LONDON, Ont. – The No. 2 Western Mustangs defeated the York Lions 48-23 at a chilly Homecoming game this afternoon in front of a crowd of 9,441 at TD Waterhouse Stadium.

The York Lions set the tempo giving the Western Mustangs offense some difficulty early on in the first quarter. A 21-yard reception for a touchdown from William Austin (St. Catharines, Ont.) put the Lions first on the scoreboard at 2:42.  

Not three minutes later, the Lions added another three points to their total with a field goal from Dror David (Richmond, Hill, Ont.). [Complete boxscore]

At 14:06, a 15-yard pass from Donnie Marshall to his brother Brian Marshall put Western on the board. Lirim Hajrullahu missed the convert.

Western trailed York 10-6 after 15:00, had only 18 passing yards in the first, and went eight for 30 on rushes.

In the second quarter, the Mustangs held the Lions to only two field goals while amassing 34 unanswered points.

Starting quarterback Donnie Marshall went down with an injury on a rush and was replaced with Ben Rossong for the remainder of the game.

York conceded their first safety at 3:24 putting Western to within two of tying the game. Just over a minute later, Hajrullahu completed a 31-yard field goal, giving Western a one-point advantage.

A big interception by David Lee on a York possession seemed to give Western the motivation it needed to drive the game.

The Mustangs responded with three consecutive second-quarter touchdowns, all at the hands of Nathan Riva. His first came at 8:03 on a three-yard run. With Hajrullahu’s convert, the Mustangs were up 18-10.

Halfway through the quarter, Rossong passed off the ball to Riva who carried it once again into the end zone. Hajrullahu completed the convert.

The Mustangs were not finished their offensive assault there though.

Riva rushed nine yards for his third touchdown minutes later, followed up by Hajrullahu’s third straight conversion.

The Lions then conceded their second safety of the game as they could not push the ball back into Mustangs territory.

At halftime, the Mustangs led 34-10.

The third quarter was a battle of field position with the only points coming on a York Lions field goal from kicker David. Western continued to lead 34-13.

Riva completed his fourth touchdown of the game early in the fourth quarter, giving Western a 35-point advantage over York. An earlier Brian Marshall reception for a touchdown was a recalled.

Rookie runningback Tyler Varga was stopped at the two-yard mark after a 51-yard rush for a first down. He answered back with his first touchdown of the game at 8:21. Hajrullahu completed the convert.

Western led 48-13 when York’s Denzel Philip (Toronto, Ont.) recovered a forced fumble, running the ball to the end zone for the touchdown. David completed the conversion.

Western was not able to regain possession and York gained one more field goal before the end of the game.

Donnie Marshall completed 3 of 8 passes for 25 yards, 31 rushing yards, and one touchdown prior to leaving the game. Rossong completed 11 of 19 passes for 172 yards. Varga and Riva led Western’s rushing yards with 197 and 145 respectively.

The win puts Western’s record at 5-0 on the season. They will face the Guelph Gryphons on Saturday, Oct. 8 in their last regular season home game. Game time is 1 p.m. 

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