LONDON, Ont. - Western quarterback Chris Merchant once again proved integral in leading the Western Mustangs football team to a 76-3 victory over the York Lions on Saturday afternoon in TD Stadium.
Merchant had yet another stellar game for the purple and white at home, throwing for 270 yards and three touchdowns on the day. Running back duo Cedric Joseph and Alex Taylor also dominated against the Lions, scoring a pair of touchdowns each against the Lions' defence. On the other side of the ball, the Mustangs' defence proved once again to be dominant, holding York to just three points while defensive back Bleska Kambamba earned his way on the score sheet with a pick six in the second half.
"I don't see why our defensive potential shouldn't be just as high as last season," said Kambamba. "That's just the Western way. Every year we reload and get our new recruits ready for the season. I don't see why we can't keep this momentum going and get better every week. That's the biggest thing we did last season - every week we got better as a team and got better with our communication. We have that same mentality this year. We get better every week."
"I'm happy with how everybody played pretty much top to bottom," said Mustangs head coach Greg Marshall. "Obviously, there are improvements to be made, but we got a lot of guys into the football game today which is always important. You never know when we're going to need one of our younger guys to step up, so it's good for them to get their reps in when we have a lot of points on the board.
With the win, the Mustangs improve to a perfect 3-0 on the season as they sit atop the OUA standings, edging out the 2-1 Laurier Golden Hawks for first place in the division. The Lions' loss will drop their record to 1-3 on the season, as they look to improve next week against the Ottawa Gee-Gees.
The purple and white received the kickoff to begin the game and found themselves on the 27-yard line to begin the drive. An enormous run from Taylor would allow Merchant to connect with Harry McMaster for the touchdown later in the drive to give Western the early 7-0 lead.
The Mustangs' staunch defence quickly forced the Lions into a turnover on downs on the ensuing drive, setting Joseph up in good position to punch in Western's second touchdown of the game and extend the lead to 14-0 for the purple and white. York would put together a promising drive to end the quarter, giving themselves terrific scoring position with no time remaining on the clock, but a strip from Western's Mackenzie Ferguson would allow the Mustangs to head into the second quarter with a 14-0 lead.
Western and York would trade field goals midway through the second quarter, moving the Mustangs' advantage to 17-3 late in the first half. However, Joseph would find a hole in the Lions' defensive line once again in the first half, breaking free for the 57-yard touchdown and extending the lead to 24-3 for the Mustangs. The Mustangs would add three more touchdowns to their total before the end of the half as they cruised into halftime with a 46-3 lead.
Western picked up right where they left off in the second half, as Kambamba started off the third quarter with a pick six to extend the Mustang lead to 53-3 early in the third quarter. The remainder of the second half was much of the same, as Western's defence carried them to the finish line and the eventual 76-3 victory.
"I thought we did a great job today, all things considered," said McMaster. "Obviously the scoreboard reflects that, but the performance from some of the guys off the sideline. It's great to play with the other guys on offence. Chris and I have better chemistry than ever, so it's great to be able to put points on the board with these guys."
"I said at the beginning of the year, our goal is to get better every week," said Marshall. I told the guys that if we played better than we played last week against McMaster, we'll win. If we play better next week against Waterloo than we did today, then we'll win. We have to clean up a couple little things, everyone has to work on a few things, and that's how we operated last year. We always got better and everyone improved. That's going to be important again this year, because every team is going to be fired up to go against us."
Western will be back in action next Saturday, September 22, where they will take on the Waterloo Warriors in their first meeting of the season on the road in Waterloo, Ont.
