The Western Mustang football team has gone undefeated in the OUA yet again.
The Mustangs defeated the Ottawa Gee Gees 32-23 to make it a Happy Homecoming in London at TD Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
The victory stretched Western’s regular season winning streak to 30 games. The Mustangs had already clinched first place and a first round bye through the playoffs.
Western kicker Marc Liegghio hit on six of seven field goal opportunities to set a new mark for field goals in a USports career with 92. Liegghio ended the regular season with just two missed field goals in 2019.
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The Mustang defence held strong throughout the afternoon and sacked Ottawa quarterback Matt Mahler three times. Ottawa’s defence was no picnic for Western, though. They held Mustang quarterback Chris Merchant without a passing touchdown and limited Western to 107 yards rushing.
Merchant and Jonathan Femi-Cole scored rushing touchdowns, banging the ball across the goal line from one yard out. Those majors combined with three field goals from Liegghio had Western ahead 23-7 at halftime.
Ottawa cut into the Western lead with a touchdown, a field goal and a rouge early in the third quarter to get to within six points, but Liegghio converted from 16, 18 and 39 yards out and the Mustangs held on from there.
The fourth quarter wound up scoreless as the Homecoming celebration kicked off.
Players from the 1994 Vanier Cup Championship team, the 1989 Vanier Cup Champions and the 1979 Western team that made it to the Vanier Cup were in attandance.
Western will now wait a week to see who they will meet in a Yates Cup semi-final.
The McMaster Marauders earned the second bye with a 31-14 victory over Waterloo. McMaster and Guelph ended the year with identical 6-2 records, but the Marauders beat the Gryphons to open 2019 so they get the advantage in the tiebreaker.
Ottawa, Waterloo, Carleton and Laurier will play Yates Cup quarter-final matchups next weekend.
Queen’s, U of T, Windsor and York will miss the post-season.
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