WATERLOO, Ont. (October 12, 2012) – In a weekend that sees the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks and the Western Mustangs clash in seven different sports, it will be the two football teams who will be front and centre as the gridiron combatants face off on Saturday afternoon with a berth in the OUA playoffs on the line.
Kickoff between the Hawks and the No. 9 Mustangs is at 1 p.m. at TD Waterhouse Stadium. The game can be viewed live on SSN Canada and listened to online on Radio Laurier.
The Hawks enter the game coming off their third win of the season, a 12-0 shutout victory over the Waterloo Warriors on October 4. While the offence struggled to finish their drives, kicker Ronnie Pfeffer of Kitchener, Ont., stepped up his game, fini shing a perfect 4-for-4 on field goal attempts including connecting on a career-long 44 yarder in the third quarter.
Defensively, Laurier also shone as the Hawks pitched their first shutout since Week 1 of the 2009 season against the Toronto Varsity Blues. Drew Galpin of Kitchener, Ont., continued his outstanding season, recording a career-best 8.5 tackles to lead all players while Felix Odum of Pickering, Ont., and Chris Ackie of Cambridge, Ont., each recorded interceptions in the win.
On the other side of the ball this weekend, the Mustangs enter play having lost three of their last four contests including a 42-39 setback at the hands of the No. 7 Guelph Gryphons. In that game, Western turned the ball over six times, helping Guelph grab a 33-7 lead at halftime. The Mustangs staged a furious second half rally but it came up short as the Gryphons connected on a last-second field goal to earn the victory.
With both teams currently sitting tied for fourth in the OUA standings with a 3-3 record, the winner of Saturday’s game has the chance to clinch a playoff spot. A Laurier victory combined with a Toronto loss will clinch the Golden Hawks a spot in the postseason while the Mustangs simply need a victory to book their ticket to the playoffs. With so much on the line, this fierce rivalry will be kicked up a notch on Saturday.
“It’s always going to be the case that its a big rivalry [game],” said Laurier Head Coach Gary Jeffries before the game. “We’ve been getting together since 1971 since Western came into the league and its always a special game and a big test.”
In order for the Hawks to come out on the winning end, they will need to find a way to shutdown CIS-leading rusher Garret Sanvido of Vancouver, B.C. Sanvido needs just 95 yards to eclipse the 1,000 yard rushing barrier this season but the Hawks do possess the second-best run defence in the OUA, meaning that Saturday’s game could come down to who can win the battle in the trenches.
“Their entire group, the big kids up front, do a great job blocking for him,” said Jeffries about Western’s offence. “We’ve done a good job against the run this year but this will be the biggest challenge by far.”
Offensively, look for the Hawks to continue to mix it up at quarterback as according to Jeffries, both Steve Fantham of London, Ont., and Travis Eman of Brampton, Ont., will play against the Mustangs. With Western having allowed an average of almost 33 points per game over their last three contests, the Mustangs have shown they can be exploited defensively, something that should give both quarterbacks confidence in their ability to execute the gameplan.
NOTES: This will be the 64 th meeting all-time between Laurier and Western…the Mustangs hold the edge coming into the game having won the last six matchups between the two teams…Galpin’s strong season for Laurier on defence sees him ranked tied for third in the conference in tackles with 41…look for Eman to get plenty of chances to run the ball on Saturday as he leads the team in rushing yards after recording 111 against Waterloo last week…the Mustangs will be without their regular starting quarterback as Donnie Marshall of London, Ont., will miss the game with an ankle injury…rookie Will Finch of Burlington, Ont., is expected to start for Western less than two weeks after having his appendix removed
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