LONDON, Ont. - Fourth-year running back Cedric Joseph recorded three touchdowns in Western's 44-6 home-opener victory over the McMaster Marauders on Saturday afternoon in TD Stadium. 

"Overall, I saw a lot of good things out there today," said Mustangs head coach Greg Marshall. "Early in the season and after the way we played in week one, we bounced back today against a really good football team. Last year in week two and week three, we weren't as far ahead as we are this season. We put in a good effort, I thought Chris [Merchant] did a really nice job, and our special teams made some really great plays." 

With the win, the Mustangs improve to 2-0 on the season as they sit second in the OUA early in the season. The Marauders' loss drops them to 1-2 on the year, putting them in seventh place in the OUA standings, as they look to improve next Saturday against the Toronto Varsity Blues. 

Joseph notched his first three touchdowns of the season in the Mustangs' home-opener against the Marauders while racking up 103 yards on 16 attempts. Western quarterback Chris Merchant also had a stellar game, throwing for 354 yards with no interceptions. 

"It felt great to be back for our home-opener," said Merchant. "It's always great to have a big crowd out there and it was fun to have the new students come out and cheer us on. Whenever you can come out to that and play well it's really nice. We always appreciate the support from everybody." 

"It was a long trip out to Ottawa for our first week so it was great to be back home," said Joseph. "I love playing at home. Western-nation always comes out - the band, the cheerleaders, the crowd - it's just always a great atmosphere." 

The Mustangs kicked off to begin the game but offered little ground to the Marauders as McMaster began their offensive drive on the 18-yard line, ultimately forcing a punt on the first series of the game. Western's passing game found success early behind the play of Merchant, as he picked the Marauder defence apart on their first drive of the game while Joseph quickly earned the purple and white a 7-0 lead with his first touchdown of the game. 

The Mustangs continued to break down the Marauder defence throughout the opening frame, as Western's Marc Liegghio chipped in a field goal in their final drive of the quarter, leading to a 10-0 lead for Western heading into the second. 

McMaster gave Western it's first defensive challenge of the game early in the second quarter but would ultimately have to settle for a field goal, cutting the Western lead to 10-3. However, a short punt from McMaster allowed Western to return into scoring position soon after, as Liegghio once again converted the field goal to extend the Mustang lead to 13-3 midway through the second quarter. 

Joseph continued to rack up yardage against McMaster, while Alex Taylor finished off the drive with his first touchdown of the game and extended Western's lead to 20-3. But the Mustangs were not finished scoring in the half, as Merchant connected with Harry McMaster for an incredible 55-yard touchdown as Western headed into halftime with a convincing 27-3 lead. 

McMaster managed to keep the Mustangs off the scoreboard on their first drive of the half, but Western's Daniel Valente quickly earned the Mustangs another chance to score with an interception midway through the quarter. Valente's interception would eventually allow Joseph to punch in his second touchdown of the game as Western extended their lead to 36-3. McMaster once again converted on the field goal attempt on the ensuing drive, but Joseph's third and final touchdown led to the eventual 44-6 victory for the purple and white. 

"McMaster brought a lot of pressure early, but Chris [Merchant] did a good job of getting the ball away quickly, we made some plays early, and it worked out in our favour," said Marshall. But we're going to be playing teams that can do some things even better than McMaster, so we always have to keep working." 

"We're always finding ways to improve our game weekly and make sure that there's some growth after every game," said Merchant. "It helps us match our opponents and we're always looking to get prepared for the next week. We want to be able to play as fast and as smooth as possible." 

The Mustangs will be back in action next Saturday, where they will host the York Lions in what will be there first and only meeting of the regular season. The game is scheduled to kick off at 1:00 P.M. EST and fans can catch the action live on OUA.tv.