LONDON, Ont. – A third quarter field goal from Teddy Peters (Mississauga, Ont.) of the No. 4 nationally-ranked McMaster Marauders was the decisive blow in the 41-19 defeat of the No. 3 Western Mustangs this afternoon at the 104th Yates Cup. The game, played at TD Waterhouse Stadium in front of 6,556, is the first game the Mustangs have lost at home since September 2010.

The Western offense proved dominant in the first quarter going 79 for 15 on rushes, holding McMaster to only 19 yards on their first four rushing attempts.

At 6:56 the Mustangs earned the first two points of the game when the Marauders conceded a safety.

Three drives later, the Mustangs, deep in the red once again, attempted the field goal. It was tipped by the Marauders line, but made it to the end zone, good for a rouge and one more point.

Donnie Marshall who made a return to the gridiron after a four game absence, completed three for five pass attempts. OUA Rookie of the Year Tyler Varga was held to 75 rushing yards on 13 attempts.

The Mustangs led 3-0 after the first fifteen.
 
On their first drive of the second, McMaster carried the ball 43 yards, completing the drive with a 29-yard field goal from Peters, his first of the game.

Their second drive of the game resulted in a seven-yard rush for a touchdown for Chris Pezetta (Burlington, Ont.). Peters (Mississauga, Ont.) kicked the convert.

Marshall completed four of 10 pass attempts, two of which were blocked. Another of the attempts was intercepted by McMaster’s Joey Cupido (Hamilton, Ont.). The Mustangs were only able to gain 32 yards in the quarter.

By halftime, the Marauders had taken the lead 10-3.

McMaster’s solid offense continued to frustrate Western right through the third and into the fourth quarter allowing a run of 34 unanswered points.

Michael DiCroce (Hamilton, Ont.) ran for 102 yards and a touchdown in the third, putting McMaster up 16-3 before Peters kicked his second convert.

With less than a minute left, Western’s defense could not push McMaster out and a second attempt at a field goal was successful. Right before, McMaster took a loss of eight yards when Sean Blake sacked Kyle Quinlan (South Woodslee, Ont.).

Marshall went one-for-three in pass attempts. Darryl Wheeler punted 156 yards for the Mustangs in the third, but McMaster maintained the lead with a score of 20-3.

The Mustangs made a valiant comeback effort in the fourth quarter, but it would not be enough to top the Marauders.

McMaster would score two consecutive touchdowns on their first two drives. Wide receiver Brad Fochesato (Windsor, Ont.) caught a 33-yard pass from Quinlan in the end zone for the touchdown.

On the next drive, Quinlan passed to Robert Babic (Oakville, Ont.) for 12 yards right through the Mustangs defense and a touchdown on the first drive of the final fifteen minutes, increasing the spread to 34-3.

Western’s first touchdown of the game came halfway through the fourth on a handoff to Varga from Marshall. Varga carried the ball one yard into the end zone. Instead of the one-point after, Western made good on a two-point conversion notching eight points bringing their total to 11.

Two drives later, late in the second half, the Marauders’ DiCroce added his second touchdown of the game from a short pass. Peters completed the touchdown.

The Mustangs’ final touchdown of the game, and of the season, was a seven-yard snap from Marshall to fifth-year wide receiver Zach Bull (Port Colborne, Ont.). Brian Marshall (London, Ont.) completed the two-point conversion.

At the end of the day, stellar defense from McMaster, including five unassisted tackles each from Aram Eisho (Hamilton, Ont.), Stephen Dennis (Burlington, Ont.), and Nicholas Shorthill (Kitchener, Ont.) and unimpressive offense from Western ultimately played a large part in the loss.

Marshall threw 14 complete passes for 187 yards on 27 attempts and Varga was held to only 160 yards rushing over 60 minutes of play. Wheeler (Hamilton, Ont.) punted an overall impressive 354 yards.

McMaster advances to the Uteck Bowl, to be played Friday, Nov. 18 against No. 9 Acadia University, in Moncton, N.B.