UNIVERSITY RUSH DEJA-VU
When the teams met in the second week of the regular season, the Mustangs trampled the Hawks 31-20.
Laurier was the first to score, controlling the first quarter with a touchdown run by quarterback Luke Thompson (London, Ont.) in his first career start. The convert was completed by Chris Mamo (London, Ont.) who would add three more points to the scoreboard with a 27-yard field goal to give the Hawks the 10-0 lead.
The Mustangs came to life in the second quarter scoring two majors. Newest purple running threat John Leckie (Georgetown, Ont.) took the hand-off 12 yards for the score.
With 10:40 on the clock quarterback Michael Faulds (Eden Mills, Ont.), Canada's passing leader with 2,596 yards, put one into the hands of Nick Trevail (London, Ont.) for his first OUA touchdown to give Western their first lead of the game.
Kicker/punter Darryl Wheeler (Hamilton, Ont.) completed both converts for the extra points.
Western led 17-12 leaving the field at the half. This is how it would stay for the third as the next 15 minutes of play were scoreless. The fourth saw two more Mustangs majors. Leckie would scramble in his second of the day, and Eric Willson (LaSalle, Ont.) punched in the last points for the horsemen with both converts contributed by Wheeler.
Thompson's last-ditch effort found Troy Leach (Barrie, Ont.) in the end zone with less than three minutes left in the game. The late points were not enough, leaving the Hawks 11 back of the win.
Mitchell Bosch (Langley, B.C.), Kyle Somerville (Mississauga, Ont.), and Courtney Stephen (Brampton, Ont.) all had five solo tackles for Laurier defence. Giancarlo Rapanaro (Niagara Falls, Ont.) also had five solo tackles and one sack.
Matt Carapella (London, Ont.) was Western's standout defensive threat with seven solo tackles and an interception. Corey McNair (London, Ont.), John Surla (Niagara Falls, Ont.) and Andrew Bain (Sarnia, Ont.) each added six solo tackles.
The Laurier Golden Hawks started the season 1-2, with a first week win over Guelph and two dropped to Western and powerhouse Queen's. The Hawks bounced back winning five-straight to clinch third spot in OUA with a 6-2 final regular season record.
Most recently, the Golden Hawks dominated McMaster in OUA quarter-final action, leaving the Marauders scoreless. The 29-0 shutout was the first Laurier playoff shutout since 1980, and gave the Golden Hawks a second victory over McMaster this season with their 50-31 win on Oct. 11.
Mamo was the Hawks standout scorer. The day's two majors through the air from Thompson were completed by Shamawd Chambers (Markham, Ont.) and Brian Malott (Kitchener, Ont.).
"Laurier and Western. It's playoff time and I don't think there's anything better," Golden Hawks head coach Gary Jeffries said. "I think basically it comes down to mistakes, like it always does with two good teams. You have to execute."
After walking over Laurier in Week 2, the Western Mustangs continued on to be the second most winning Ontario team for the 2008 season. Going 7-1, Western's undefeated season came to an end courtesy of the 8-0 Queen's Gaels.
Seeded second in OUA, the Mustangs come into this game rested from a first round bye. Injured players have had time to heal and the extra week has given head coach Greg Marshall time to prepare his team.
"They are very well coached, but we match up well against them," Marshall said of the Golden Hawks. "We're going into the game confident. We know if we play well, we'll be successful."
Laurier is 3-0 against Western in playoff action since 2000. Join play-by-play announcer Tim Micallef, analyst Mike Morreale and sideline reporters D.J. Bennett and Glenn Schiiler this Saturday to see who will advance to the OUA final to vie for the 101st Yates Cup, presented by Pioneer Petroleums. The Score goes live for kickoff at 1 p.m. and the game is presented by Wilson Sports.
WILFRID LAURIER LEADERS
Passing
Luke Thompson (London, Ont.)
94 completions, 167 attempts, 1,686 yards, 16 touchdowns, 11 interceptions
Rushing
Ryan Lynch (Waterloo, Ont.)
104 attempts, 474 yards, 2 touchdowns
Receiving
Josh Bishop (Mississauga, Ont.)
26 receptions, 537 yards, 5 touchdowns
Defence
Luke Pinder (Kitchener, Ont.)
31 solo tackles
Mitchell Bosch (Langley, B.C.)
31 solo tackles, 1 sack, 2 interceptions
Courtney Stephen (Brampton, Ont.)
29 solo tackles, 4 interceptions
WESTERN LEADERS
Passing
Michael Faulds (Eden Mills, Ont.)
176 completions, 277 attempts, 2,596 yards, 19 touchdowns, 8 interceptions
Rushing
Nathan Riva (LaSalle, Ont.)
61 attempts, 487 yards, 7 touchdowns
Receiving
Jesse Bellamy (Guelph, Ont.)
39 receptions, 686 yards, 6 touchdowns
Defence
John Surla (Niagara Falls, Ont.)
34 solo tackles, 6 sacks, 2 interceptions
Corey McNair (London, Ont.)
33 solo tackles, 1 sack, 2 interceptions
Adrian Kaiser (London, Ont.)
28 solo tackles, 3 sacks, 2 interceptions
– OUA –
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