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Mustangs give Mac a quarter pounding

September 14, 2011
By Ryan Stern

Coming off of an 86-22 blowout victory against the  Waterloo Warriors, the Mustangs were steaming with confidence as they left the comfy confines of TD Waterhouse stadium to take on the third ranked McMaster Marauders.

The Marauders welcomed the Mustangs to Ron Joyce Stadium in hopes of avenging their 34-28 Ontario University Athletes semifinal loss but the Mustangs proved to be a handful. Despite an early 7-0 deficit, the Mustangs’ offensive display spoke volumes as they handed the Marauders a 48-21 loss.

“The Mustangs are the defending Yates Cup champions and, arguably, the most talented team in the province and we were excited to see if we could compete at that level,” Stefan Ptazsnek, Marauders head coach,  said. “There is a very good chance that the Yates Cup goes through London.”

Racking up 321 yards on the ground, the Mustangs continued their torrid pace from their previous game. Led by freshman Tyler Varga, who rushed for 149 yards and four touchdowns, the Mustangs ran early and often, as has been the theme of the season thus far.

“To be a good team you have to have some balance on offense, you can’t just rely on the pass game and you can’t just rely on the run game. I’m glad that we are able to run the ball,” Greg Marshall, Mustangs head coach, said.

Despite a lackluster effort in run defense, the Marauders kept quarterback Donnie Marshall in check. Despite Marshall’s 251 yards in the air, the Marauders secondary was able to deny Marshall the end zone and force a turnover.

“With the amount of kids we committed to stopping the run, we left the secondary exposed and challenged those kids to manage with fewer bodies and I thought they did a great job. We sacked Donnie a couple times and from a pass game perspective, we did okay,” Ptazsek said.

The early deficit did not seem to phase the Mustangs as they reeled off 21 straight points to answer the Marauders’ early touchdown. Handling them on the ground, Riva scored on a 9-yard plunge while Varga had two touchdowns from inside the 3-yard line.

“Responding to going down seven is nothing new to our team and I feel that the offence gains energy from that in order to drive down the field. Going down on the score board does not affect the way the offence plays, because we will play until the last second on the clock to ensure a win.” Andrew Thibaudeau, Mustangs wide receiver, said

The Mustangs strong recruiting class has played a large part in the team’s success thus far this season.

On the other side of the ball, Mustangs rookie defensive lineman Daryl Waud continued to impress coaches with his play as he picked off Marauders’ quarterback Kyle Quinlan and returned the interception for his first career touchdown.

“[The rookies] have adjusted wonderfully, especially Varga, he looks like he’s been playing in the CIS for a couple of season,” Mustangs’ running back Nathan Riva said.

Outrushing the Marauders by a total of 321-151, the Mustangs have established themselves as a force on the ground and balancing that out will be a key to their future game plan.

“All teams that play against us are going to play to stop the run,” Marshall said. “What we have to look at is how they plan to stop the run and if they over commit to stopping the run, how does that leave them open to the pass.”

The Mustangs continue their defense of the Yates Cup as they invite the Ottawa Gee Gees to TD Waterhouse Stadium on Saturday, September 17at 1 p.m.

“This game prepares us for Ottawa because we know we are a force that still has yet to come to our full potential, and by taking out the top teams in the OUA we can only get better each week and prove to the whole CIS we are strong in every aspect of the game” Thibaudeau said.

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