London, ON – The Mustangs rode a roller coaster of emotions in a 33-30 win over the Laurier Golden Hawks on Saturday afternoon to secure 1st place in the OUA standings and a first round bye in the upcoming playoffs.
"It was a real physical game that's for sure, especially after that 3
rd quarter I started getting flashbacks of 2016 again," Mustangs Head Coach Greg Marshall said post-game referring to the Laurier comeback in the Yates Cup when Western lost in shocking fashion "Defence came up strong with a few stops there that we needed and Jerome (Rancourt) threw a great ball there to get us the lead at the end,"
Western had all the momentum in the first half of the game including a short-yardage touchdown run from Rancourt & a 21-yard TD reception from QB Evan Hillock to Brayden Misseri to give Western the early pressure on Laurier.
The highlight of the half was a 68-yard punt return for a touchdown coming later in the 2nd quarter. Daniel Kubongo, who has been a rising star in the Mustangs special teams unit, showed his IQ and skills for his second punt return for a TD this season.
All told, The Mustangs held the 27-0 lead at halftime which was a bit of a surprise given how closely matched the two clubs were coming into the game.
Coming out of the break the Laurier Golden Hawks looked like a different team as they made the needed adjustments and came out firing on all cylinders and scored three touchdowns on offence and also blocked a Western punt and returned it for a TD. After being down 27 points at half time, Laurier took a 28-27 lead at the 4:34 mark of the 3rd quarter.
The Mustangs defence locked in after the 3rd quarter and knew they couldn't give any more opportunities to the Golden Hawks.
"We're a very solid team on the defensive side of the ball and we showed that today," said Mustangs LB Lourenz Bowers-Kane "We know a lot of teams look at us and think we can't get pressure on the opposition team and we wanted to prove to everyone that they're wrong, that we're a strong defence and we will bring it."
With just over five minutes to go in the 4th quarter, Mustangs QB Evan Hillock took a hard hit when scrambling on a play and left the game and didn't return. His status remained unknown after the game. Rancourt had to take over for the rest of the game.
Rancourt came in clutch with just over two minutes remaining he used his rushing skills to advance the ball 7 yards and also drew an unnecessary roughness penalty which put Western in good field position. On the next play Rancourt would send a perfect pass to Savaughn Magnaye-Jones who took the ball in for the game winning score.
"Coach called a great play, we knew what they were going to do on that play, we had been preparing for it all week and when I saw the look I knew where I was going before the snap," said Rancourt "I was just glad I was able to execute there and get the ball to Savaughn and it paid off,"
While it wasn't exactly the way everyone expected the game to go, the result of it being a close game was.
"If you told me that was the score of the game (before the game), I would think it's probably about right but if you told me that was how the flow of the game was going to go, I wouldn't of believed it," said Marshall "Sometimes those gut checks and resiliency moments comes in handy when you're coming into playoffs.
With the win, the Mustangs secure home-field advantage throughout the OUA playoffs and also get a much needed first-round bye as there are several injuries in the Western dressing room. This is the 2nd season in a row the Mustangs have gone undefeated and the fifth time in the last 6 years.
KEY STATS
QB Evan Hillock – 25 for 36 with 327 yds & 1 TD
QB Jerome Rancourt – 1 for 3 for 25 yards and 1 TD, 4 rushes for 26 yards and 1 TD
REC Daniel Kubongo – 4 punt returns for 147 yards and 1 TD
REC Seth Robertson – 4 receptions for 96 yards
REC Savaughn Magnaye-Jones – 7 receptions for 85 yards and 1 TD
REC Brayden Misseri – 7 receptions for 60 yards and 1 TD
LB Lourenz Bowers-Kane – 7 tackles
DB Chris Cameron-Kogler – 1 INT, .5 Sacks & 4 tackles
NEXT GAME
The Mustangs get next weekend off as they await their opponent in the OUA semi-final game which will be hosted at Western Alumni Field on Saturday, November 4. Fans can look for their tickets at
WesternMustangs.ca/tickets and stay tuned for further details on the game to come at WesternMustangs.ca.
