London, ON – The 2022 Football season got off to a strong start for the Mustangs as they played host to the Guelph Gryphons in their season opener Saturday afternoon at Western Alumni Stadium, securing an eventual 34-11 win on their quest to defend the Vanier Cup.
After securing their eighth Vanier Cup championship cup last winter, Western Alumni Stadium bloomed with purple and white as chants echoed sounds of support as the champions were announced onto the newly named Haylor-Semotiuk Memorial Field.
Prior to the game, a ceremony was held as it was announced the field inside Western Alumni Stadium would now be named the Haylor-Semotiuk Memorial Field in honour of the Mustangs Legendary coaches who passed away in January.
"Not too much had to be said. We had a conversation yesterday, everybody had it in the back of their mind and it really sparked us today," said Griffin Campbell.
"This was something very important to me, I pushed hard," added head coach Greg Marshall. "It's been an emotional weekend."
With the extra boost, the Mustangs took to the field and turned what seemed to be a slow offensive start into a convincing win over Guelph, the only team to defeat the Mustangs last season. An impressive second-half showing would lead the way in the eventual victory in which they held the visitors to zero touchdowns.
Keon Edwards led the way with 118 rushing yards and two touchdowns, while both Edouard Wanadi and Savaughn Magnaye-Jones had a touchdown each.
In his first season as a starter, quarterback Evan Hillock finished the game with 155 passing yards, while kicker Brian Garrity took on double duty, a decision made as a result of his consistency in training.
Defensive back Daniel Valente Jr. finished the game with three interceptions.
A fumble on the first play of the game set the tone for the first quarter, which was characterized by an unexpected stagnant offense on both sides, as quarterback Evan Hillock and his receivers worked to get in synch.
"Evan throws the ball well," said Marshall on his quarterback. "It's all part of the nervous energy of starting a game."
Despite the loss of some important players, the Mustang defense was consistently strong throughout the game and helped keep the game scoreless well into the second quarter, shutting down any questions of doubt.
"We made a lot of mistakes but we didn't break," said Valente Jr. "I knew the offense would get going, and eventually it started to come and they got those longer drives, but we just had to be patient. They finished the job."
"I thought our defense set a tone," added Marshall. "They mixed it up, brought the pressure when they needed to, and they put our offense in a good position."
The defense managed to hold a strong Guelph side to no touchdowns, which came down to neutralizing their threat.
"We shut down their top guy, that was our goal," added Valente Jr.
Despite the lack of touchdowns, Guelph would secure the first lead of the game with 6:32 remaining in the half, as the visitors put the ball through the uprights to get on the scoreboard.
It didn't take long for Western to respond, as Wanadi got the ball into the red zone which then resulted in a touchdown by Edwards, his first of the season, from a hand-off from Hillock.
The first of three interceptions for Valente Jr. would come shortly after, which would eventually result in Garrity scoring his first field goal of the new season.
"The quarterback went one way and then he threw it up, and I ran," said Valente Jr. on his interception.
With seconds remaining in the half, a 57-yard field goal attempt for the Gryphons turned into a 42-yard field goal following a Mustangs penalty, closing out the half for a close 10-6 lead.
After an exchange of field goals marked the start of the second half, the Mustangs offense really began to take charge.
"It just took a quarter or two to get comfortable," said Campbell. "The pressure gets to people, and we took control. We told everyone to take a deep breath, we know how to play and what we are capable of, we just got to execute."
"Sometimes at the beginning of the season without exhibition games it takes the offense a little bit of time to find a groove," added Marshall. "We eventually got our legs underneath us and made plays when we needed to finish the game off."
Edwards found a hole and put forth a terrific run to put the reigning Vanier Champs at Guelph's 27-yard line, which would eventually see their second touchdown of the game as Griffin Campbell produced a highlight reel one-handed catch off of a Hillock throw.
"I'll probably watch the [replay] once, but then it's onto week two," said Campbell on his catch.
The credit however, he gave to his quarterback.
"I got to give it to Evan, that ball was perfect," said the London native. "He threw it right on the money. It was more Evan than me."
Valente Jr.'s second interception of the game, coming off of a deep throw from the visiting Gryphons, would close out the third quarter, as Western remained in the driver's seat.
"One [interception]'s not good enough, I wanted another one," said Valente Jr. "That's just who I am."
Despite conceding a safety to open the fourth, defensive back Robert Panabaker would force another Gryphon turnover, which the purple and white made sure to take advantage of as they found their groove and looked to extend their lead.
Savaughn Magnaye-Jones would then secure his first touchdown of the season as he lost cover and found his way into the endzone.
Another big run from Wanadi would set up the final Mustangs touchdown, at the hands of Edwards yet again.
Valente Jr. would finish off the game with his third interception, as the clock wound down and Western walked away with a final 34-11 victory.
"I think that was my first time getting three interceptions in a game at any level, so it was pretty cool," said Valente Jr.
"Guelph's a good team," added Marshall on his team's victory. "But as we feel our way through we have to focus on what we do, and get better each week."
And while a potential championship repeat on home soil lingers in the mind of the players, the sole focus shifts to their next opponent.
"The [Vanier] is the main goal, but it's the long-term goal," said Valente Jr. "Short term is beating Laurier next week, we can't go too far ahead."
"Other than the slow start we are happy with the outcome, but it's time to get better," concluded Campbell.
The purple and white hit the road for their second game of the season next weekend as they travel to Waterloo to face the Laurier Golden Hawks at 7pm on Saturday, September 3. The action will be available to watch on OUA.tv
