It’s a battle of the unbeatens during Homecoming Weekend at Western University. The Western Mustangs (3-0) will host the McMaster Marauders (4-0) with first place in the OUA on the line at 1 p.m. Saturday at Alumni Stadium. The Mustangs under new head coach Michael Faulds and starting quarterback Jerome Rancourt have been throwing the football all over the place through the first three games. Rancourt is second in the league averaging 326 passing yards per game and it’s made easier by having what play-by-play commentator and former Mustangs wide receiver Tom McConnell is calling “the deepest receiving corps in recent program history.” “This is a very talented group, and I think any one of us can play in any spot and we’re a very dangerous group,” said Jackson Taylor, a transfer from McMaster who has three touchdowns this season. The foursome of Taylor, Nick Schewchuk, Dasani McIntosh, and Emmett Charles are a nightmare for opposing defensive backs and defensive coordinators. “It’s not about ourselves we do stuff for our teammates as well,” said Charles, a second-year wide receiver out of Sir Fredrick Banting Secondary School. “Whether it’s blocking, cancelling anything like that and I think we just have a bunch of talent over here.” Having this group makes it much easier for offensive play caller Gaetan Richard. “I think they’ve done a good job in training camp and through the season of building a rapport with Jerome,” said Richard. “It’s been good in the sense the ball can go anywhere on any given play depending on what the defensive structure is giving us. So as a play caller, that’s always good, where you feel confident with wherever the coverage dictates, the ball should go.” Fall high school sports season underway The TVRA high school sports season is underway. The season began Tuesday at City Wide Field with girls’ field hockey action. The Medway Cowgirls took the field as the defending OFSAA champions, but players describe this year as a “rebuilding year.” “We had a bunch of amazing seniors that brought us to that victory,” said Leah Veal, a defender who scored the opening goal of the season. “They carried it on their backs pretty much but this year we are expecting a rebuilding year, but with the looks of it, it’s going to be pretty good.” The girls opened the year with a 4-0 victory over West Elgin. “We had a great group of seniors last year that had taught us all so much,” said Molly Hammond. “They went off to do their own great things and this year we have a ton of new promising rookies that I’m excited to see how they grow and like teach them. Just kind of the same thing that our seniors did for us.” On the gridiron, the season began with Beal taking on Westminster Wednesday morning in the Walzak Division. It’s a division which features many smaller or starting programs, many which include a mix of junior and senior players. Cameron Proctor got the season started for Beal Raiders, recovering a fumble and then switching to offence where he pounded in the first touchdown of the season. The top division tier contenders begin play Thursday and Friday. Over at Kennedy Field, the Catholic Central Crusaders are ranked number one in Ontario in the coaches’ preseason poll.The two-time defending OFSAA Bowl champions will face St. Joseph’s Friday. “I think we don’t we don’t really mind the rankings,” said Christian De Bernardo, a Crusaders offensive lineman. “We just do what we do every day during practice, and we just go play and get ready for Friday. We lot a couple of guys to the [United] States, but I think we just have younger grade 11 filling in for the positions, and they’re doing a pretty good job.” Running Back Nathan Sims is going to be a workhorse this season. He believes the rankings won’t affect their mentality but does feel they deserve the praise. “We’re passionate about the team and getting that three-peat this year,” said Sim. “We’re recovering really well and at the end of the day, we’re just we’re just here to play our own game and we’ll show we’ll show everybody what we’re made of.”
