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Mustangs’ Yates Cup defence falls short

November 15, 2011
By Ryan Stern

A raucous crowd awaited the return of the Yates Cup to Western, but by the game’s end, the stands were emptied of purple and the silver bleachers shone through. A long, yet mostly successful season went up in flames on Saturday as the McMaster Marauders handled the Mustangs by a score of 41-19.

The triumphant return of Donnie Marshall was not enough to propel the Mustangs to victory as they squandered a first half laden with opportunities that would ultimately cost them the game and the 104th Yates Cup title.

“This game was about missed opportunities in the first half. We were down there and we didn’t score, then we missed a field goal, then we missed another field goal. We had our chances,” Greg Marshall, Mustangs head coach, said. “The worst case we should have come in at least tied at half. Give credit to McMaster, they did a good job. At the end of the game they were knocking us off the football. They were a very good team.”

Coming into the game the Mustangs seemed to be the overwhelming favourites. Playing in their fifth Yates Cup in as many years, the veteran squad had many advantages over the conference’s number one offence, including home field advantage and a victory earlier in the season against the same Marauders. On paper this game seemed like a mismatch but as evidenced by the Marauders 10-3 halftime lead, this was a different McMaster team than last time.

Home field advantage was seemingly a nonfactor throughout the game as the Marauders brought a sizable fan base of their own. Along with their own fans supporting them, the momentum was seized early in the first half, as the Mustangs were only able to muster a single point on offence despite four trips to the red zone. Any advantage the Mustangs did carry was negligible as both the fans and the players seemed deflated from their first half failures.

“Six buses of students came across the 403 [highway] and we have a contingent of 500 parents and friends of football that are at everything. It is a Marauder football family that extends way beyond that locker room” Stefan Ptaszek. Marauders head coach, said of the Marauders travelling fan base.

The Mustangs came out of the gate with a healthy dose of Tyler Varga in order to take the pressure off of Donnie Marshall, but a stiff Marauders defensive line was able to keep the Mustangs’ talented backfield of Varga and fourth-year running back Nathan Riva at bay.

“Throw as many bodies at the line of scrimmage as we can and try and slow down that run game, you will never completely stop it,” Ptaszek said of his team’s game plan. “Our secondary was hung out to dry all afternoon and they are pretty good so they survived. We had to score some points and control the clock on offence and it took a while to get going but we got it done.”

Leading the number one ranked offence in the Ontario University Athletics regular season, Kyle Quinlan played with the precision and poise of a surgeon. Completing 16 of his 24 pass attempts, Quinlan torched the Mustangs vulnerable secondary for 275 yards and four touchdowns in what turned out to be a long day. Quinlan also added 103 yards on the ground and was serenaded with MVP chants from traveling Marauders fans as the clock wound down.

“I hope they go win the Vanier Cup because I would rather lose to the Vanier Cup winning team than lose to a team that didn’t win the Vanier Cup. I hope they represent the OUA really well but I am really disappointed because we didn’t play our best football today,” Nathan Riva, Mustangs running back, said.

This loss should take a while to settle in as the Mustangs undoubtedly were hoping for a shot at the Vanier Cup this year. Though the losses of seniors Matt Norman, Dan Duff and Nathan Riva will be tough to deal with, the Mustangs return offensive centerpieces Donnie Marshall and Tyler Varga to a Mustangs squad that should be in the hunt for next year’s 105th Yates Cup.

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