The 2017 OUA season could not come fast enough for the Western Mustang football team. The opening of training camp officially obliterated any lingering stinging from last season.
When the Mustang players stepped back on the turf at TD Stadium in London, it had been 242 days since the Laurier Golden Hawks scored 21 points in the final eight minutes of the 2016 Yates Cup to beat Western on that very field. And if you think a day has gone by without some sort of thought about that game for anyone on the purple and white side, you would be mistaken.
But a new season brings with it new promise and new enthusiasm.
The Mustangs entered last year with a quarterback competition. This year, they have two capable QBs, but a much more defined picture under centre.
Chris Merchant now has an entire season of experience playing football back in Canada, after spending time at the University of Buffalo.
Merchant had the highest passer efficiency rating in the OUA as a rookie. He was given the time to get accustomed to playing in games again and led Western through their biggest games.
He also got a chance to go back home to Calgary in the off-season, not just to spend time with friends and family, but to attend training camp with the CFL’s Stampeders.
“It was a great experience. I was able to learn from one of the best in Bo Levi Mitchell and Andrew Buckley who came out of the CIS a couple of years ago … you are around them a lot and get to know them as people and get to know what makes them successful in the CFL.”
Western head coach, Greg Marshall said all of that is a big bonus coming into 2017.
“Last year we had a veteran offense, but a rookie quarterback and you can only go as fast as that slowest piece and when that piece is your quarterback, you have to revert to how fast he can pick everything up,” he said. “It was a learning process for him, but now he’s on top of the playbook.
“Stevenson Bone has come into camp in great shape, he’s competing well too, so we’re in great shape at that position.”
Marshall admits the Mustang offense may have “a few new wrinkles in it” with the addition of Londoner Steve Snyder, who is set to call the plays on offense after ending a three-year stint as offensive co-ordinator at St. Francis Xavier.
Still, some things never change.
“Everyone around the league thinks we’re going to run the ball and we’re going to run the ball,” Marshall said with a completely straight face.
The biggest holes for Western to fill this season will need some big bodies.
The Mustangs lost Mike Van Praet and Sean Jamieson to graduation on the offensive line, and John Biewald and Rupert Butcher are gone from the defensive line.
“The engine on our offense will be our offensive line and as they go, we’ll go,” Marshall admits. “I am very confident right now that we have a good offensive line.”
Marshall says the D-Line is going to be characterized by substance over size.
“I believe our depth is better this year, so defensive line is going to need to play with a ton of intensity. One of the things I was trying to stress is that we are going to run … We might not have as big a line as other teams, but we are very athletic. We’ve got to keep them fresh … and that means rotating some guys through.”
The big foot of Marc Leggio is back in the kicking game. Leggio was perfect on PATs and had the third-best field goal percentage in the province.
The expectations are back as well.
Western is expected to be in the mix, not just in the OUA, but as one of the better teams in the CIS, and they will be hoping to avoid the feelings the 2016 Yates Cup loss has left them with, by getting back there in 2017, and leaving it with the feeling that winning brings.
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