Box Score London, ON – An opening kick-off TD by rookie Roman Campanaro highlighted a 52-21 win for the Mustangs over Carleton Saturday afternoon.
In the inaugural White Out game where the Mustangs and over 5000 fans all wore white, Western put up 21 points in the opening quarter to take a lead that they wouldn't surrender.
"Our special teams did a great job today in a bunch of areas," said Mustangs Head Coach Greg Marshall "I tell our players that special teams involves all of us and at some point, everyone in on a special team role and it can really change the outcome of a game and it really changed the outcome of the game today,"
GAME RECAP
Western would waste no time getting the crowd to its feet. On the opening kick-off, Campanaro caught the ball at his own nine-yard line and immediately made a diagonal run to the west side of the field and then cut back to the middle of the field and was in the clear to the endzone.
"I just didn't want to drop the ball. The first play of the game, in front of the home crowd, it was nerve-wracking," said Campanaro of the TD run "We practiced that potential play this week so if we saw the right look we would be ready, we saw it and practice paid off,"
The freshman receiver is also the son of Quarterback Coach Marcello Campanaro which Marshall said made the play that much more special.
"I've known Roman since he was a little boy, and for his dad to be on the sideline and seeing that play, it was really special,"
On the ensuing kickoff, Seni Adekunle would force Carleton to fumble the ball and Chris Cameron-Kogler picked up the ball at the Carleton 28 yard line to give Western the ball right back.
Two plays later, QB Evan Hillock handed the ball off to Keon Edwards, who took the ball into the endzone and gave Western a 14-0 lead and the game was only 46 seconds old.
Just ahead of the 5-minute mark, the Mustangs running game would strike again when Keanu Yazbeck finished off an eight-play drive with a 4-yard rush for the third TD of the opening quarter, pushing the Mustang lead to 21-0.
Carleton would respond with touchdowns late in the 1
st quarter and then another early in the 2
nd quarter to cut the Western lead to 21-14.
The Mustangs would respond ahead of the five-minute mark when Hillock connected with WR Seth Robertson on a 55-yard catch and run that would give Western a 14-point lead.
After a last-second field goal from Western's Brian Garrity the Mustangs would take a 31-14 lead into halftime.
The third quarter would see Edwards rush for a pair of touchdowns, including a 10-yard run and a 2-yard run, which saw Western hold a 45-14 lead at the end of 3 quarters.
"I was given the right opportunities and the right time out there today, I don't really chase after them (multi-touchdown games), if it comes, it comes, and my number got called today, and I couldn't be happier to help out the however I can," said Edwards of his play on the day.
The Mustangs offence would be rounded out just over five minutes into the 4
th quarter when Hillock & Robertson would connect for their second TD of the game, this time a 39-yard completion.
KEY STATS
Total Offense – 441 yards (241 yds passing & 206 yds rushing)
QB Evan Hillock - 16 for 23 with 241 yards and 2 TDs
RB Keon Edwards - 15 rushes for 74 yards and 3 TDs
WR Seth Robertson - 4 receptions for 119 yards and 2 TDs
WR Roman Campanaro - 4 kickoff returns for 169 yards and 1 TD
DB Jacob Saunders - 1 INT & 1.5 tackles
DB Jackson Findlay - 5.5 tackles
NEXT GAME
In a game that many had circled when the 2024 schedule was released, Western goes on the road to Laurier next weekend in a rematch of last years Yates Cup final.
"It's definitely a big game and could very well determine who might get the first-round bye in the playoffs at the end of the season, which is big," said Marshall of facing the Golden Hawks "That being said, it's not the biggest game of the year and in order to do what we want we will likely have to beat them again sometime down the road so it'll be a good test for us,"
Kickoff is set for 1:00 PM on Saturday, September 14. Fans can watch the action on OUA.tv.
