The York Lions traveled to London, Ont., on Saturday to take on the Western Mustangs, who proved why they are the number one ranked team in the country winning by a final score of 76-3.
The Mustangs started strong scoring touchdowns on their first two possessions to jump out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter. The Lions hung tough defensively though, stopping the Mustangs on their next possession thanks to two big plays by the defensive line. Western was moving the ball down the field and into Lions territory until defensive end
Rossini Sandjong-Djabome picked up a sack against Mustangs quarterback Chris Merchant for a five-yard loss on a first down play. On the very next play rookie defensive lineman
Kwadwo Boahen and
Tevin McCarty combined for a sack on second down to force a Mustangs punt.
On the ensuing possession, the Lions marched the ball down the field thanks to a number of key passes from quarterback
Brett Hunchak. Hunchak, who was playing without his brother and star wide receiver
Colton Hunchak in the game, used some of the other offensive weapons at his disposal hitting receivers
Alex Daley,
Kadeem Hemmings and
Vincent Reale with key passes on the drive. Lions kicker
Dante Mastrogiuseppe put the Lions on the board with a career-long 44-yard field goal to cut the lead to 14-3.
The Mustangs matched the Lions with a field goal on their next possession to restore their 14-point lead. On the Lions next drive, bad luck struck the team as Hunchak left the game with an injury after a Mustangs defender landed on him after a sliding to the ground during a two-yard scramble. Lions rookie quarterback
Noah Craney took over for the rest of the game and saw the first extended action of his OUA career, but it was all Mustangs from that point on as they showed the Lions why they are the defending Vanier Cup champions and are the odds-on favourite to repeat that feat this year.
The Mustangs led 45-3 at the half and added 31 more points in the second-half to win by a lopsided 76-3 final.
The Lions will be on the road again next weekend as they will travel to the nation's capital to take on the Ottawa Gee-Gees. Kick-off is set for 1pm on Saturday, Sept. 22 and the game can be seen live on OUA.tv.
