WINDSOR, Ont. – It wasn’t pretty, or perhaps as one-sided as many would have predicted, but the No. 5 Western Mustangs improved to 3-1 with a 30-15 win over the Windsor Lancers (1-3) at the University of Windsor Stadium on Saturday night in front of 2,500 fans.
Zach Bull of Port Colborne, Ont., pulled in two Donnie Marshall throws for touchdowns to lead Western in scoring. He had six catches 122 yards. The other Mustangs touchdown came from Jerimy Hipperson, while Lirim Hajrullahu added a pair of field goals.
“It was good to get points on the board when we did,” Bull said. “But we need to execute better on offence. We need to shut down the other team on defence. Penalties were a major factor. We need to play more disciplined football.”
Donnie Marshall of London, Ont., threw 13-for-26 for 180 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions, along with 15 carries for 158 yards and one fumble. Craig Butler of London had a pair of interceptions and three solo tackles on defence, while Brent Wheeler had 2.5 sacks.
Rookie Austin Kennedy of Windsor threw 19-for-38 for 266 yards along with two interceptions and two touchdowns along with 12 carries for 88 yards.
Perhaps the most notable stat – other than the fact that both teams were led in rushing by quarterbacks – were the penalty yards. Western had 16 penalties for 185 yards, and overall, the game had 275 yards off the flags.
Western head coach Greg Marshall was stoic after the win, but the dressing room atmosphere carried that of a team that had lost a big game.
“If anything, this was a wakeup call for us,” coach Marshall said. “We really need to be mentally tougher. We needed to be better tonight.”
Hipperson, a junior running back out of St. Catharines, Ont., opened the scoring on a 12-yard off-tackle run to score with 2:52 left in the opening quarter.
He benefitted from a huge hole created by right guard Eric Armitage and right tackle Brendan Dunn.
The Mustangs led 7-0 after the opening quarter.
Bull pulled in his first touchdown, a 34-yard catch with 6:50 left in the opening half. As Marshall threw the ball, he was hammered on a late hit. Hajrullahu booted a rouge getting great field position on the ensuing kickoff – from Windsor’s 50 yard line – to extend the lead to 15-0.
A 46-yard punt from Windsor’s kicker Robert Eeuwes gave the Lancers their first points of the game on a rouge, making it 15-1.
Bull ran up a middle-seam to get open, splitting the secondary and Marshall found his outstretched arms for a 62-yard bullet with 38 seconds left in the first half to make it 22-1.
“I was running a stop-and-go route, we tried to get the corner to bite and Donnie just threw it right to the spot,” Bull said.
In the third, a 25-yard Hajrullahu field goal ust over five minutes in increased the lead to 25-1 for Western.
Windsor conceded a safety later in the third quarter to extend the Mustangs cushion to 27-1, after the Lancers were pinned deep in their own territory.
Rookie quarterback Austin Kennedy hit Windsor teammate Cory Fernandes for a 45-yard touchdown on the last play of the third quarter as Windsor trailed 27-9 after a two-point conversion.
With 10:01 left, Hajrullahu booted his second field goal of the game from 16 yards out, making it 30-9 for Western.
Sophomore Jamal Darius added a late Windsor touchdown on a Kennedy pass from two yards out to cut the lead to 30-15.
Western travels to face Guelph on Sept. 25 at 1 p.m. and the game will air live on The Score.
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