LONDON, Ont. – The 6-1 Western Mustangs will host the 6-1 McMaster Marauders for their final regular season game of the year this weekend with first place in the OUA on the line. The Mustangs will be looking to move into the playoffs firing on all cylinders in the Homecoming Weekend matchup.
Western enjoyed a big win over the Ottawa Gee-Gees last weekend in which they controlled all three phases of the game. Western's offence, defence, and special teams played arguably their most complete game of their year with the team effort leading to a dominating 68-17 win.
The Mustangs offence had one of their most successful performances of the season.
Chris Merchant and
Stevenson Bone both got time behind centre, combining for 414 yards through the air and three touchdowns.
Once again,
Alex Taylor took the majority of the touches on the ground for the Mustangs. Taylor had 160 yards on 25 carries and piled up three major scores. The performance leaves Taylor second in yards per game and first in touchdowns in the OUA. The focus against McMaster will be on the matchup between the Mustangs run game and the Marauders run defence.
McMaster boasts one of the best run defences in the country. The Marauders only allow a remarkable 80.6 rushing yards a game, the number three rushing defence in the country, and are led by defensive lineman Mike Kashak, and linebackers Eric Mezzalira and Jack Heathcote.
Statistically speaking, the Mustangs have not seen a defense like that of McMaster this year. McMaster only allows 9.7 points per game, good for first the nation. However, McMaster has yet to see an offense like Western's either.
The Mustangs racked up 51 first downs against Ottawa, including 20 passing and 28 rushing. The Mustangs do not depend entirely on either the pass or run games to gain first downs, something that keeps opposing defences of their toes and helps the Mustangs sustain long and meaningful drives, as well as finishing things off with points in the red zone.
The Mustang defence is being led in tackles by second year linebacker
Philippe Dion, who has 48.5 tackles on the year. Although the offence gets most of the headlines, the purple and white defence has allowed the third fewest points per game in the OUA this season, limiting opponents to 18.6 per contest. The defenders have also emerged as a scoring threat in their own right, recording four touchdowns in seven games so far this season.
With a win the Mustangs will go into the OUA playoffs in first place for the second straight year, securing home field advantage throughout. Although the Mustangs have been on a roll lately, Saturday's contest could be their toughest of the season so far, and both teams will need a full 60-minute effort to come out on top at TD Stadium.
