Western falls to McMaster in Yates Cup
The McMaster Marauders football
team stunned the Western
Mustangs in the 104th Yates Cup on
November 12. The team from
Hamilton did not just defeat the
Mustangs at TD Waterhouse
Stadium; they blew them out, winning
by a final score of 41-19.
Although Western had home field advantage, a large number of the 6,500 fans in attendance were supporting the road team. McMaster's dominance in the game gave their fans much more to cheer about and as The Score's Glenn Shiller said during the trophy presentation, "At times it was hard to tell if the game was being played in London or Hamilton."
Donnie Marshall made his return as Western's quarterback. Marshall had been out since suffering a high ankle sprain on October 1. It was quite clear the Mustangs fourth-year QB was still affected by the injury, rushing the ball for only 20 yards on six carries. Before getting injured, Marshall was averaging 75 rushing yards per game. He added 187 yards through the air, completing 14 of his 27 passes, throwing one TD pass, along with one interception.
Once again, it was Tyler Varga leading the UWO offence, rushing for 154 yards on 30 carries, scoring one TD.
The MVP of the game was McMaster quarterback Kyle Quinlan. Quinlan's slow start had his team trailing 3-0 at the end of the first quarter. From the second quarter on, he led his team to score 34 unanswered points. He completed 16 of 24 passes for 275 yards, four TDs and no interceptions. The MVP also ran the ball for 103 yards on 10 carries.
The story of the game was Western's inability to capitalize on their first-half scoring chances. Western failed to convert two short field goals in the first quarter. Also, in the second, they were down 10-3 and had two great chances to tie the game. They had the ball on the three-yard line but were stopped on all three attempts to run the ball into the end zone and turned the ball over on downs. Just minutes later they had the ball on the 16-yard line before turning the ball over again, this time by throwing an interception to Joey Cupido.
Western really struggled offensively and defensively in the second half, getting outscored 31-7 before adding a meaningless touchdown at the end of the game.
It was the final game of at least six Mustangs players' careers, most notably punter Darryl Wheeler and former Laurier standout QB Ian Noble. Fourth-year players Donnie Marshall and Nathan Riva will have the option to return for a final shot at a Vanier Cup.
Although Western may have not lived up to expectations this year, fans should be really excited about the upcoming years and what will likely be known as the Tyler Varga era.
McMaster advanced to play Acadia in the Uteck Bowl, which was played on November 18 in Moncton, N.B. The winners of that game will play in the Vanier Cup on November 25, which will be played at BC Place in Vancouver. The game will be broadcast live on TSN at 9 p.m.
Although Western had home field advantage, a large number of the 6,500 fans in attendance were supporting the road team. McMaster's dominance in the game gave their fans much more to cheer about and as The Score's Glenn Shiller said during the trophy presentation, "At times it was hard to tell if the game was being played in London or Hamilton."
Donnie Marshall made his return as Western's quarterback. Marshall had been out since suffering a high ankle sprain on October 1. It was quite clear the Mustangs fourth-year QB was still affected by the injury, rushing the ball for only 20 yards on six carries. Before getting injured, Marshall was averaging 75 rushing yards per game. He added 187 yards through the air, completing 14 of his 27 passes, throwing one TD pass, along with one interception.
Once again, it was Tyler Varga leading the UWO offence, rushing for 154 yards on 30 carries, scoring one TD.
The MVP of the game was McMaster quarterback Kyle Quinlan. Quinlan's slow start had his team trailing 3-0 at the end of the first quarter. From the second quarter on, he led his team to score 34 unanswered points. He completed 16 of 24 passes for 275 yards, four TDs and no interceptions. The MVP also ran the ball for 103 yards on 10 carries.
The story of the game was Western's inability to capitalize on their first-half scoring chances. Western failed to convert two short field goals in the first quarter. Also, in the second, they were down 10-3 and had two great chances to tie the game. They had the ball on the three-yard line but were stopped on all three attempts to run the ball into the end zone and turned the ball over on downs. Just minutes later they had the ball on the 16-yard line before turning the ball over again, this time by throwing an interception to Joey Cupido.
Western really struggled offensively and defensively in the second half, getting outscored 31-7 before adding a meaningless touchdown at the end of the game.
It was the final game of at least six Mustangs players' careers, most notably punter Darryl Wheeler and former Laurier standout QB Ian Noble. Fourth-year players Donnie Marshall and Nathan Riva will have the option to return for a final shot at a Vanier Cup.
Although Western may have not lived up to expectations this year, fans should be really excited about the upcoming years and what will likely be known as the Tyler Varga era.
McMaster advanced to play Acadia in the Uteck Bowl, which was played on November 18 in Moncton, N.B. The winners of that game will play in the Vanier Cup on November 25, which will be played at BC Place in Vancouver. The game will be broadcast live on TSN at 9 p.m.
