Fifth-year Western Mustang kicker Brian Garrity connected on five field goals as the Mustangs opened their 2024 OUA regular season schedule with a 38-10 win over the Gee Gees at TD Place in Ottawa on Sunday.
Four of those kicks came in the first two quarters and helped a Western offence put points on the board and gain momentum as the game wore on.
The two-headed running back duo of Keon Edwards and Keanu Yazbeck chewed up more than 200 yards rushing for the Mustangs as Edwards recorded 104 yards on 15 carries and Yazbeck went for 103 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries.
Seth Robertson caught five passes for 102 yards and a TD.
Evan Hillock had an inconsistent day throwing the football but came away with 123 yards in the air on 10-for-23 passing and also rushed twice for 19 yards.
Ottawa quarterback Josh Janssen faced a similar fate going 12-for-28 for only 92 yards through the air.
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Janssen was intercepted three times as Jordan Murphy, Chris Cameron-Kogler and Josh Gillam picked off passes.
Western’s Max Nixon and Ryan Barthelson each blocked punts in the first half. Ben Cottrell of the Mustangs grabbed the ball off Barthelson’s block and ran it 31 yards for the first touchdown of the game.
Gee Gees running back Charles Asselin gained 119 yards on the ground for Ottawa.
The afternoon saw a number of injury timeouts: some were due to the heat on the field at TD place where the temperature got to 29 C and the humidity and glare from the turf bumped conditions into the 30s.
The first offensive touchdown of the game didn’t come until there was 1:21 remaining in the third quarter as Western backup quarterback Jerome Rancourt found Mustang receiver Seth Robertson on a 24-yard pass down the left sideline.
That score gave Western a 19-point lead that carried into the fourth quarter.
The Mustang defence came through with a safety in the final 15 minutes.
Yazbeck added Western’s second offensive touchdown on an 11-yard run when he tried to go up the middle only to find no space and then broke to the outside and into the end zone with just over one minute remaining in the game.
The Mustangs will meet the Waterloo Warriors on Sunday, Sept. 1 at 7 p.m., at Western Alumni Stadium in their home opener.
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