has 9 (8 rushing, 1 receiving) and the pair sit one-two in total touchdowns across Canada.
It might not be the holiday season yet, but the Mustangs were the recipients of many happy returns on Saturday against York as Ben Roberts (London, Ont.) and Garret Sanvido (Vancouver, BC) both had excellent days handling kick return duties. Sanvido returned 3 kickoffs for 117 yards, while Roberts returned 5 punts 84 yards and one kickoff for 22 yards.
2011 FRC – CIS RANKINGS (as of Oct. 4, 2011 – previous ranking in brackets)
Pts (1st place) - Last week
1. Laval (5-0) 285 (24) 1
2. Western (5-0) 264 (5) 2
3. Calgary (5-0) 236 3
4. Sherbrooke (4-1) 203 5
5. McMaster (4-1) 163 6
6. Montreal (3-2) 136 4
7. Sask. (3-2) 103 9
8. Saint Mary’s (3-1) 83 7
9. UBC (3-2) 54 8
10. Windsor (4-1) 38 NR
Other teams receiving votes: Wilfrid Laurier (21), Acadia (18), Concordia (2), Queen’s (1)
