The Western Mustangs ended the 2022 regular season with a 38-18 win over the Gee Gees in Ottawa, Ont., on Saturday afternoon.
The victory gave Western a perfect 8-0 regular season.
The Mustangs have just one loss outside the playoffs going back to 2017. It came against Guelph in the shortened 2021 season.
“When you play football at the end of the season or in the playoffs, you need to be able to do two things,” said Western head coach Greg Marshall. “You need to be able to stop the run and you need to be able to run the football.”
The Mustangs did exactly that against Ottawa. Keon Edwards passed the 1,000-yard mark for the year with 133 yards on 22 carries.
Edouard Wanadi gained 105 yards on 15 carries and Troy Thompson scored his first career OUA touchdown with a one-yard run late in the fourth quarter.
Western limited the OUA’s leading rusher, J.P. Cimankinda, to just 47 yards on 15 attempts. Cimankinda did get into the end zone twice for both of the Gee Gees touchdowns.
The Mustangs did not get through the game unscathed as second-year starting quarterback Evan Hillock took a hit in the first quarter and left the game. He did not return but appeared to be held out for precautionary reasons.
Jackson White came in to start the second quarter and threw for 196 yards and two touchdowns.
One of those TDs went to Savaughn Magnaye-Jones, who led Western with 88 yards receiving on just four catches.
Mustang kicker Brian Garrity went 3-for-3 on field goals.
Western has earned the only available bye in the OUA and will face the lowest remaining seed in a Yates Cup semi-final on Saturday, Nov. 5, at Western Alumni Stadium.
The Mustangs will have home-field advantage for as far as they go in the postseason. The Mitchell Bowl national semi-final will be hosted by the Yates Cup champion. Should Western return to the Vanier Cup, it will be played in London, Ont., on Nov. 26, 2022.
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