LONDON, Ont. – After taking their first road loss of the season in Guelph last week, the Western Mustangs closed out their OUA regular season with a 43–21 win over the Windsor Lancers on Saturday afternoon at TD Stadium.
 
With the victory, the Mustangs clinched third place in Ontario University Athletics and will now host the Laurier Golden Hawks next weekend in an OUA quarterfinal matchup. 
 
However, Saturday's win came at a cost as quarterback Will Finch left the game in the second quarter. Play was stopped late in the second quarter as Finch was taken off the field, leaving Stevenson Bone to step behind centre for the remainder of the game.
 
"It was hard getting back at it, but I was really pleased with the way our team responded. They rallied behind Stevenson [Bone]," said Western Mustangs head coach Greg Marshall. "Our kids are pretty resilient, probably more resilient than the coaches." 
 
Bone had another solid performance in relief of Finch, as Western's backup quarterback completed six of his 12 passes for 127 yards and touchdown. Bone also had a touchdown opportunity taken away when his pass was picked off by the Lancers defence in the end zone.  
 
"Everyone did a great job today. It wasn't one player — Yannick [Harou] played awesome, [Alex] Taylor stepped up — and that's what our team needs to do going down the stretch," said Bone. 
 
At the end of the day, the Mustangs walked away with the win, but a series of mistakes plagued them early on.
 
On their first drive, the Mustangs offence moved the ball efficiently down field, but a Brian Marshall fumble on the goal line halted the early game momentum.
 
The Lancers answered with touchdowns on their next two drives, as Austin Kennedy connected with Gilbert Stewart and then Evan Pszczonak to take a 14-point lead.
 
Despite giving life to the Windsor lancers, the Mustangs found success moving the ball on the ground. They ran the ball 45 times for 351 total yards with Harou carrying the brunt of the load in the backfield.
 
Late in the first half, on third down and only a yard, Harou busted out a 50-yard run to pick up the first down and put his team in scoring position. One play later, Finch found fullback Tom Marshall for the nine-yard catch-and-run for their first touchdown of the game.
 
Harou finished the day with a season high 21 carries for 209 yards, to average 10 yards per carry.
 
Also featured in the run game was rookie running back, Alex Taylor. As a change of pace back, the Winnipeg, Manitoba native carried the ball eight times for 82 yards and a touchdown.
 
Taylor's 82-yard performance was highlighted by a 41-yard touchdown run to put the game out of reach in the fourth quarter.
 
"Obviously it's my first year so I'm trying to take it one step at a time. I had a decent start in that Waterloo game and now obviously we're here," Taylor said. "If the coaches give me an opportunity to get in, I see it as a small window and I'm going to take that chance to grasp it and play my best." 
 
The rookie was also dynamic on special teams. Taylor returned six kickoffs for 168 yards, including one for 50 yards in the third quarter to set up a touchdown pass on the next play.
 
Along with the ground game, the Mustangs receiving corps was solid once again.

Justin Sanvido, the Mustangs third-year wide receiver, was sure-handed in the passing game. He led the team with four catches for 104 yards and a touchdown.
 
Despite conceding two first quarter touchdowns, the Mustangs defence shut down the Lancers until the fourth quarter. By that time, the Mustangs had taken a commanding 15-point lead.
 
Coach Marshall said he was pleased with the defensive performance.
 
"Defensively it wasn't our best first half but we did a nice job at finishing — and those three-and-outs made a difference so I was proud of the way they played," said Marshall.
 
Austin Kennedy, the Windsor Lancers quarterback, managed 17 completions for 293 yards and three touchdowns, but threw a costly pass that was intercepted by Jordan Beaulieu and taken back for a touchdown in the fourth quarter to seal the win for Western.
 
With his three-touchdown performance, Kennedy tied the OUA record for career touchdowns at 79. The Windsor quarterback also tacked on 12 carries for 112 yards rushing.

With the win at home over the Lancers, the Mustangs finish the season with a 6–2 record and clinch third place in the OUA. The Mustangs will now get set to host Dillon Campbell and the Laurier Golden Hawks in the OUA quarterfinal next week. It will be the second time this season that the two teams have faced-off, with Western taking a 61-20 win at TD Stadium on Thursday, October 9.