After losing a hard-fought game against the top ranked McMaster Marauders last weekend the Western Mustangs traveled to Guelph looking to rebound against the eighth-ranked Gryphons. Despite an incredible comeback attempt in the second half the Gryphons edged out the Mustangs on a last-minute field goal, taking a 42-39 victory.

It was a tale of two halfs for the Mustangs as after a disastrous start that saw them fall behind 23-0 within the first nine minutes, Western looked like an entirely different team in the second half. The Mustangs scored 29 unanswered points to storm back and take the lead early in the fourth quarter before eventually falling to the Gryphons.

With starting quarterback Donnie Marshall out due to injury, the running game was key and Garret Sanvido showed why he’s leading the CIS in rushing, running for 210 yards and three touchdowns on 30 carries. Sanvdio now remains atop the CIS leaderboard with 905 yards, 12 touchdowns, and 150.8 yards per game.

Defensively the Mustangs were led by Daryl Waud with 8.5 tackles. Other members of Western’s front seven got into the action, with Dylan Ainsworth and Beau Landry both recording 6.5 tackles, while Brent Wheeler added 4.5 tackles.

The Gryphons started out strong, scoring on their first drive on a 17-yard pass from Jazz Lindsey to his brother Saxon Lindsey less than three minutes into the game. 

Guelph reached into their bag of tricks on the ensuing kickoff and used the wind to their advantage, kicking the ball high into the air where it eventually was recovered by the Gryphons in Mustangs territory. Guiliano Tropea would use the strong field position to hit his first of five field goals on the day, this one from 22-yards, to put the Gryphons up 10-0 within the first five minutes.

The Mustangs then received their first drive of the game and one of the biggest questions of the week was answered as Will Finch was behind centre for the purple and white. Unfortunately for Finch and the Mustangs his first pass was intercepted by John Rush, leading to another Jazz Lindsey passing TD. 

Just over two minutes later Lindsey would record his third passing TD, this time connecting with Carl Trivieri on a six yard pass to give the Gryphons a 23-0 lead just over halfway through the first quarter.

Finch would then lead the Mustangs on a five play, 73 yard drive concluding in a QB dive from the goal line to put Western on the board late in the first quarter.

Unfortunately for the Mustangs the turnovers would continue in the second quarter, with two interceptions, one leading to a Guelph touchdown to make it 30-7 Gryphons early in the second quarter. The Gryphons would add another field goal as time expired to head into the half with a 33-7 lead.

As the second half began it was clear that a different Mustangs team took the field, as they found the end zone on their first drive of the half, scoring on a nine yard run by Garret Sanvido. 

After some stout defensive play by the Mustangs front seven, first-year quarterback Blake Huggins, who replaced Finch late in the second quarter, lead Western on a 10-play 80-yard drive that ended with Huggins finding Matt Uren in the end zone for the first TD pass of his CIS career. Lirim Hajrullahu followed up the TD and convert with a booming kick into the Guelph end zone, adding a single point to make it 33-22 for the Gryphons late in the third quarter.

After an exchange of possessions with to finish out the third, the fourth quarter began and that was when Garret Sanvido took over. On the Mustangs first drive of the final quarter, Sanvido gained 51 of Western’s 61 yards, with the other 10 coming from a holding call on Guelph. He finished things off with a phenomenal 18-yard touchdown run to pull the Mustangs within four points.

Western prevented the Gryphons from getting anything going on the following drive, and Alex Maj capped things off by recovering a fumble well inside Guelph territory on the 10-yard line to put the Mustangs in excellent scoring location. 

The Mustangs wouldn’t waste any time trying to capitalize, as Garret Sanvido ran it in from ten yards out for his third TD on the day giving Western it’s first lead of the day, 36-33.

The final 11 minutes of the game saw both teams trade possessions with neither side able to hit the end zone. Guelph tied things up with just over seven minutes remaining on a Tropea field goal, and he’d add another three minutes later to put the Gryphons up by three late in the game. 

Hajrullahu would add a field goal for Western to tie the game with just under two minutes remaining, capping a seven play 50-yard drive.  Jazz Lindsey would then start what would end up as his final drive of the day, marching the Gryphons 55 yards on seven plays, to allow Tropea to add another field goal with 18 seconds left, making it a 42-39 final.

Next up for the Mustangs is their final home game of the regular season next Saturday against the Laurier Golden Hawks. Game time is set for 1:00 p.m. at TD Waterhouse Stadium.