LONDON, Ont. - This Saturday will see the Western Mustangs football team head into their third game of the season with a 2-0 record following wins over the Carleton Ravens and the McMaster Marauders. This weekend, the purple and white will be going head to head against the 1-2 York Lions as the Mustangs look to improve to 3-0 on the season and overtake the Laurier Golden Hawks for first place in the OUA standings. 

Western will be riding the momentum from their blowout victory over McMaster this past Saturday, as the Mustangs cruised to a 44-6 win behind the stellar play of quarterback Chris Merchant, who threw for 354 passing yards with no interceptions. Merchant's play was highlighted by a 55-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Harry McMaster to help extend the Mustangs' lead in the second quarter. 

Heading into this week, it will have been over a year since the Mustangs have faced the Lions, as Western took on York in their first game of the season last year, ultimately walking away with a 66-3 victory to kick off their eventual 12-0 season. 

Brett Hunchak will once again be holding down the quarterback position for the Lions this year for his fourth year with the team. Hunchak was held to 176 passing yards in his matchup against a dominant Mustangs defence last season, throwing two interceptions and no touchdowns in the loss. However, the York defence was strong in their most recent game against the Windsor Lancers, as third year defensive back Jacob Janke led the way for the Lions with nine tackles on the day. 

However, the rushing game, which has been an issue for York so far this season, will once again be challenged against a Western defence which has proven to be dominant at guarding the run this season. Hunchak, who was forced into two interceptions against the Lancers in their previous game, will be hoping to avoid falling into similar mistakes against a Western backfield spearheaded by Daniel Valente, who picked off two passes in Western's win over McMaster. 

Overall, Western's second home game of the season against York will hopefully prove to be an opportunity to move up in the competitive OUA standings while maintaining their undefeated record. 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.