Waterloo, ON – The 2024 Mustangs season ended on Saturday afternoon after the Laurier Golden Hawks took a 51-31 win in the 116
th Yates Cup.
Battling the top team in the OUA proved to be too much for the Mustangs, who posted 511 yards of total offence but Laurier had 599 yards in the win.
"We just didn't have the answers today. We got some momentum here and there, but we needed to be way more consistent," said Mustangs Head Coach Greg Marshall "Full credit and hats off to Laurier, they're a great football team,"
The Mustangs defence was in a tough fight all day long against the Golden Hawks who had 307 yards passing and 298 yards rushing.
"I don't think any of us took this game lightly or our opponent lightly, it just didn't happen to fall our way today," said DB Jackson Findlay "We had chances, we missed tackles and we missed some big plays but that's football sometimes,"
GAME RECAP
The Mustangs got the scoring started just three minutes into the game when RB Keanu Yazbeck broke away with a 62 yard TD rush to give the Mustangs a 7-0 lead.
"Obviously I am happy to contribute today, I had a good game but at the end of the day I wish I could have done more," said Yazbeck
Laurier would respond with the next four scores, all coming on touchdowns through the midway point of the 2
nd quarter and open up a 28-7 lead.
Western would get a late surge in the 2
nd quarter, starting with QB Evan Hillock connected with Mohsen Jamal on a 7-yard connection with just under three minutes left in the half, cutting the Laurier lead to 28-14.
Just over a minute later, Yazbeck would get the ground game going again when he took the ball in from 14 yards out and made it a one-score game at halftime.
While both teams looked to make adjustments at halftime, Laurier made an impact to start the 3
rd quarter, scoring two touchdowns in the first half of the quarter, taking a 42-21 lead.
Both sides traded field goals in the rest of the 3
rd quarter and the score was 45-24 going into the 4
th quarter.
In the final frame of regulation, the Mustangs refused to quit. This was on full display when Hillock would connect with Brayden Misseri for a 10 yard TD catch that required Misseri to make an acrobatic jumping catch.
"It's definitely hard, it would be a lot easier for me if I didn't have to walk into that room and see how disappointed those kids are, they worked so hard" said Marshall of the result of the game "They put a lot of work in over a four month period, it's a learning experience for them, but they will learn after a few days that it's just a game, you win some, you lose some,"
KEY STATS
RB Keanu Yazbeck – 9 rushes for 124 yards & 2 TDs
QB Evan Hillock – 18 for 29 for 323 yards and 2 TDs
REC Brayden Misseri – 5 receptions for 97 yards & 1 TD
REC Seth Robertson – 4 receptions for 97 yards
DL Soren Hallschmid – 1 Interception & 1 tackle
The loss brings the 2024 Mustangs Football season to a close but we thank our student-athletes, coaches, staff and supporters for a great year. We look forward to seeing you again in the fall of 2025.
