The Western Mustangs will welcome the Carleton Ravens to TD Stadium this Saturday with not only an opportunity to avenge their lone loss of the season, but with a chance at the 109th Yates Cup on the line as well.
 
The Mustangs are coming into this pivotal game off a bye-week. In their final game of the regular season, the Mustangs secured first place with a nail-biting 19-18 victory over McMaster. Kicker Marc Legghio earned Athlete of the Week honours with his performance with three field goals including two from 25 plus yards.
 
Quarterback Chris Merchant was 16 for 26 for 185 yards in the victory, which locked up first place in the OUA for the Mustangs and secured the aforementioned bye week for the team. The only offensive touchdown of the game for the Mustangs came courtesy of quarterback Stevenson Bone who punched it over the goal line on a QB sneak.
 
Western's defence against McMaster was a particular highlight, limiting the Marauders to only 283 yards of total offence. They will have to be in top form when as the Ravens are coming into town off one of their biggest wins of the year.
 
That victory was a dominant OUA quarterfinal win over the Ottawa Gee-Gee's. The Ravens jumped out to a 17-0 lead and never looked back as they rolled by a final score of 45-9.
 
The Ravens handed it off 41 times in the victory, rushing for 315 yards and three touchdowns. Backs Christian Battistelli and Jayden Rowe each got the ball 15 times, going for 131 and 125 yards respectively. This week however, they'll be running into the Mustangs defence, a squad that was the second ranked run defence in the OUA, allowing 107 yards per game on the ground this season.
 
If the Ravens are intent on forcing their ground game, the match-up against the Mustang defensive front could determine the winner. Mustang defensive linemen John Biewald and Rupert Butcher will be working hard up front to prevent the Ravens from establishing their rushing attack.
 
Despite only throwing the ball 13 times against Ottawa, Quarterback Jesse Mills completed 8 passes for 92 yards and a touchdown and is threat to take a shot deep if he has a man open.
 
In what promises to be an extremely entertaining game, the Mustangs and Ravens will do battle in a matchup of the old-school versus the new-school.
 
Western, the perennial powerhouse is looking to advance to their second Yates Cup in three years. Under the guidance of coaches such as Darwin Semotiuk, Larry Haylor, and current head coach Greg Marshall, Western has been a bastion of excellence in terms of CIS football for decades, winning a record 30 Yates Cup titles.

Carleton will be attempting to advance to their first Ontario Championship is school history. Carleton has taken the league by storm since the programs revival in 2013 after a 15-year hiatus. Under Head Coach Steve Sumarah, the Ravens have gone from 0-8 in 2013 to back to back OUA Semi-Final appearances in 2015 and 2016. You can have no doubt that the Ravens will be amped up to dethrone the Mustangs.