Sanvido carries Mustangs to opening day win over Warriors
Sanvido’s brother Justin was just as effective through the air with two touchdowns of his own. Justin’s nine catches was good for 161 yards on the day which included a 46-yard catch early in the second quarter.
Western’s starting quarterback Donnie Marshall (London, Ont.) had a stellar game for the purple going 18-for-25 and 281 yards in the air, throwing for two touchdowns.
To start the game Waterloo was sharp on offense with two promising looking drives up field which resulted in a Warrior field goal thanks to a fumble recovery by rookie linebacker Brandon Corelli. Jake Fiorucci was successful on the 38 yarder.
The Mustangs would respond the next drive with Garret Sanvido punching home his first of three touchdowns on a two yard run with only two seconds left in the first quarter.
Western would put up their second major of the game on a 46-yard catch and run by Justin Sanvido to put the Mustangs up 14-3.
Following a fumble by Nick Anapolsky of the black and gold, Western would take advantage as Garret Sanvido would run in his second, this time from 10 yards to put his squad up 21-3.
Comfortably out front, Western would turn to their first year back-up quarterback Will Finch (Burlington, Ont.) deep in their own zone. The move would cost the Mustangs as he would throw up a wild pass that was picked by slotback Christian Mahler and run back for Waterloo’s first major to cut the lead to 21-10.
Before the half was up the dynamic brother duo of Garrett and Justin Sanvido would each add a touchdown of their own to take a commanding 35-10 lead. Garret would run in an easy one yard score while Justin would make a circus catch deep in the end zone.
Western would continue their offensive pressure early in the second as Tyrel Reid (Brampton, Ont.) would score the first Mustang touchdown by someone other than a Sanvido. Reid’s major would come on a seven yard dash.
Late in the third quarter Waterloo’s starting quarterback Brian Chris would go down with what appeared to be an upper body injury giving rookie Jamie Cook a chance at a few snaps. Unfortunately for Cook Western would turn up their defensive pressure, pinning the black and gold deep in their zone for most of the third and fourth quarters.
Waterloo would concede two straight safety’s and Western would add a rouge to take a 47-10 lead late into the final quarter before Reid would add another score, this time on a 11-yard run to secure the 54-10 win for Western.
Waterloo did not roll over and die in the late going of the game as Cook would show off his strong arm finding Anapolsky for a 25-yard strike before adding his own 21-yard run. For head coach, Joe Paopao it will be important to carry over this type of effort into next week.
The Warriors will host the McMaster Marauders as part of Waterloo’s black and gold game on Saturday, September 8. Kickoff is set for 1pm at Warrior Field. Western will host the Toronto Varsity Blues at 1pm.
Source: Waterloo Sports Info