Windsor, ON - A thirty-one point second half powered the Mustangs to a 44-37 win over Windsor on Saturday.
Western's offence produced chunk plays that helped shape the game's pace, including a 55-yard gain early and Jack Kelly's 68-yard run in the third quarter. Those plays fit a broader offensive profile in which the Mustangs threw for 312 yards and rushed for 278. QB Jérôme Rancourt completed 18 passes for 312 yards and three touchdowns, while Kelly finished with 151 rushing yards and a touchdown on six carries.
"I just told them at halftime. I kind of laid out all of our errors and I said we've done all these mistakes and yet we actually have momentum and I told them that I'm not worried at all. I'm not stressed at all, even though we were down 1 score." said Head Coach Michael Faulds. "There was supreme confidence on our sideline that that wasn't Western football for the first half. We weren't perfect in the second half, but we were much better. Windsor's a gritty team coming off a huge win. For us, this being our first real test, our first road game, we'll be able to take this win with us in future games."
GAME RECAP
Western answered Windsor's opening touchdown with a 70-yard drive, highlighted by Rancourt's 55-yard completion to Nik Shewchuk, and Kicker Matteo Pasquini finished it with a 16-yard field goal. Pasquini added a 34-yard field goal on Western's next possession after a holding penalty wiped out a touchdown run. Windsor scored again late in the first quarter, leaving the Mustangs outscored 14-6 in the first quarter.
The Mustangs' main response in the second quarter came late, when Rancourt found Jackson Taylor for an 18-yard touchdown with 1:23 left and Pasquini made the kick after Windsor had put up two field goals.
"It was just a switch release then we switched the routes in the concept that we have there, Jérôme threw a beautiful ball right in the middle. That was really him on that then I just made the play to catch in the end zone." said Taylor of the TD catch.
Western produced 24 points in the third quarter, bookending the quarter with a 27-yard touchdown pass from Rancourt to Shewchuk and Kelly's 68-yard touchdown run with 29 seconds left.
"I just saw as soon as I got it, I pressed the B gap. I saw a great block by my right guard. I hit it through the line. The guy reached his hand out. I chopped his hand. I saw another great block by Emmett Charles and just took it outside of him, kept my eyes on the end zone, and took it to the house." said Kelly.
After Windsor answered early with an 83-yard touchdown pass, the Mustangs responded with Ethan Dolby's 20-yard rushing touchdown and Pasquini's 44-yard field goal. The quarter finished with the Mustangs holding a 24-7 scoring edge in the third quarter.
The Mustangs answered Windsor's fourth-quarter field goal with a nine-play drive that ended on Rancourt's 4-yard touchdown pass to Emmett Charles with 1:39 left, followed by Pasquini's kick. Dolby helped keep the drive moving with a 27-yard run on second-and-25 and later added a 13-yard carry to the Windsor 9. Windsor scored on a late 24-yard touchdown pass with 16 seconds remaining, and Western ran out the clock after the ensuing kickoff.
"We just have a stable of players at all positions, right? We're going to try to limit mistakes as best we can. Jack (Kelly) had some huge runs today. How about Dolby's 2nd and forever, where he converted the 1st down. Contributions had by all for the 2nd week in a row." said Faulds.
TOP PERFORMERS
QB Jérôme Rancourt
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- 18-for-32 passing for 312 yards
- 3 touchdown passes
- 30 rushing yards
RB Jack Kelly
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- 151 rushing yards on 6 carries
- 1 rushing touchdown
WR Jackson Taylor
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- 8 receptions
- 140 receiving yards
- 1 receiving touchdown
WR Nik Shewchuk
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- 3 receptions
- 89 receiving yards
- 1 receiving touchdown
K Mateo Pasquini
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- 3-for-3 on field goals
- 44-yard long field goal
- 5-for-5 on PAT kicks
NEXT GAME
The Mustangs are back on the road next weekend, this time it's a trip north on the 401 to Toronot to take on the Varsity Blues. Game time is 1:00 pm on Saturday, Sept. 19. Fans can watch all the action on OUA.tv.
