London, ON – The Mustangs spread out their offensive threats and powered their way to a 39-14 win over Queen's in front of a crowd of over 13,000 fans for Homecoming 2024 on Saturday afternoon.
"We knew Queen's was going to come and really run the football, our guys did a great job, the key to our game was we needed to run the ball and we've gotta stop the run," said Mustangs Head Coach Greg Marshall "We sort of treated it like a playoff game because we knew this was a big one and I think there were lots of good things we did out there,"
The Mustangs ran for 197 yards while also passing for 264 yards in the win. Western also limited Queen's to 181 yards of total offence.
"I've been here for 4 years now and it's one of the big thing you learn is that you need to do your job and stop the run especially and we did a great job of that today," said DL Max Von Muehldorfer "This was a great momentum swing for us mentally and also for team morale, especially going against Queen's, and it also means I remain undefeated against them in my career,"
GAME RECAP
The game got off to a slow start with Western getting the only points of the opening quarter off a high snap that ended up needing to be kicked through the end zone by Queen's and gave Western a 2-0 lead after the 1
st quarter.
The Mustangs offence would get things moving in the 2
nd quarter, after QB Evan Hillock connected with WR Dasani MacIntosh for a 52-yard catch and run, backup QB Jérôme Rancourt would step in and take the ball in from the 1-yard line to give Western their first TD of the day and give Western an 11-0 lead.
Later in the frame, 5
th year RB Keon Edwards would take the ball and power his way through the Queen's defence, taking the ball in from the 8-yard line for the score and give Western a 19-0 lead late in the 2
nd quarter.
Queen's would respond before the half, with a 29-yard completion with 11 seconds left and cut Westerns lead to 20-13 at halftime.
In the third quarter Western would get a Brian Garrity Field Goal, his second of the day and then with 33 seconds left Hillock would connect with WR Seth Robertson who made a tight cut in the endzone to make the reception and push the Mustangs lead to 32-13.
The Mustangs would round out their scoring on the day midway through the 4
th quarter when RB Keanu Yazbeck got took a handoff and ran through a pack of Queen's defenders, somehow staying on his feet and found a way into the endzone.
"I made a cut inside, the play was supposed to go outside but the spot wasn't there so I just put my head down and tried to drive my feet and the next thing I knew I was in the endzone," said Yazbeck "Honestly in that situation I think your instincts just kind of take over, it was really just a blur and I had no idea how it happened until I saw it on the iPad after, but I was in the endzone and very happy to be there,"
Queen's would add a late touchdown that cut the score to 39-14 but it was far too late.
It was the third consecutive game that the team had a capacity crowd, including a packed east side stands with a massive student section, as Western hosted the annual Student Fan Festival.
"The support has been amazing this year, especially seeing that student section coming out and enjoying our games, even with the overcast weather today they were loud," said von Muehldorfer "It's an awesome atmosphere, especially when it's homecoming,"
KEY MUSTANGS STATS
QB Evan Hillock – 18 for 25 with 264 yards & 1 TD
RB Keanu Yazbeck – 8 rushes for 72 yards & 1 TD
RB Keon Edwards – 14 rushes for 69 yards & 1 TD
WR Seth Robertson – 4 receptions for 46 yards & 1 TD
WR Mohsen Jamal – 4 receptions for 63 yards
QB Jérôme Rancourt – 4 rushes for 15 yards & 1 TD
LB Max Nixon – 4.5 tackles & 1 sack
DL Conner Franzisi – 3 tackles & 1 sack
NEXT GAME
The next two games for the Mustangs are on the road, starting next Saturday afternoon with a trip to Hamilton to take on McMaster. Kickoff is set for 1:00 pm.
"With Toronto & McMaster coming up, we can't take them too lightly," said von Muehldorfer "McMaster has a great quarterback who is a threat down the field and they've got a pretty good offensive line as well so we'll need to get into the film next week to see how we can attack them,"
Fans can watch the action on OUA.tv, the next Mustangs home game isn't until October 19
th for the final game of the regular season. Buy your tickets today at
WesternMustangs.ca/tickets.
