TORONTO – The Western Mustangs got their season off to a strong start on Sunday afternoon, scoring 34 first half points on their way to a 66-3 win over the York Lions at Alumni Field.
"We have lots of spots to improve, we have to play well," said Mustangs head coach Greg Marshall. "We're quick on defence, we're not big, so we're going to have to execute all the time. We're going to have to be more consistent on offence than we were today. A lot of the time we just didn't have any rhythm. We got big plays, but we didn't have any rhythm. [There were] little consistency issues, but other than that I'm happy with the way the guys played today."
Starting quarterback Chris Merchant threw for 221 yards with two touchdowns and one interception on 11 for 23 passing, while Stevenson Bone went 4-4 with 151 yards and both a rushing and passing touchdown.
Malik Besseghieur led the Mustangs receiving corps with 179 yards on six catches, including his first ever OUA touchdown on a 75-yard catch and run from Bone. Brett Ellerman had a strong game of his own, catching four passes for 118 yards and two touchdowns.
In total Western's offence racked up 596 yards on 70 plays, while the purple and white defence limited York to 223 yards of total offence. Defensive back Bleska Kambamba had the defensive highlight of the day, picking off a pass from Brett Hunchak in the first quarter and taking it back 43 yards for the score.
Along with the overall result, coach Marshall was quick to point out the success of the special teams unit, as the Mustangs blocked two punts in the win, while Cole Majoros returned a punt 90-yards for a touchdown. Kicker Marc Liegghio tallied 14 points off of two field goals, seven extra points, and a single, while also averaging 43.4 yards per punt.
"Marc was hammering the ball today. He really kicked the ball well and put the ball in good spots," said Marshall. "There were a couple of coverages that we need to get a little bit better, they returned a couple kicks early on us. Marc pinned them deep, but they got pretty good field position. That's just young guys knowing their lines and their responsibilities, but our guys were aggressive on the [punt blocks], we broke a big run open…I thought overall this was an outstanding special teams game for us."
After picking up three points from a Liegghio field goal on their first drive, the Mustangs picked up their first major of the day on a 54-yard pass from Merchant to Brett Ellerman midway through the opening quarter.
"I was coming across the middle and saw the safety drop, I knew Chris was going to be putting it on me pretty quick and he did, so as soon as I got it I put my foot in the ground and ran as fast as I could toward the end zone," said Ellerman about his first touchdown of the day.
Kambamba extended that lead to 16-0 late in the frame, picking off a pass from Hunchak and taking it back 43 yards to close out the first quarter with a 16-point lead for the visiting side.
Special teams stole the show in the second quarter, with both Andrew Thurston and Fraser Sopik blocking Lions punts, while Majoros added one for the highlight reel, taking a punt back 90 yards for the score. Cedric Joseph recorded the Mustangs second touchdown of the quarter on a one-yard run, and a late field goal from the Lions set the scoreboard at 34-3 for Western at halftime.
Merchant and Ellerman connected for a touchdown again in the third, this time scoring on a 29-yard pass to make it 41-3 early in the frame. The Mustangs offence continued to roll, with a pair of short-yard runs from Bone and Joseph making it 55-3, before Besseghieur's 75-yard touchdown made it 64-3 heading into the final quarter.
"It's good for Malik," said Marshall. "That's the kind of game he needs, he's got the ability, just needs confidence. That was a game that's going to give him a lot of it."
After scoring three touchdowns in less than six minutes to close out the third, the game's rapid pace slowed down in the fourth, with the Mustangs adding two points off of a conceded safety from the Lions to close things out with a 66-3 win.
"It felt good being out there after a long training camp," said Kambamba. "I've been preparing for this for a while, so it felt really good being out there."
"There's always negatives," said Kambamba when asked if there was anything negative about Sunday's game. "There's always something we can fix, and that's what we're going to do tomorrow, watch our film and we're going to get better. That's the only thing we can do is get better because we have bigger fish to fry everywhere. Everybody wants the top and we've got to work for it."
Next up for the Mustangs is their home opener on Monday, September 4, against the Guelph Gryphons. Game time is set for 7 p.m. at TD Stadium, and can be seen live on Rogers Cable 13 in London and OUA.tv. Fans can also tune in on CHRW Radio 94.9 FM and on Newstalk 1290 CJBK with Tom McConnell and legendary Mustangs coach Larry Haylor calling all the action.
