Western Mustangs win battle of unbeaten teams and sit in 1st place

Big plays by the Mustangs end up as the difference as a homecoming crowd watched Western defeat McMaster 32-25.

Banting grad Emmett Charles had a huge game with nine catches for 206 yards and three touchdowns overall.

Rookie linebackers Dylan Tharby from Burlington and Alex Summers out of Catholic Central High School in London made a massive impact all game. Tharby had nine tackles and Summers had 7.5 to lead all defensive players.

Add interceptions by Cyrus McGarrell, Alex Figen and Noah Hopkinson and four sacks from the Mustang defence including 1.5 by Rory Litt and there was a whole lot for 14 232 spectators to take in.

Western built a 23-8 lead by halftime before the Marauders closed the gap to a touchdown with just over five minutes remaining in the game.

After a Mustang drive that ended in a missed field goal the Western defence forced a turnover on downs as they held McMaster to just five yards gained thanks to a Summers pass defence and a Summers tackle.

From there Ethan Dolby took the ball from the Marauders 26-yard line to the end zone to put the game away.

Dolby had 117 yards on the day.

Western quarterback Jerome Rancourt threw for 248 yards and two touchdowns.

Rancourt was intercepted three times by the McMaster defence.

The Mustangs limited the Marauders to just 17 net yards rushing on the day.

The win gives Western first place in the OUA standings at 4-0.

The Mustangs will host the Queen’s Gaels on Saturday, Oct. 3 at 1 p.m. at Western Alumni Stadium.

McMaster is 4-1 on the season as they head into their bye week.