Last weekend the Mustangs football team defeated the Windsor Lancers 60-7. After scoring five touchdowns — tying a Mustangs football scoring record — and contributing a total of 225 yards in rushing and receiving, running back Nathan Riva earned the coveted Purple Pipe for his outstanding athletic performance. Riva is currently leading the team in scoring with 48 points and is also tied for first in the league in touchdowns with Guelph’s Nick Fitzgibbon, whom he’ll face this weekend.

Riva took some time out of practice to discuss the Vanier Cup, mental preparation and Batman with the Gazette.

How long have you been playing football and why did you start?
I started playing football when I was in Grade 6. It’s been a pretty long time. I started playing just ‘cause I liked the sport. I wasn’t really into hockey or anything else. Football was kind of my thing. I started playing it — I was good at it and I just stuck with it.

Have you always been a running back?
Yeah, I’ve never switched positions really.

Western has had a perfect start to the season, going 3-0. In terms of style of play, what are some things to expect from the team this season?
Expect a lot of points on offence and no points given up on defence.

With such success so far, what do you guys need to do in order to avoid becoming complacent?
We need to just keep preparing for every team like it’s the Vanier Cup. We want to face Laval again and make it to the Vanier Cup and if we want to do that we can’t get complacent like you said. We have got to keep preparing every day like we do.

What does the team need to improve on?
Mental preparation, I guess. Eliminate the mental errors like coach always says. If we want to be great then we have to minimize mental mistakes. If we can focus on that in practice then we should succeed throughout the season.

You tied a Western scoring record last weekend. How did that feel? Anticipate breaking that record any time soon?
I didn’t even know it was a record ‘till someone told me, but it felt nice I guess, just ‘cause it helped the team win. I don’t really care about records. If I break it, I break it; if I don’t I, don’t. I don’t really care either way.

What’s your favourite part about football?
Winning games [laughs]. And spending time with the team after the game.

There’s been a lot of talk about this year being Western’s dynasty team. What makes this team more capable of winning the Vanier Cup than last year’s?
Honestly, I have no idea. Maybe it’s just a year of experience. We went to the Vanier Cup last year. We lost a lot of good players but we brought in some new, good ones too.

What’s the team doing to prepare for this weekend’s game against Guelph?
Same thing we do every week — watching film, putting in some new plays, exploiting their weaknesses and just trying to prepare hard like we do every week.

Once your time at Western is over, do you have any plans on continuing your football career?
I’m just going to take it one day at a time and see what kind of opportunities arise. Just go with the flow.

Do you have any pre-game rituals?
The night before I usually watch Batman: The Dark Knight. That’s kind of a ritual. Nothing really on the day of.

What is your most embarrassing moment in football?
Probably missing a block and getting the quarterback smoked while I’m falling on my face. Yeah, that’s probably the most embarrassing.

Of all your team members, who would you least like to come up against and why?
I would least like to come up against [offensive lineman] Ahmad Jaradat. If I was a defensive linemen and had to come up against him, I wouldn’t want to because he’s pretty physical and he’s one of the best linemen that we have.

CFL or NFL?
Whatever comes. I like them both equally.

What is your favourite sports movie?
Any Given Sunday.

What do you do on your day off?
Play with my dog and just relax.

Tell me something about yourself you’d never tell your teammates?
I tell my teammates everything. There would be nothing they’d be surprised about.

What are some perks that come with being a Western football player?
The Under Armour stuff that we get for free.