The history between the Western Mustangs and the Queen’s Gaels stretches back far enough that some of it might have been written on parchment paper.
Despite being separated by a four-and-a-half-hour drive, the teams have been football rivals for decades.
On Saturday they played a classic in Kingston as the Mustangs ran their unbeaten record to 5-0 with a 26-23 victory.
Tied 11-11 at halftime, the Gaels jumped ahead by nine early in the second half and led by 11 with under nine minutes to go in the game, only to have the Mustangs come galloping back.
A 20-yard touchdown run by Alex Taylor and then a 12-yard run by Mustang quarterback Chris Merchant with 2:49 to go on the clock got the job done and prolonged Western’s perfect record.
The Mustangs have not lost a game since the 2017 Yates Cup. They have not lost a regular season game since September 4, 2016 at Carleton. That streak sits at 19 consecutive victories.
Western used their ground game to wear out the Gaels defenders, eventually putting up 222 yards on the day. 113 of those yards belonged to Cedric Joseph, who has racked up the second-most rushing yards this season in the OUA, trailing only Levondre Gordon of the Laurier Golden Hawks.
Alex Taylor ran for 82 yards for Western and both Taylor and Joseph reached the end zone for a touchdown.
Merchant went 21 of 34 for 280 yards and while he didn’t throw for a TD, Merchant did have some long throws that gained big yards for the Mustangs, including a 49-yard pass-and-run play to Malik Besseghieur. Merchant spread the ball around to eight different receivers and rushed for 27 yards. His last run resulted in the winning score.
Defensively, Chris Ellis sacked Queen’s quarterback Nate Hobbs twice and Western held a bend-but-don’t-break approach, as Hobbs threw for 361 yards on the day, but did not pass for a touchdown.
The Mustangs will play their first home game in three weeks on Thursday at 7:00 p.m. when they host the Windsor Lancers at TD Stadium. Western will go on the road one final time the following week as they visit the Ottawa Gee Gees. They will complete the regular season when they host the Laurier Golden Hawks on Saturday, Oct. 20 at 1:00 p.m.
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