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Western looks to stay undefeated at Laurier

September 23, 2011
By Jason Sinukoff

On Saturday, September 24 the number two ranked Western Mustangs football team will take their undefeated 3-0 record to Wilfred Laurier University to take on the Golden Hawks.

Western is going into the city of Waterloo with a massive wave of momentum. The Mustangs first stomped over the Waterloo Warriors in the first game of the season. Then they defeated the fearsome McMaster Marauders in their own yard. Finally they proved that last year’s Yates Cup final was no fluke as the Mustangs trounced the Ottawa Gee Gees 41-13 at TD Waterhouse Stadium.

Conversely, the Golden Hawks sport a 1-2 record and are in a downward spiral as of late. After an impressive 46-7 win in their first game of the season against the York Lions, Laurier has lost their two subsequent matches. They were edged out by the Windsor Lancers in a tight 41-40 game and last week they lost 58-35 to the Queen’s Gaels.

“We’re a little bit fragile, based on the last two weeks and how easily and quickly teams were able to score on us, so it’s been back to the drawing board so to speak and the fundamentals,” Gary Jeffries, head coach of the Laurier Golden Hawks, said.

“It was just too easy for Windsor and Queen’s. With maybe the best offence in the country coming in here, it presents quite a challenge for sure,” he continued.

Regardless of their record, the Golden Hawks will not be changing their line-up on Saturday afternoon.

“I believe in the kids that are playing back there. We didn’t all of a sudden get bad. I think what our approach has been wrong. It’s too much all or nothing—cover zero, roll the dice,” Jeffries noted. “I don’t think we have to change the kids, just change how we’re playing.”

Greg Marshall, Western Mustangs’ head coach, knows not to underestimate the Golden Hawks, despite what their record may be.

“Laurier—I felt it from the start of the season and I feel no differently about it right now—is one of the top teams in our conference,” Marshall said. “I’ve been pressing upon our players that they’re a good football team—just wait if you go into their backyard and play them, they will play us tough and physical.”

It looks like it will be a game where offence is on display and the defence will have to be on their game. Despite Laurier’s 1-2 record, the Golden Hawk’s offence is averaging 40.3 points a game, so they are always a force to be reckoned with. The Mustangs have the most unrelenting offence in the country right now. Led by Donnie Marshall and Tyler Varga, the Mustangs are averaging an astounding 58.3 points a game.

It seems that the Mustangs have all the momentum going into the game against the Golden Hawks. However, as the Golden Hawks are trying to get back on the winning side, anything can happen. Watch the action unfold on Saturday, September 24 at University Stadium.

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