’Stangs grind out win; Majors bow out of playoffs; Early trade for Knights

Gameday in 5: A look to the week ahead — and a recap of the week that was (Aug. 28-Sept. 3) — for London’s teams and athletes.

Wide receiver Mohsen Jamal eludes a McMaster tackle during a big 173-yard game — a home-opening win for Western Sunday, Sept. 3, 2023. (Photo: Matt Hiscox Photography).

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Western Mustangs Football

The Mustangs improved their record to 2-0 Sunday night — although it wasn’t easy. In their home opener, under the lights at Western Alumni Stadium, the Mustangs grinded out a 34-22 win over the visiting McMaster Marauders in front of a packed crowd of 9,243.

The Mustangs opened the scoring on a field goal by Brian Garrity, but the Marauders responded with a first quarter touchdown. After trading field goals, running back Keon Edwards put Western ahead 13-10 on a touchdown run with 59 seconds left in the first half. A late Marauders field goal tied the game at the half. Trailing 16-13 in the third quarter, Western struck for two touchdowns in the air to pull ahead 27-16 — the first, a 25-yard strike to Seth Robertson, the second a big 96-yard connection with Mohsen Jamal. The Marauders brought things back to within five points, 27-22, but a late interception — that was returned for a touchdown — by Max Nixon sealed the win for Western.

Mustangs quarterback Evan Hillock finished the night 26-for-39 for 388 yards and two touchdowns. Jamal led all receivers with 173 yards (on seven catches). Fellow wideout Savaughn Magnaye-Jones, meanwhile, caught 10 passes for 123 yards. Hillock completed at least one pass to nine different Mustangs. Western’s run game was conspicuously quiet, as Edwards, the defending OUA MVP, netted just 23 yards on nine carries. As a team, Western ran for just 68 yards on the night.

Up next:

The Mustangs (2-0) are back in action Saturday in Ottawa against the Carleton Ravens. They’ll play another road game the following week (@ Queen’s) before returning home for their annual Western Homecoming game Saturday, Sept. 23.

Sat. Sept. 9 (7:00pm @ Carleton Ravens)

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London Majors

The Majors season came to an end last Thursday, the result of a 5-4 loss in Kitchener in the deciding Game 5 of their first-round IBL playoff series against the Panthers. 

With a 2-1 series lead heading into Wednesday, London looked to close out the series at home. But a lack of offense prevented that, as Kitchener’s Yadian Martinez and Yamichel Perez combined to throw nine innings of shutout baseball in a 6-0 Kitchener win. On the other side, Pedro De Los Santos pitched a strong six innings of his own, allowing just a pair of runs while striking out six. He departed with a 2-0 deficit. Wilbur Martinez, who came on in relief, allowed four runs in the seventh (on a grand slam by Marcel Lacasse) — although none of the runs were earned due to a London error with two outs in the inning. The Majors mustered just five hits on the night.

In the deciding Game 5 the following night in Kitchener, the Majors fell just short, losing 5-4 at Jack Couch Park to end their season — and earn the Panthers a trip to the semis. Starling Joseph opened the scoring with a sac fly in the top of the first, but Kitchener tied things up in the bottom half. The teams traded runs and then London went ahead 3-2 in the fifth on an Austin Wilkie RBI single. But it was the bottom half of the inning where the game was decided. With two runners on, Lacasse struck again, this time with a three-run homer to give Kitchener a 5-3 lead. The Majors mustered a run in the seventh — and rallied to tie the game — but ultimately fell short.

Owen Boon completed eight innings for London, giving up five runs (four earned) on eight hits. He struck out 13 in the contest, giving him 26 in 21 innings in the series — to go along with a 2.14 ERA. Joseph, Wilkie, Eduardo de Oleo, and Josh Williams each had an RBI in the loss, while Byron Reichstein went 3-for-5 in the contest.

IBL Playoffs First Round: London Majors (No. 7) vs. Kitchener Panthers (No. 2) (Kitchener wins 3-2)

Game 1: London 8 @ Kitchener 1
Game 2: Kitchener 6 @ London 2
Game 3: London 5 @ Kitchener 2
Game 4: Kitchener 6 @ London 0
Game 5: London 4 @ Kitchener 5

London Beefeaters

In a thrilling affair, the Beefeaters’ junior football team fell just short, 40-36, to the first-place St. Clair Saints Saturday in Windsor. It marked the second defeat in two weeks to the Saints (3-0), but London proved it can play with the top team in the league.

In fact, it required a comeback by St. Clair to get it done last weekend, as the Beefeaters led 36-33 after three quarters at Acumen Stadium. After London jumped out to a 17-8 lead after the first quarter, the teams were even, 26-26, at the half.

The Beefeaters displayed a strong run game Saturday. Geoffrey Clubine rushed for 141 yards on 13 carries, while LJ Dyer ran for 140 and a touchdown on 16 tries. Quarterback George Denniss ran in two scores, picking up 66 yards on seven run attempts.

Denniss completed eight of 13 pass attempts for 145 yards -- 125 of them to receiver Jagger Horst. Kicker Adam Wojnowski converted five field goals (on six tries), including a pair over 40 yards.

On defense, Noah Williams, Janal Williams and Zach Dahlberg led London with five total tackles apiece, while Ben Regier and Hayden Scott both recovered fumbles in the contest.

Up next:

The Beefeaters (2-2) return to action Saturday for a home game against the Quinte Skyhawks (2-1) at City Wide Sports Park.

Sat. Sept. 9 (5:00pm vs. Quinte Skyhawks)

London Knights

The London Knights opened their training camp for the 2023-24 season last Thursday, which included more than 70 players on four teams competing in three days of intrasquad games. Action concluded Saturday with the annual Green & Gold game in front of fans at Bud Gardens. In a high-scoring affair, Team Green came away with an 8-7 overtime win.

Green goals: Denver Barkey (2), Cohen Bidgood (2), Kasper Halttunen, Ryder Boulton, Mathieu Paris, Evan Van Gorp (winner).

Gold goals: Josh Lepain (2), Kaeden Johnston (2), Sam O’Reilly, Easton Cowan, Mike Levin.

New Knight Henry Brzustewicz participated in game action. The former Ottawa 67’s defenceman was acquired by the Knights in a trade last week. In exchange for Brzustewicz, Ottawa received three London draft picks (a 2nd round in 2025 & 2027, and a 3rd round in 2027).

Brzustewicz, a Washington, Michigan native, was the 22nd overall pick in this year’s OHL Priority Selection. The 6-foot-1, 200-pound defenceman displayed his share of offense with the 16U North Jersey Avalanche last season, tallying 29 goals and 65 points in 65 games.

The Knights host the Sarnia Sting Saturday (Sept. 9) for their first preseason game of the year. Puck drop is 4:00pm at Budweiser Gardens.