Fifth-year Western Mustang kicker Brian Garrity made five field goals as the Mustangs opened their 2024 OUA regular season schedule with a 38-10 victory over the Gee Gees at TD Place in Ottawa on Sunday.
Four of those kicks came in the first two quarters and helped a Western offense put points on the board and gain momentum as the game progressed.
The two-man running back duo of Keon Edwards and Keanu Yazbeck chewed up over 200 yards rushing for the Mustangs, with Edwards recording 104 yards on 15 carries and Yazbeck going for 103 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries.
Seth Robertson caught five passes for 102 yards and a touchdown.
Evan Hillock had an inconsistent day throwing the football, but came away with 123 yards through the air on 10-of-23 passing and also rushed twice for 19 yards.
Ottawa quarterback Josh Janssen faced a similar fate: 12-for-28 for just 92 yards through the air.
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Janssen was intercepted three times as Jordan Murphy, Chris Cameron-Kogler and Josh Gillam picked off passes.
Western’s Max Nixon and Ryan Barthelson each blocked kicks in the first half. The Mustangs’ Ben Cottrell took the ball off Barthelson’s block and ran it 31 yards for the first touchdown of the game.
Gee Gees running back Charles Asselin gained 119 yards on the ground for Ottawa.
In the afternoon there were a number of time-outs for injuries: some were due to the heat on the pitch at the TD site, where the temperature rose to 29 C and the humidity and glare of the turf kept conditions down to years influenced thirty.
The first offensive touchdown of the game didn’t come until there was 1:21 left in the third quarter when Western backup quarterback Jerome Rancourt found Mustang receiver Seth Robertson on a 24-yard pass down the left sideline.
That score gave Western a 19-point lead that continued into the fourth quarter.
The Mustang defense came through with a safety in the final 15 minutes.
Yazbeck added Western’s second offensive touchdown on an 11-yard run when he tried to get up the middle but found no space and then broke to the outside and into the end zone with just over a minute remaining.
The Mustangs will meet the Waterloo Warriors in their home opener on Sunday, September 1 at 7:00 PM at Western Alumni Stadium.
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