London, ON – Marc Liegghio's field goal with no time remaining sealed a come from behind 45-42 Mustangs win over Waterloo Saturday afternoon.
"That's the first one I've ever had (field goal to win a game), we had that one against Carlton last year but they still had a chance to come back and score" said Liegghio "That's the first one with the time running out that would win the game."
Liegghio had a pair of field goals in the final moments of the game, one with 22 seconds left to tie the game and then another with no time left of the board to take the win for the Mustangs.
"It was good, Legs is pretty competitive" said Mustangs Head Coach Greg Marshall "He missed that one earlier but came through in the end when we needed him to make them."
RECAP
Both teams came out aggressive in this one, but Waterloo struck first. Dion Pellerin punched in a 1-yard run with under 5 minutes to go in the 1
st quarter.
After a Marc Liegghio field goal put the Mustangs on the board at the end of the first quarter, it would take until the 4:32 mark of the 2nd quarter for the Mustangs to get their first major of the game. Chris Merchant would keep the ball himself and run it in from the 3-yard line to take the lead 10-7.
"That was a gutsy effort by Merch" said Marshall
The last two and half minutes of the half were busy on the score sheet. Waterloo picked the ball off at 2:27 and took the ball all the way back for a 91-yard TD.
The Mustangs responded quickly when Malik Besseghieur caught a 52-yard throw from Merchant and took it in for the score, Western would regain the lead at 17-14.
On their next possession, Merchant would find Brett Ellerman on a 37-yard completion and take a 24-14 into the dressing room at half time.
"I've got some speed, I've got some guys that will go and make a tough catch in a tight window" said Merchant of his receivers "I know I can throw it up there and trust them to make a play and they did just that for me today."
Waterloo came out with an immediate answer, scoring a 5 yard run from Dion Pellerin at 9:22 of the 3
rd.
Western would respond at the 5:00 minute mark when Merchant would connect with Ellerman for the second time on the day, this time for 18 yards and take the Mustangs lead to 31-21.
After Waterloo scored to pull within 4 points, they seemed to gain additional confidence as Trey Ford would make a series of extended runs down the field with just over 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter and finished with a Pellerin 5-yard run. Waterloo would re-take the lead at 35-32.
Each team would trade the lead again in the fourth quarter. Western's Jonathan Femi-Cole had a 1-yard TD run to move the score to 39-35 but Waterloo's Ford would then make a series of solid running plays finishing with a 1-yard TD run of his own to regain the lead at 42-39.
With time running out, Western would drive the ball into field goal range and Liegghio would drill the 15-yard kick to tie the game at 42.
After the warriors took the ball at their own 25-yard line, Western's Tony Rossi would strip the ball from Waterloo's Pellerin and setup and opportunity for the Mustangs to kick a last second field goal to win.
With only one second left on the clock, Liegghio would step up and drill the 27 yard kick to end the game.
The Mustangs move to 7-0 on the season with the win. Waterloo is now 4-2.
WESTERN STATS
QB Chris Merchant – 21 completions for 351 yards and 3 touchdowns. 13 carries for 79 yards and 1 touchdown.
RB Trey Humes – 18 carries for 109 yards
WR Brett Ellerman – 9 catches for 178 yards and 2 touchdowns
K Marc Liegghio – 3 for 4 on FG's. 15 total points.
DB Mackenzie Ferguson – 7 tackles (5 solo and 4 assists)
NEXT GAME
Western has the bye next week and their next game is their final of the season, It's the Homecoming game against the Ottawa Gee Gees on October 19
th. Kick-off from TD Stadium is set for 1pm.
Tickets are available at
westernmustangs.ca/tickets
