London, ON – The Mustangs pulled out an absolute thriller in a 45-42 win in quadruple overtime over Queen's to open the 2025 season on Saturday afternoon.

Western was down 16 points with under three minutes remaining in the game and then scored a pair of touchdowns, completed a pair of two-point conversions, and converted on a field goal to push the game to extra time.

In the extra frame, Brian Garrity would kick three field goals, and QB Jérôme Rancourt connected with Seth Robertson to secure the win.



"It feels so good to start (the season) like that, I think it shows our character as a team to stay strong and never give up," said Rancourt, who played most of the last couple of minutes of the game and overtime.

Garrity converted on five field goals in the Mustangs win.

"It was a game with a lot of highs and a lot of lows, and luckily the highs outweighed it, and we just got the job done." said Garrity. "I may have played a game that long in high school or something, but nothing at this level and not in a game-winning situation, so two new experiences."

While the Mustangs celebrated a historic win, the coaching staff say many aspects of the game need to be addressed.

"Lots of things to work on, I thought we were inconsistent, took too many penalties, we should be better than that." said Mustangs Head Coach Greg Marshall "I'm not happy with the way we played, but when it came right down to it, we got the job done,"

GAME RECAP
The Mustangs opened the game with a 13 yards touchdown run from Ethan Dolby that finished off a 14 play drive and gave the Mustangs a 7-0 lead midway through the opening quarter.



"That first touchdown in the first quarter got my nerves up but I'm glad to be named the starter (among running backs)," said Dolby "We should have done better offensively, but you know, good to get that one and move on."

Western would get the only other points of the opening frame on a 42 yd field goal from Brian Garrity to push the Mustangs lead to 10-0.

Queen's responded in the 2^nd quarter scoring a pair of touchdowns and a safety from the Mustangs to take a 16-10 lead into halftime.

The Gaels got the only points of the third quarter as well, adding a touchdown midway through the frame.

Queen's got an early field goal in the 4^th quarter to open up a 26-10 advantage, a lead that remained in place until late in the quarter when the Mustangs started their late game push.

With 2:20 remaining in regulation, Rancourt took the ball in from the 2-yard line to pull the Mustangs to within ten at 26-16. They went for a two point conversion and Dasani McIntosh would take the short pass from Evan Hillock into the endzone and cut the deficit to 26-18.

Just over one minute later, the Mustangs were driving the field, and Hillock hit Brayden Misseri for a 41-yard completion that saw the 5^th-year receiver make a highlight reel catch and put the ball on the Queen's four-yard line. Two plays later, Hillock handed the ball off to Dolby for his second touchdown of the day and brought the score to 26-24.
Western would need to go for another two-point conversion, this time they went to the air and Hillock found Seth Robertson in the endzone to tie the game at 28-28.



Queen's got the ball with just over a minute remaining on the clock. On the third play of the drive, Queen's fumbled the ball on their own 24 yard line and gave Western the ball.

Garrity would convert from 14 yards out with 31 seconds left to take a 29-26 lead.

Queen's responded with a pair of big yard completions to setup a 34 yard field goal that tied the game at 29-29 at the end of regulation.

Both sides scored field goals in the first two overtime periods and then both teams scored touchdown in the third overtime period. Queen's missed a field goal in the fourth overtime, and then the Mustangs got the ball to the 32 yard line and Garrity finished the win to take a 45-42 victory.



"I thought I'd won the game earlier, so it was nice to do it again, but yeah, all credit to the offense for getting me in that spot." said Garrity. "it was just an amazing feeling to see it go through."

NEXT GAME
Western returns to campus on August 31 for the 2025 home opener as the Mustangs take on Guelph. Kickoff is set for 7:00 pm at Western Alumni Stadium. Tickets are on sale now at WesternMustangs.ca/tickets.