OTTAWA, Ont. - Following a dominant 66-14 victory over the Windsor Lancers this past Thursday in TD Stadium, the Western Mustangs will be heading back on the road for their toughest test of the season against the Ottawa Gee-Gees this Saturday afternoon in Ottawa, Ont.
Despite the convincing victory, the Mustangs will be heading into the nation's capital looking to improve upon their most recent win over the Lancers. The offence had a handful of rare turnovers throughout the game, as Western quarterback Chris Merchant, who has enjoyed a stellar season to this point, threw a pair of interceptions throughout the night. However, a determined effort from the defence coupled with the performance of running back Cedric Joseph was enough to allow the purple and white to cruise to the blowout victory.
Joseph, who ran for 355 rushing yards in the first half alone, broke the Mustangs all-time record for single-game rushing yards, passing Mustangs head coach Greg Marshall's record of 317 yards set in 1981. In just one half of play, Joseph not only racked up the yardage against the Lancers but ran in three touchdowns to help the purple and white maintain their perfect 6-0 record.
However, this Saturday will unquestionably prove to be a more challenging game in enemy territory, as Western will be fighting to maintain their first-place positioning atop the OUA standings. With a perfect 6-0 record, Western currently sits as the only undefeated team in the OUA, but Ottawa's 5-1 record threatens to take control over the division if they manage to take down the purple and white.
Ottawa's only loss of the season came in their first game of the year against Laurier, but with a competitive victory over Carleton and a blowout win against Toronto coming in the past two weeks, the Gee-Gees will be riding a wave of momentum heading into the biggest game of their season.
Offensively, Ottawa has put together a fairly balanced attack to this point in the year. The Gee-Gees currently sit first in the OUA in passing yards per completion, second in passing touchdowns, fourth in rushing yards, fourth in rushing first downs, finding production in both their rushing and passing games. Ottawa will have Sawyer Buettner spearheading the offence from the quarterback position, but despite his talent and ability to put points up on the board, the Gee-Gees have struggled consistently throughout the season to protect him behind the offensive line.
Buettner has already been sacked 11 times this season, good for third-most in the OUA, while losing a total of 96 yards due to defensive pressure. Ottawa's offence may have been productive in its previous matchups, but this porousness from the offensive line against a Western defence which has been unmatched this season will undoubtedly slow down Buettner's ability to impact the game from the pocket.
However, the defensive side of the ball is where Ottawa has earned its 5-1 record to this point. Sitting first in the OUA in defensive interceptions, first in defensive touchdowns, fourth in tackles, third in sacks, and second in fumbles recovered, Western cannot allow themselves to give up possessions like they did against the Lancers if they hope to leave with a victory.
Saturday's game will most likely be the most competitive OUA matchup of the year as both sides fight to sit atop the division standings heading into the final week of the regular season. Despite Western's dominance to this point of the season, the offence needs to return to form and cut down on the turnovers from last week if they hope to put an end to Ottawa's ever-growing momentum. The game is scheduled to kick off at 1:00 P.M. and fans can catch the action live on OUA.tv.
