OTTAWA – After a slow start that saw the defending Vanier Cup Champions trailing at halftime, a strong second half comeback led the Western Mustangs to a 26-23 overtime victory against the Carleton Ravens at MNP Park on Sunday afternoon.
The win gives the Mustangs a 1-0 record on the season and extends Western's winning streak to 13 games dating back to last year's season opener.
It was a tale of two halves for the Mustangs on Sunday, as the Ravens built up a 17-point lead over the first two quarters before the Mustangs scored 20 consecutive points in the second half to move into the lead before Carleton tied things up and sent the game to overtime.
Chris Merchant threw for 212 yards in the win, completing 19 of 26 passes with one touchdown and one interception.
The Mustangs ground game was powered by Cedric Joseph and his 101 rushing yards on 20 carries. Alex Taylor was next up on the rushing leaderboard with 32 yards on nine carries, while also catching four passes for 26. Harry McMaster led the Mustangs receivers with 72 yards and five catches, including hauling in a 22-yard touchdown pass from Merchant in the third quarter.
Carleton's offence was led by Mike Arruda and his 297 passing yards. The second-year quarterback connected on 13 of 28 passes including throwing two touchdowns and two interceptions in the loss. His preferred receiver was Phil Iloki who caught five passes for 115 yards and one touchdown.
Marc Liegghio picked up right where he left off in 2017, going 4-4 on field goals and 2-2 on extra points to lead the Mustangs in scoring with 14 points on the day. Mike Domagala was equally impressive for Carleton, going 3-3 including hitting a game-tying 50-yard field goal with under one second left on the clock to send the game to overtime.
Michael Moore, in his first game as a Mustang after joining the team from the Queen's Gaels, led all Western defenders with 5.5 tackles including five solo stops and one tackle for loss. Fellow linebacker Philippe Dion was next up with four tackles, and had one of the defensive highlights of the day as he returned a fumble 37-yards for a touchdown.
Jack Cassar and Josh Walsh topped the Ravens defensive stat sheet with 10.5 and 9.5 tackles, respectively, while Walsh also added a sack and an interception in the loss.
After the Ravens got on the board with a 20-yard field goal on their opening drive, neither team's offence was able to get into much of a rhythm after that, with the Ravens holding a 3-0 lead after the first quarter.
The kickers continued to put points on the board as Liegghio connected on a 31-yard field goal early in the second before Domagala responded with a 42-yard kick of his own to give Carleton a 6-3 lead midway through the frame.
Carleton picked up the first major of the day with just over four minutes remaining in the quarter, as Arruda tossed a short pass to Mitchell Raper on third down and the running back ran it in for the 69-yard touchdown.
Arruda added another touchdown before the half, finding Iloki on a 44-yard pass to give Carleton a 20-3 lead after two quarters of play.
Fraser Sopik helped the Mustangs regain the momentum midway through the third quarter, intercepting a pass from Arruda at the Ravens 31-yard line to put the Mustangs in scoring position. The Mustangs drove down to the Ravens five-yard line before Liegghio capped things off with a 12-yard field goal to cut the Carleton lead to 20-6.
The Mustangs offence continued to roll on their next drive, moving the ball 72 yards on 10 plays and finishing things off with a 22-yard touchdown pass from Merchant to McMaster to pull Western within seven after the third quarter.
Dion tied things up on the ensuing drive as he scooped up a fumble and ran it back 37-yards to make it 20-20 on the opening play of the fourth quarter.
Another field goal from Liegghio gave the Mustangs a three point lead with less than five minutes remaining. However, just as it looked like Western would walk away with the win, Domagala hit a 50-yard field goal with under a second remaining on the clock to send the game to overtime tied at 23-23.
The purple and white started with the ball in the extra frame, and capitalized on their first drive as Liegghio connected from 36-yards out to give the Mustangs a 26-23 lead.
Carleton took over for their chance to respond, however Bleska Kambamba shut things down with an interception near the Mustangs goal line to end the Ravens drive and secure the win for Western.
The Mustangs will have some time to prepare for their next matchup as the team has their bye week over Labour Day weekend before returning for Western's home opener against McMaster on Saturday, September 8. Game time is scheduled for 4 p.m. at TD Stadium, with live streaming available on OUA.tv, and radio broadcasts on Newstalk 1290 CJBK and Radio Western 94.9 FM.
