Box Score London, ON – The Mustangs hosted the 114
th Yates Cup Saturday afternoon at Western Alumni Stadium, where they took home their second trophy in as many years with a 44-16 victory over Queen's.
This edition of the OUA Championship was a rematch of last years, which saw the Mustangs blank Queen's in Kingston 29-0 en route to their eventual Vanier victory.
The Mustangs and the Gaels faced off earlier in the season, with Western winning 35-11 on home turf, as they looked to replicate that victory in do-or-die action yet again.
Western finished top of the OUA and National standings with an 8-0 regular season record, before topping Laurier last week to set up their return to the Yates Cup. Queen's finished the season 7-1, with their only loss coming against the 'Stangs, before beating both the Varsity Blues and Gee-Gees to book their ticket to Saturday's championship.
Despite a slow first half, the Mustangs managed to get out with a small lead before putting up 17 points in the third quarter on their way to the Ontario championship.
Quarterback Evan Hillock was 10 for 14 with 222 yards and 3 touchdowns. Running back Keon Edwards had 24 carries for 269 yards and 1 touchdown, followed by Keanu Yazbeck with 76 yards on 7 carries with 2 touchdowns. Seth Robertson had 3 receptions for 86 yards and 1 touchdown.
"This was a big game," said head coach Greg Marshall. "We start the season and know what our end goal is, but you can't get there without winning the Ontario championship and winning it is still huge. We know we have a couple more weeks and we are going to be ready, but we are going to enjoy this one tonight."
Marshall was awarded his 8
th OUA Coach of the Year this past Thursday at the OUA Football Awards. Keon Edwards and Daniel Valente Jr. rounded out the major award winners for the Mustangs, taking home OUA MVP and Outstanding Stand-Up Defensive Player of the Year awards respectively. For more details, visit
https://westernmustangs.ca/news/2022/11/10/edwards-named-oua-mvp-valente-top-stand-up-defensive-player-marshall-is-coach-of-the-year-at-oua-football-awards.aspx
Flurries set the scene for another edition of this heated rivalry, with Western having to shake off some first quarter jitters to start.
"The conditions turned," said Marshall. "We came out in warmup and everything was nice and then we came back out and it was snowing. It impacted everything. The ball handling was a bit off, but when it's like that you have to be able to run the football and we ran the football. And that's a credit to our offensive line, our fullbacks, our running backs, our coaches, and our defense that did a good job at stopping their run. It was a great team victory."
With neither team finding success from their first possessions, it was the OUA MVP himself who found space to slip through and set up Western at the 18-yard line.
With Brian Garrity preparing for a field goal, the purple and white's second mistake on the snap prevented the three-points from being won and kept things tied at zero to end the first quarter.
Brendan Murphy registered a sack to fire up his side in the second, as they looked to find some momentum.
Evan Hillock then found Savaughn Magnaye-Jones with a 57-yard deep shot, as Magnaye-Jones then had a free ride into the end-zone for the first touchdown of the game. A botched hold prevented the extra point from being won, as the purple and white settled for a 6-0 lead.
Soon after, Edwards then found space to put up an astounding 81-yard run, as he looked to be home free before being brought down at the 10-yard line. Edwards finished the half with 173 yards on 15 carries.
Keanu Yazbeck rushed into the corner of the end-zone to finish off Edwards' spectacular effort, with the home supporters sending chants and cheers echoing throughout the stadium as the 'Stangs extended their lead to 13-0.
"Yazbeck was ready and played awesome. No surprise there," said Marshall. "No one is surprised on our team that he can rip it off. It was special today. There were a couple holes we didn't even block and he just found it and out ran everybody."
With less than a minute in the half remaining, Queen's put together a nice drive of their own to get themselves on the board and cut the deficit, as the score stood at 13-7 heading into the half.
As the green of the turf became camouflaged by a blanket of snow adding an extra challenge to the game, Western made sure to not allow the Gaels to gain any momentum from how they ended the half.
"Footing was good. I changed my cleats up. But for me honestly it was all good," said Edwards on staying prepared for the snow. "Once it snows you know you're going to have to run the ball a lot and I just had to do what I had to do for the team."
Sitting at third down, Jackson White came in for Hillock and managed to get the first down with the help of the strong offensive line. Edwards then rushed for 20-yards to set up Western at the 32-yard line, which Yazbeck finished off by rushing for his second touchdown of the game.
Garrity added a field goal minutes later to give the 'Stangs their first substantial lead of the game at 23-7 in more familiar Western fashion.
The offensive pressure wouldn't stop there, as Hillock connected with Robertson for 73-yards and another seven points for the purple and white.
"Seth did a great job making a man miss and taking it," said Hillock. "[Justin] Nickson did a great job running off his corner, he runs him off for 60-70 yards and then Seth ran it in. It was a big play, and a big momentum change."
The visitors in yellow started the quarter at 1
st and goal, which they converted for their second touchdown of the afternoon as they tried to spark a comeback.
The Mustangs defense stood strong throughout the quarter, pushing Queen's back and putting up big plays, including stopping them at third down thereby setting up Western's offense in Queen's half.
Griffin Campbell took advantage of this, getting his first touchdown of the game at 44-yards, sending the crowd to their feet in anticipation of the final whistle as the game sat all but officially won at 37-14.
Edwards added another touchdown to his name with less than five minutes to go as the trophy loomed in the periphery.
A team safety would add another two points to Queen's score, but Western would ultimately be crowned Yates Champions, taking home North America's oldest awarded football trophy for the second year in a row, this time on home turf with a final 44-16 score.
"It's a team win," said Edwards. "We aim for trophies but at the end of it it's just the team. We work hard for the guys that are in their last year and do it for them. The whole team [steps up]. We work hard for this moment and now the boys are happy, and everything is good for right now."
"It gets sweeter and it doesn't change," said Marshall on the win. "I didn't sleep last night, I was grouchy in the morning, and I got to work early. I've been in over 30 of these and you think you'd get used to it and you don't. So winning it is just as exciting as 30 years ago."
Topping his 2021 personal best of 237 yards with a 269-yard game, Keon Edwards was awarded game MVP in the post-match ceremony, his second MVP honours of the week.
"He's an every game player," said Marshall on Edwards. "What you see is what you get. Consistency, effort, he runs hard, and he plays physical. He's the type of player that is easy to coach. He's unselfish, always about the team, he practices hard and is a great leader on our team. He leads by example and I am so proud of him."
"Keon is the best back in the country," said Hillock. "And we have the best offensive line in the country that create those holes for him. They both played great today with the weather and we are proud of those guys."
And while the celebrations will undoubtedly continue into the night, tomorrow the focus turns to next weekend where the Mustangs will host the Mitchell Bowl.
"We'll enjoy this one tonight and then back to work," said Hillock. "We got a good team coming from Quebec. Two more to get, but this one feels good for today. We are ready for next week."
"This will be my first time playing a French team so I can't wait," concluded Edwards.
The Mustangs will host the Mitchell Bowl at Western Alumni Stadium next week, taking on Laval with a berth to the Vanier on the line, with kick-off set for 3:07pm. Tickets can be purchased at westernmustangs.ca
