Mustangs dominate Toronto in home opener
Fifth-year quarterback Donnie Marshall had a good day both on the ground and through the air, earning 279 total yards. Overall Marshall went 12-for-20 for 202 yards and 2 touchdowns, while running 5 times for 77 yards including one for 22 yards and a touchdown.
After outscoring their opponents 116-17 in the first two games, Marshall pointed out the importance of the first two games heading into a tough three weeks facing Queen’s, Windsor, and then McMaster.
“Waterloo was important, and today was important for us. We knew [Toronto] was good, they’re not a bad team, but we came out and dominated them. That’s a good confidence boost heading into Queen’s, into Kingston, where it’s tough to play. It was huge.”
Second-year running back Garret Sanvido ran for over 100 yards for the second straight week rushing for 109 yards on 15 carries. It was also the second consecutive multi-touchdown game for the Vancouver native, who found the end zone twice this week to go along with the three majors he scored against Waterloo on Monday.
While Sanvido led the way for the Mustangs ground game, first-year running back Yannick Harou had another strong game, earning 80 yards rushing and 50 yards on punt returns for 130 yards overall.
Mustangs head coach Greg Marshall was pleased with his team’s efforts, saying that all aspects of the team contributed to the victory.
“We dominated both sides of the line of scrimmage, did a good job on special teams, our offensive line came off the football, and our running backs ran the ball hard. Overall it was a great team win.”
After the Mustangs started things off with a 67 yard touchdown pass to first-year receiver Evan Buchanan to give Western a 6-0 lead less than a minute into the game, the two teams would trade possessions before Lirim Hajrullahu hit a 32-yard field goal to put the Mustangs up by 9.
After that it was all Western as Garret Sanvido found the endzone on a nine-yard rush less than five minutes later for his first of two scores on the day. Hajrullahu immediately followed up with a booming kickoff that sailed out of bounds in the Toronto endzone for a single point.
In the second quarter the Mustangs used a ground attack that would eventually account for 336 yards rushing on the day to put another touchdown on the board, this one again supplied by Garret Sanvido on a three-yard run putting the Mustangs up 24-0 midway through the second quarter.
A few moments later Donnie Marshall led a 10 play, 73-yard drive that culminated in an 18-yard run by the quarterback to move Western 31 points ahead. Hajrullahu would quickly add another three points, hitting a field goal to end the half with the Mustangs up 34-0.
Unfortunately for Toronto the Mustangs came out just as strong in the second half, with Donnie finding his brother Brian on a 25-yard touchdown pass less than five minutes into the second quarter. Again Hajrullahu would send a kick sailing into the Toronto endzone for a single, making it 42-0 Mustangs.
The strong Western defence would again stall Toronto’s drive after only a few plays on the next possession, leading to Western regaining the ball and scoring on a six-yard run from Harou, the first touchdown of his CIS career.
First-year quarterback Will Finch entered the game on the Mustangs next possession, and his second CIS contest got off on a better start than the first, throwing a 21-yard pass to Brian Marshall on his first play, before setting up a drive that ended with another Hajrullahu field goal to open the fourth quarter.
Just over three minutes later Hajrullahu would hit his fourth field goal of the day to put the Mustangs up 55-0. In the dying minutes of the game Tom Marshall recorded his first career CIS touchdown on a one-yard run making sure that all three Marshall brothers hit the endzone on Saturday.
Despite the scoreboard the Varsity Blues didn’t stop until the final whistle, breaking through the tough Western defence with just over a minute remaining as Cody Rossi caught a nine-yard pass from Chris Jugovic to deny Western a shutout and make it a 62-7 final.
The Mustangs return to the road next week, traveling to Kingston to take on the Queen’s Gaels, who are currently ranked sixth in the CIS Top Ten, directly behind Western. Game time is set for 1:00 p.m. in a game that will be televised live across Canada on University Rush on the Score.
Source: Western Sports Info
