Can Mustangs double down against Laurier?
They may be missing their top running back, but Western manhandled Queen’s in the second half last week to reach the Yates Cup. Can they ride the momentum and beat a team that played them close just three weeks ago?
(Photo: Matt Hiscox Photography)
* * *
They’re ranked No. 1 in the country. For a second straight year, they went a perfect 8-0 in the regular season. Heck, they’ve lost just one time in their last 28 games overall since Evan Hillock took over at quarterback in 2021 – the lone loss being last year’s national semi-final game against Laval.
And yet, it doesn’t particularly feel like the Western Mustangs are surefire favourites heading into this weekend’s Yates Cup against the Laurier Golden Hawks. It sounds strange, we know. But ‘Stangs fans can feel it, too.
There are the obvious injuries, of course – the biggest blow being the loss of running back Keon Edwards, last year’s OUA MVP, who went down with a broken ankle early in a game against these same Golden Hawks in the final week of the regular season.
Keanu Yazbeck, the No. 2 back, has also been missing from action since he suffered an injury in the second-to-last game of the regular season. And then there’s Hillock himself, who was a true gametime call for last weekend’s OUA semi-final against Queen’s because of a concussion he’d suffered late in the Laurier game. (He played – and played well).
But beyond the injuries, the Mustangs simply haven’t been as dominant this year than they were last. Is it nit-picky to note the team’s point differential was ‘only’ plus-199 during the regular season compared to plus-245 a year ago? Almost certainly. But there are more to those numbers. On multiple occasions during the regular season, Western was at real risk of having their winning streak snapped.
It took a last-second touchdown to avoid defeat against Queen’s in Kingston in mid-September; Western beat Carleton by just 10 the week prior; They won by only 11 against Windsor; and three weeks ago, against Laurier, it took a comeback after a second-half collapse – with backup QB Jerome Rancourt at the helm – to win the battle of the two undefeated teams.
* * *
But they did win. And that’s the rub for any Western opponent. The Mustangs seemingly always win. Under head coach Greg Marshall, the Western Mustangs simply find a way to get it done. It was good advice to never bet against Tom Brady. And it’s good advice to never bet against Greg Marshall.
Or his quarterback, Evan Hillock.
“You come to Western to win,” Hillock told Gameday London earlier this season. “That’s the expectation, and that’s the standard here. I came to Western, and a lot of guys came here, because we wanted to win. Under coach Marshall, and his coaching staffs, past teams and quarterbacks have been very successful. That’s what drew me here.”
It’s been nothing but success for Hillock in the purple and white – save for last year’s national semi-final. That’s it. That’s the only game he’s lost wearing a Western uniform. He went undefeated after taking over as the starter two games into the 2021 season and won a Vanier Cup as a rookie. He went undefeated until Laval in 2022. And he’s undefeated this year.
Is there pressure, then, to always win? You bet. And does that pressure ramp up when you’re missing your top two running backs, you’re not far removed from concussion recovery, and the opposing defense knows that you’ll be shouldering most of the offensive attack? You’d think it would. But not so for Hillock.
“I actually like the pressure. I mean, I have higher expectations of myself than anyone else does, so the pressure I feel is mostly from me,” the quarterback said. “I like it. I like going out there knowing that we’re supposed to win, that everyone is gunning for us. I like that feeling.”
Are they supposed to win Saturday? The rankings would say so. The win over Laurier – however close – would give them the favourite tag, too. Remember, Edwards left that game early, so Western played most of the contest without their starting running backs – as they did in their 47-20 drubbing of Queen’s in last weekend’s semi-final.
(Photo: Matt Hiscox Photography).
* * *
But, surely, this will be the Mustangs’ toughest test of the year. The Golden Hawks were a perfect 7-0 before losing that close one, 33-30, to Western three weeks ago. They’ve since won a pair of playoff games (a 69-0 laugher in the quarterfinals, and a much closer 21-14 win over Windsor in the semis).
On Wednesday, their quarterback, Londoner Taylor Elgersma, was named OUA MVP. The Hawks won four major awards – and had a league-best 11 players named First- or Second-Team All-Stars. Well, a league-tying best. With the Mustangs.
Elgersma was dominant in 2023, winning Offensive Player of the Week honours four times while throwing for a league-best 206 completions, 2,641 yards, and a 75.2% completion percentage. His 18 touchdowns were one behind Hillock for the league lead, while the Western quarterback (180.1) was the only one to best Elgersma’s 174.9 efficiency rating.
Laurier was also productive on the ground, with lead back Quentin Scott rushing for 772 yards (96.5 per game), his total good for fifth in the league. Thanks in part to Elgersma, the Golden Hawks had two of the top receivers in the league – leading man Ethan Jordan (749 yards) and Raidan Thorne (663 yards, 4th in OUA).
But, of course, the Mustangs have their own share of stars and playmakers on offense. Hillock, as mentioned, led the league in touchdown passes and efficiency rating during the regular season. His average of 10.2 yards per attempt was also best.
At Hillock’s disposal are a talented group of receivers. Western boasted three of the top six wideouts during the regular campaign, including Mohsen Jamal (700 yards), Savaughn Magnaye-Jones (671 yards) and Seth Robertson (590 yards). Last week against Queen’s, the trio combined for 16 catches, 293 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
“We have great receivers. I feel really good about the group we have,” said Hillock. “I mean, Savaughn’s the best receiver in the country. (Jamal) put in a lot of work last summer, and he’s been showing that. I think I can get the ball in our receivers’ hands. And being more efficient in the pass game opens up the run game more.
Ah, yes, the run game. It has taken a hit, for sure, with the loss of a former OUA MVP (Keon Edwards) and a talented second back (Keanu Yazbeck). That’s led to veteran Troy Thompson and youngster Ethan Dolby to get the carries for the Mustangs.
Last week against Queen’s, Western ran the ball just six times in the first half, but they opened it up more after the break – including long touchdown runs late by Dolby (54 yards) and Marcell Phillips (44 yards) when the game was already out of reach. Will the run game be able to produce enough Saturday for Hillock to work his magic in the air? That might be the key to Western winning another Yates Cup.
Laurier quarterback Taylor Elgersma, a Londoner, was named OUA MVP Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2023. (Photo: Matt Hiscox Photography).
* * *
One of the stories of the season for the Western Mustangs has been the second half. Time after time, they’ve played close contests in the first half and then blown the game open after the break – often winning convincingly. Adjustments at halftime? A wakeup call? A bit of both? Whatever the reason, the numbers have been quite striking.
From Weeks 2 thru 6, during which the Mustangs played some close contests, they scored 60 combined points in the first half – and 108 points in the second half. They entered the half tied 13-13 with McMaster in Week 2. And they trailed twice at the half (14-10 to Carleton in Week, and 10-8 to Windsor in Week 6). In those five games combined, they only outscored their opponent 60-58 in the first half.
And then, against Laurier in Week 8, the script was flipped.
The Mustangs went up big, 27-0, after two quarters of play. An anticipated close contest looked like it was heading for a blowout for the home side. And then the Golden Hawks came to life and scored four unanswered touchdowns in the third quarter to take a 28-27 lead. Western (and backup QB Rancourt) managed to get the job done in the end, finding Magnaye-Jones for a touchdown late, but it was a game that could have gone either way. And that’s exactly how it feels like Saturday’s matchup lines up.
The OHL Finals features London and Oshawa. It’s the West champion versus the East winner — with a trip to the Memorial Cup on the line. What’s in store? Our hockey columnist, Jake Jeffrey, breaks it down …