LONDON, Ont. - Following a dominant 39-13 victory over the Carleton Ravens in the OUA semifinals this past weekend, the Mustangs will move on to face the Guelph Gryphons in a battle for the Yates Cup this Saturday in TD Stadium.
While the offence struggled at times against the tenacity of the Ravens' defensive line, the Mustangs matched that same defensive intensity behind the play of fourth-year defensive back Mackenzie Ferguson.
Ferguson, who caught a pair of interceptions while playing out of position for the entire game, helped hold Carleton to just 196 passing yards to propel the purple and white to their fourth consecutive Yates Cup appearance.
Guelph secured their spot in the Yates Cup on the same day, at the same time, but in very different fashion than the Mustangs.
The Gryphons, who went up against the No. 2 Ottawa Gee-Gees, found themselves facing an 18-0 deficit early in the second quarter before Gryphons quarterback Theo Landers carried Guelph to victory with 128 passing yards, 134 rushing yards, and two total touchdowns in the eventual 27-22 comeback.
Despite finishing the season with a middling 5-3 regular season record, the Gryphons are currently riding a five-game winning streak with a pair of momentum-gaining victories to kick off the postseason over Waterloo and Ottawa.
The Gryphons' defence has been the key to their late success this season, sitting third in the OUA in defensive interceptions, second in sacks, second in tackles, and first in defensive touchdowns. Guelph's ability to pressure quarterbacks and force turnovers is a threatening proposition to a Western team which has struggled to take care of the football over their past two games.
But despite the impressive coverage, it's the offence which has proven to be one-dimensional for the Gryphons throughout the season. While Guelph has dominated the running game, the rest of their offence has left a lot to be desired. Averaging just 179.5 passing yards per game and sitting near the bottom of the province in offensive interceptions, it's been a struggle for the Gryphons to find yards from the pocket.
With Guelph ranking at the bottom of the OUA in third-down conversions, if the Western defence can slow down Guelph's running game, the Gryphons may very well struggle to find any consistent yardage downfield against the Mustangs' backs.
Western will be entering this weekend's Yates Cup with a storied rivalry against Guelph, but after a heartbreaking Yates Cup loss to the Gryphons in the 2015-2016 playoffs, the Mustangs redeemed themselves last season, taking down Guelph in a 66-12 OUA semi-final blowout. However, if you ask anybody on the Western roster, they'll agree that this team is still more than eager for the opportunity to beat Guelph on the OUA's biggest stage and retain their title as the OUA Champions.
The game is scheduled to kick off at 1:00 P.M. EST in TD Stadium and fans can catch the action live on OUA.tv.
