November 12, 2022
Banner Season: Relentless ground game gets Western their 34th Yates Cup in program history
London, Ont. - It was a familiar finish in the final game on the Ontario University Athletic (OUA) football calendar, as the Western Mustangs added a new chapter to their conference history books with another dominant showing in the Yates Cup, defeating the Queen's Gaels 44-16 in the championship's 114th edition.
It took a bit of time for Western to gain some traction offensively, but once they did, the now back-to-back OUA champions never looked back. Neither team could muster any offence in the opening quarter, in fact, as both sides looked to find their footing in the windy and snowy conditions that swept over Western Alumni Stadium on Saturday afternoon. The major gains on offence in that first 15 minutes came on a pair of 15-yard Keon Edwards runs, and while they ultimately didn't amount to any points, it was a sign of things to come the rest of the way.
Queen's looked to capitalize on a big 27-yard catch from Richard Burton to start the second quarter, but their momentum was quickly put to a halt courtesy of a Brendan Murphy sack that sent the Gaels well back in their own territory. On the ensuing punt, Western was finally able to break through for the game's first score, as second-year pivot Evan Hillock connected with the OUA regular season leader in touchdown receptions, Savaughn Magnaye-Jones, for the 57-yard touchdown.
Following the big play through the air, the Mustangs once again turned to the ground game, and deep in their own end, Edwards came through with an 81-yard run down to march Western down the field and set up a 10-yard major from Keanu Yazbeck that extended the home side's lead to 13-0.
Before the half was out, however, a 13-play drive from Queen's had them poised to find the scoreboard prior to the break. A string of first downs, including one on a run from quarterback Alex Vreeken on which he lowered the shoulder to maintain the momentum, helped the Tricolour get the ball down to the two-yard line. And from there, they handed it off to the conference's overall touchdown leader, Anthony Soles, who finished helped send Queen's into the locker room on a high, trailing 13-7.
Unfortunately for the visitors, they were unable to continue their comeback coming out of the break, as the Western offence went to work quickly. And they did so in familiar fashion, turning to their vaunted run game for more magic.
The first big play of the third quarter came on another lengthy run from the OUA most valuable player, and much like their previous scoring drive, it was followed up by a touchdown run from Yazbeck, who ran in his second major of the day from 32 yards out to restore the 13-point lead.
The Mustangs had racked up over 200 yards on the ground by that point, which Edwards continued to add to on the following drive to set up a Brian Garrity field goal that put Western up 23-7.
The big plays kept coming from there, as the purple and white produced yet another 50-plus yard scoring play, this one coming from Seth Robertson. Hillock found the second-year receiver in stride down the middle of the field, and the Cambridge, Ont. product did the rest, running it all the way to the end zone for the 73-yard score.
Another Anthony Soles touchdown in the opening plays of the fourth quarter helped Queen's stop the Western scoring streak, and while they looked to add to their total on an attempted third down conversion shortly after, the Mustangs defence stepped up.
Western stuffed Queen's to force the turnover on downs, and from there, were quick to turn that defence into offence. On the ensuing play, Hillock found Griffin Campbell on the outside, who sliced his way through the attempted tackles and sprinted 44 yards into the end zone to restore the Western cushion and give the all-star pivot his third and final passing touchdown of the day.
Not to be outdone, however, the Mustangs added one more major, and it was who else by Keon Edwards. The most valuable player from the 2021 conference finale put an exclamation point on his second straight Dalt White award winning performance with a determined effort from 11 yards out. He kept his legs moving and refused to go down, and as a result, was able to add a touchdown to his incredible 260 yards rushing on the afternoon.
The Toronto, Ont. local led the relentless rushing attack that combined to produce 321 yards on the ground, including 76 from Yazbeck to go along with his two touchdowns.
Hillock finished with 222 yards in the air on 10-of-14 passing to go along with the three touchdowns, while Robertson led the receiving corps with 86 yards and a score.
Vreeken led the way for the Gaels under centre, finishing with 212 yards through the air to go along with 38 on the ground. Soles chipped in 35 yards to go along with his two majors, while Richard Burton eclipsed the century mark through the air with a game-high 104 yards on seven receptions.
With the win, the Mustangs extend their program best mark of Yates Cup titles to 34 and will now continue their hosting duties next weekend against the winners of the Dunsmore Cup before seeing the Vanier Cup take to Western Alumni Stadium on November 26th.
It took a bit of time for Western to gain some traction offensively, but once they did, the now back-to-back OUA champions never looked back. Neither team could muster any offence in the opening quarter, in fact, as both sides looked to find their footing in the windy and snowy conditions that swept over Western Alumni Stadium on Saturday afternoon. The major gains on offence in that first 15 minutes came on a pair of 15-yard Keon Edwards runs, and while they ultimately didn't amount to any points, it was a sign of things to come the rest of the way.
Queen's looked to capitalize on a big 27-yard catch from Richard Burton to start the second quarter, but their momentum was quickly put to a halt courtesy of a Brendan Murphy sack that sent the Gaels well back in their own territory. On the ensuing punt, Western was finally able to break through for the game's first score, as second-year pivot Evan Hillock connected with the OUA regular season leader in touchdown receptions, Savaughn Magnaye-Jones, for the 57-yard touchdown.
Following the big play through the air, the Mustangs once again turned to the ground game, and deep in their own end, Edwards came through with an 81-yard run down to march Western down the field and set up a 10-yard major from Keanu Yazbeck that extended the home side's lead to 13-0.
Before the half was out, however, a 13-play drive from Queen's had them poised to find the scoreboard prior to the break. A string of first downs, including one on a run from quarterback Alex Vreeken on which he lowered the shoulder to maintain the momentum, helped the Tricolour get the ball down to the two-yard line. And from there, they handed it off to the conference's overall touchdown leader, Anthony Soles, who finished helped send Queen's into the locker room on a high, trailing 13-7.
Unfortunately for the visitors, they were unable to continue their comeback coming out of the break, as the Western offence went to work quickly. And they did so in familiar fashion, turning to their vaunted run game for more magic.
The first big play of the third quarter came on another lengthy run from the OUA most valuable player, and much like their previous scoring drive, it was followed up by a touchdown run from Yazbeck, who ran in his second major of the day from 32 yards out to restore the 13-point lead.
The Mustangs had racked up over 200 yards on the ground by that point, which Edwards continued to add to on the following drive to set up a Brian Garrity field goal that put Western up 23-7.
The big plays kept coming from there, as the purple and white produced yet another 50-plus yard scoring play, this one coming from Seth Robertson. Hillock found the second-year receiver in stride down the middle of the field, and the Cambridge, Ont. product did the rest, running it all the way to the end zone for the 73-yard score.
Another Anthony Soles touchdown in the opening plays of the fourth quarter helped Queen's stop the Western scoring streak, and while they looked to add to their total on an attempted third down conversion shortly after, the Mustangs defence stepped up.
Western stuffed Queen's to force the turnover on downs, and from there, were quick to turn that defence into offence. On the ensuing play, Hillock found Griffin Campbell on the outside, who sliced his way through the attempted tackles and sprinted 44 yards into the end zone to restore the Western cushion and give the all-star pivot his third and final passing touchdown of the day.
Not to be outdone, however, the Mustangs added one more major, and it was who else by Keon Edwards. The most valuable player from the 2021 conference finale put an exclamation point on his second straight Dalt White award winning performance with a determined effort from 11 yards out. He kept his legs moving and refused to go down, and as a result, was able to add a touchdown to his incredible 260 yards rushing on the afternoon.
The Toronto, Ont. local led the relentless rushing attack that combined to produce 321 yards on the ground, including 76 from Yazbeck to go along with his two touchdowns.
Hillock finished with 222 yards in the air on 10-of-14 passing to go along with the three touchdowns, while Robertson led the receiving corps with 86 yards and a score.
Vreeken led the way for the Gaels under centre, finishing with 212 yards through the air to go along with 38 on the ground. Soles chipped in 35 yards to go along with his two majors, while Richard Burton eclipsed the century mark through the air with a game-high 104 yards on seven receptions.
With the win, the Mustangs extend their program best mark of Yates Cup titles to 34 and will now continue their hosting duties next weekend against the winners of the Dunsmore Cup before seeing the Vanier Cup take to Western Alumni Stadium on November 26th.
