Mustangs win big, Knights drop two; Beefs eye playoffs

Gameday in 5: A look to the week ahead — and a recap of the week that was (Sept. 30-Oct. 6) — for London’s teams and athletes.

(Photo: Matt Hiscox Photography).

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Western Mustangs

The Mustangs had another successful week on the gridiron, dominating the McMaster Marauders, 61-26, on the road last Saturday in Hamilton.

Western’s offense started early with a pick-six by Ryan Barthelson, who returned the interception 85 yards to give the Mustangs the early 7-0 lead. They followed that up with two field goals and then really took off, as quarterback Evan Hillock connected with Mohsen Jamal for a 33-yard score and then with Ethan Dolby for a 24-yard touchdown. By halftime, Western led 30-9.

And the Mustang offense was unrelenting in the second half, too, adding four touchdowns and a field goal to finish the blowout of the Marauders. Backup QB Jerome Rancourt ran in a 1-yard score to start the second-half scoring. Keanu Yazbeck caught a Hillock pass for a 17-yard touchdown, Seth Robertson hauled in a 13-yard TD catch, and Ethan Dolby rushed for an 11-yard score.

Hillock finished the game 17 for 21 passing for 259 yards and four touchdowns. Yazbeck was the game’s leading rusher, amassing 142 yards on just eight carries. Dolby had 96 yards on 12 carries. Brian Garrity knocked home four field goals in four tries.

Western is now 5-1 on the season, tied with Windsor (5-1) for second place and one game back of Laurier (6-0) in the OUA standings.

Up next:

Fri. Oct. 11 (7:00pm @ Toronto Varsity Blues)

London Knights

The Knights had a rough week, losing both of their games — including one to the CHL’s top-ranked team, the Brampton Steelheads.

At home on Friday night, London lost 5-3 to the Erie Otters. Down 2-0 with just under five minutes left in the first period, Sam O’Reilly brought the Knights to within a goal (assists to William Nicholl and Sam Dickinson). London then tied the game in the second on Noah Aboflan’s first career OHL goal (assists to Blake Arrowsmith and Noah Jenken). The tie was short-lived, however, as Eerie took it back with a powerplay marker. London tied the game for a second time in the third, thanks to Evan Van Gorp’s power-play goal, but Erie responded in short order. The Otters then added an empty netter in the game’s final minutes to secure the win.

Looking to bounce back on Saturday, the Knights had a rough one, losing 6-3 on the road to Brampton. In fact, London was down 5-0 before Cohen Bidgood scored the team’s first goal of the contest, a power-play marker late in the second period. The Steelheads responded seconds later to restore a 5-goal lead. The Knights added two goals in the third, with Bidgood scoring a short-handed marker and Blake Arrowsmith notching a power play marker, but the deficit proved too much for London to overcome. 

Up next:

Wed. Oct. 9 (7:00pm @ Owen Sound Attack)
Fri. Oct. 11 (7:00pm vs. Barrie Colts)
Sat. Oct. 12 (4:00pm vs. Guelph Storm)

London Beefeaters

Thanks to a big third quarter, the London Beefeaters earned a 28-18 home win over the Ottawa Sooners last Saturday to clinch second place in the OFC’s regular season standings. They’ll play a semi-final game, at home, against the higher seed of the two quarterfinal games being played this weekend (St. Clair will get the lower seed in the other semi).

The Beefeaters were bested in total yards in Saturday’s contest, and the game was a close one, tied 7-7 at the half. But in a seven-minute span to start the third quarter, London stepped up big to change the trajectory of the game in a hurry. A big kickoff return from Karson Douglas set up an early score to put the Beefeaters ahead.

Douglas then recovered a fumble on the ensuing kickoff and London quickly scored again. Minutes later, the Beefs intercepted a pass in Ottawa’s territory and converted that into another touchdown, finishing a 21-point flurry of action in seven minutes that made the difference in the game.

London running back LJ Dyer had another big game, rushing for 146 yards and three touchdowns on 25 carries. In doing so, the talented back set a new all-time Beefeaters career rushing record. With most of the action on the ground, London quarterback Brody Fairbairn attempted just seven passes, completing five of them.

Hayden Scott and Emmit Howard had interceptions for the Beefeaters, who finish the regular season with a 6-2 record and now await their semi-final opponent.

Up next:

Sat. Oct. 19 (TBD @ City Wide Sports Park) (OFC semi-final game)