Western Mustangs complete thrilling comeback to win season opener

Western running back Ethan Dolby ran for two touchdowns as Western beat Queen’s 45-42 in their season opener in Kingston. (Source: Callista Laffrenier)

Trailing by 16 points with just 2:20 left on the clock, the Western Mustangs found a way to win.

After scoring 19 points in that span, they went four overtime periods before Brian Garrity kicked a 16-yard field goal to beat Queen’s 45-42 in Kingston.

“All credit to the offense for getting me in that spot,” Garrity told media after the game.

“It was just an amazing feeling to see it go through.”

This game was a wild one, which gave fans of both teams a roller coaster of emotions.

Western went up 10-0 before Queen’s scored 26 straight points.

Short-yardage QB Jerome Rancourt scored a touchdown with 2:20 to go in the fourth quarter, and the Mustangs added two to cut it to 26-18.

A minute later, running back Ethan Dolby scored his second TD of the game, and another two-point conversion tied it at 26.

After a Queen’s fumble, Garrity kicked a field goal with just 31 seconds left to give what Western thought was a victory.

However, the Gaels drove the field and sent the game to OT with a field goal with no time left.

The squads traded scores until the fourth OT period when Queen’s missed a field goal, and Garrity finally ended it.

“I thought I’d won the game earlier, so it was nice to do it again,” he said.

Western made the long drive home and will have their home opener on Aug. 31 at 7 p.m. against Guelph.

“Lots of things to work on, I thought we were inconsistent, took too many penalties, we should be better than that,” said Mustangs Head Coach Greg Marshall.

“I’m not happy with the way we played, but when it came right down to it, we got the job done.”