The Western Mustangs celebrate their 99^th anniversary in style this September 29^th as they face off against the rival McMaster Marauders. The game marks Western’s annual Homecoming Weekend when thousands of alumni return to the campus where it all began. This is also a battle for first place in the conference.

McMaster comes in with a 4-0 record and the top ranking in the CIS after beating Queen’s 33-20 at home this past weekend. Western rebounded in a big way following their loss to Queen’s, defeating Windsor 46-23 on the heels of a 216 yard rushing performance form the CIS leading rusher Garret Sanvido. The ‘Stangs now sit 3-1 and a win this Saturday would take over top spot in the OUA standings and have an inside track for the number one playoff seed.

For the Mustangs, this game also means a shot at redemption; a rematch from last year’s Yates Cup where an injury riddled team lost 41-19 to the Marauders.  Much like the homecoming game against Queen’s in 2010, Western has a golden opportunity to gather momentum and springboard themselves into October on a high note.

The games between McMaster and Western have heated up over the years since 1997 when current Mustangs head coach Greg Marshall took over a Marauder program that was a perennial cellar dweller. During his tenure at McMaster from 1997-2003 the Marauders went from bottom feeders to winning four consecutive Yates Cups Championships. In 2004 he left to become the head coach of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats leading them to the playoffs and winning coach of the year in his first season at the helm. His success at McMaster helped prompt the building of Ron Joyce Stadium and a new athletic centre further stamping his legacy in west Hamilton for many decades to come.

Since Marshall’s return to the CIS ranks leading his alma mater, he has gotten the ‘Stangs back to being perennial national title contenders leading them to a Vanier Cup appearance in 2008 and Yates Cup appearances every year since his return to Western, winning three of those five contests.

This season Marshall looks for redemption and for this week it’s against the Marauder team that won the Yates Cup 41-19 at TD Waterhouse Stadium. This Saturday, September 29, Western gets another opportunity to exercise those demons and put last year behind them as they look to march towards their 30^th Yates Cup and seventh Vanier.

Each squad comes into this game firing on all cylinders with both coming off of victories against their semi-final opponents in 2011. McMaster was able to run and throw the ball against a stout Queen’s defense while the ‘Stangs got up on the high powered Lancer offense and put them out of the game by the time the fourth quarter hit.

Both lineups are littered with OUA All-Stars and All Canadians including line backer Beau Landry for Western and offensive tackle Matt Sewell for McMaster.  The Marauders return a large array of receivers at quarterback Kyle Quinlan’s disposal, including Robert Babic the brother of Western linebacker Marcus Babic, and they will look to spread the ball around to a variety a targets.

This game also features McMaster offensive coordinator John Behie calling plays. He was the starting quarterback when Marshall was at the helm in Hamilton, so the Mustangs faithful should see a couple of familiar plays and formations from the Marauders.

Western will counter with one of the best backfields in the nation with the trio of quarterback Donnie Marshall, and running backs Garret Sanvido and freshman Yannick Harou attacking the line of scrimmage.

Defensively, McMaster returns Ben D’Aguilar a 2012 East-West Bowl participant, and one of the top prospects for next year’s CFL Draft, who currently leads the OUA with 6.5 sacks. The defensive side of the ball for the Mustangs is led by defensive coordinator Dennis McPhee, and pressure comes from the contributions of many players. The Mustangs defence leads the CIS, allowing only 14.5 points per game and leads the OUA with 19 sacks which includes every starter on the defensive line getting in on the sack tally.

On the special teams end of things Lirim Hajrulllahu looks to be back to his 2010 form,  connecting on 80% of his field goals, averaging over 62 yards on his kickoffs, and hovering around 40 yards per punt. McMaster’s Tyler Crapigna has yet to miss a field goal and has handled most of the punting duties as well.

The game is expected to be a sell out as part of the biggest Homecoming celebration across the country. The nationally televised game will be the feature contest of all the CIS this week and will be the measuring stick for other CIS schools looking in.  With many East-West Bowl participants, OUA All-Stars and CIS All-Canadians the game is expected to be a 60 minute battle that could very well come down to who has the ball last.