A stifling defense and three touchdowns by Keon Edwards led the Western Mustangs to their final Yates Cup championship Saturday afternoon in Kingston.
Edwards found the end zone three times in the first half when Western built a huge lead and held firm for a 29-0 victory over the Queen’s Gaels.
Even with their long soccer histories, this was only the fourth Yates Cup meeting between the two schools. Western now has a 3-1 lead.
It was the sixth consecutive Yates Cup appearance for Western.
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Queen’s entered the game as the last remaining undefeated OUA team and, through six regular season games and two postseason games, they still had to turn the ball over once.
“They don’t beat themselves up,” Western head coach Greg Marshall said before the game. “They don’t turn the ball over. They do not receive many penalties. They stick to the game plan regardless of the score.
“They are a very well trained and disciplined team.”
Marshall knew they would have to play with the same kind of discipline and he did it almost without a hitch.
The Mustangs held the Gaels to 111 yards in the air and 82 yards on the ground. Not only did Queen turn the ball over for the first time this year, they lost it four times in total. Three of them ended as turnovers.
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With Western’s powerful offensive line blowing holes in, Edwards ran the ball 21 times for 158 yards. Trey Humes added another 69 yards and Edouard Wanadi rushed for 18.
Mustang’s first-year quarterback Evan Hillock was 14 of 20 for 198 yards passing through the air and two interceptions.
Savaughn Magnaye-Jones was Western’s top receiver with four catches on the day.
Austin Fordham-Miller and Riley Macleod led the Mustangs with six and seven tackles, respectively, and Kojo Odoom knocked out Queen quarterback James Keenan near the end of the first half.
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Western will now host the AUS St. FX champion on November 27 at Western Alumni Field at 1 pm in a U Sports national semifinal.
Montreal will meet the Saskatchewan Huskies in the other semifinal.
The Vanier Cup will take place on December 4 in Quebec City.
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