The Western Mustangs are moving on.
Western went toe-to-toe in an early offensive shootout and then shut the door in the second half as they defeated the Waterloo Warriors 51-24 in a Yates Cup quarter-final matchup on Saturday afternoon at Western Alumni Stadium in London, Ont.
After the teams combined for 61 first-half points, the Mustangs came out and pitched a shutout defensively in the second half as they kept the Warriors completely off the scoreboard.
Western also won the turnover battle, only turning the ball over once. Waterloo committed seven turnovers on the day.
When the teams met in the regular season, it was the Mustangs who got off to the quick start. Western had a 14-0 lead before the first quarter had reached its halfway point and built from there to lead by 34 at the half and won the game 48-14.
Football outcomes rarely repeat themselves.
The Warriors managed to score early and then a huge punt return led to a field goal and a 10-0 Warrior lead.
Then the turnovers began for the Warriors.
Dan Valente intercepted a pass that went off the hands of a Waterloo receiver and put the Mustangs on the 12-yard line. That led to a Keon Edwards touchdown.
Waterloo fumbled on their very next possession and Western took over at the Warrior 22-yard line. Three plays later, Antonio Valvano was in the end zone.
The Warriors responded with a drive that saw a third down conversion by Waterloo work and finished with a touchdown to go ahead 17-14.
The Mustangs found themselves in new territory, having allowed only six touchdowns all season coming into the game, but they continued to respond.
In fact, Western outscored Waterloo 20-10 through the rest of the opening half and went to the locker room up 37-24.
The second half didn’t feature the offensive shootout that the first half did. The Mustangs put up a wall and kept Waterloo off the scoreboard entirely.
Western scored two more touchdowns the rest of the way. Every TD scored by the Mustangs was scored by a running back.
Brendan Murphy had a big day on defence for Western. He sacked Waterloo quarterback Tre Ford with 49 seconds left in the first half which allowed the Mustangs to take a final shot at the end zone and it connected. Evan Hillock found Antonio Valvano on a corner route for a touchdown right before halftime.
Murphy also made a big play late in the game when he recovered a fumble and nearly returned it for a touchdown. That eventually led to a final Mustang TD and sealed Western’s spot in a Yates Cup semi-final at home on November 13.
They will face the Guelph Gryphons for the second time this year.
The Gryphons were the only team that managed to beat the Mustangs in 2021. Guelph won 23-21 at Alumni Stadium in the second week of the OUA season.