That was despite the Golden Hawks putting up 442 yards of offence compared to just 288 for the Mustangs

NEWS RELEASE

LAURIER ATHLETICS

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The Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks men’s football team hung tough with the defending Yates Cup champion Western Mustangs in their season opener on Sunday afternoon before eventually falling 32-19 at University Stadium.



Despite the Hawks putting up 442 yards of offence compared to just 288 for the Mustangs, it was Western’s big-play ability that proved to be the difference on the afternoon.



Western starting quarterback Chris Merchant of Calgary, connected on a pair of long touchdowns, 62 yards to Justin Nickson of London, Ont., and 36 yards to Savaughn Magnaye-Jones of Hamilton, while the Mustangs’ special teams got a touchdown from Brett Ellerman of Calgary, on a blocked punt to help stake the visitors to a 22-6 edge.



Laurier would get back into the game thanks to their defence, which recorded five sacks on the day, including 2.5 from Alfred Green of Waterloo, Ont., and the arm of quarterback Connor Carusello of Caledonia, Ont. Carusello hit Brentyn Hall of Toronto, for a 71-yard major to cut Western’s advantage to nine late in the third quarter.

However, the Mustangs put the game out of reach midway through the fourth quarter thanks to a touchdown from running back Trey Humes of Ajax, Ont.



Brendan McCracken of Kitchener, Ont., added a touchdown late in the game for Laurier to round out the scoring.



With the victory, the Mustangs extend their winning streak to four games over the Hawks since Laurier’s Yates Cup victory in 2016.

UP NEXT

Laurier heads out on the road for a Labour Day Monday showdown against the York Lions in Toronto. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. on Monday, September 2 and the game can be seen live on OUA.tv.

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