Dolby scores trio of TDs as Mustangs take 55-29 win over Ottawa

London, ON – A 28-point second quarter highlighter a Mustangs 55-29 win over Ottawa on Saturday evening.

Running back Ethan Dolby ran for 182 yards in the win; it's the third week in a row he has surpassed 100 yards. Dolby rushed for three touchdowns, including a 50-yard run in the win.

 "I mean the play calls that we have, the offensive line and our passing game and the wide receivers blocking downfield," said Dolby. "A couple of them, I really didn't have to do much other than just run."

Western totaled 487 yards of offence on the day while Ottawa had 427 yards of their own, something the coaching staff wants to see cleaned up.

"It's a concern, but you know Richard (Aduboffour) got hurt, that didn't help, and then we were shuffling people around and both Sam Linebackers went down, so now we're moving guys around again." said Mustangs Head Coach Greg Marshall "Coach Gleeson was doing the best he could, under the circumstances because we did have quite a few guys go down, but if we're going to be as good as we hope to be, we will need to play better than that."
 
GAME RECAP
Western opened the game with an explosive start as Roman Campanaro returned the kickoff 88 yards, setting up Evan Hillock to connect with Dasani McIntosh on the first play of the game for a 27-yard touchdown to put Western up 7-0.



Although Ottawa managed to respond with a touchdown and a rouge, Western's defense held strong, highlighted by Jackson MacKay and Ethan Martin's tackling efforts, keeping the game tightly contested with Ottawa leading 8-7 at the close of the quarter.

The second quarter began with Ottawa's momentum halted by a holding penalty, which led to a pivotal interception by Thomson Silcox at 13:00. Silcox's 54-yard return set up Western in prime scoring position, leading to a Seth Robertson touchdown just three plays later, giving the Mustangs a 14-8 lead. Later, a forced fumble by Soren Hallschmid, allowed Hillock to connect for a second time with Robertson, this time from 21 yards out and Wester opened up a 21-8 lead.



As the quarter progressed, the Mustangs' offence maintained pressure with a 48-yard pass from Hillock to Brayden Misseri, culminating in a Jerome Rancourt goal line rush for a touchdown and Western was up 28-15. With just a minute left in the half, Western would continue to pour on the offence, Dolby would take the ball with 37 seconds left and rumble the ball for 20 yards for another TD rush and Western held a 35-15 lead at halftime.

The third quarter opened with an impressive 66-yard rush by Ethan Dolby, setting the stage for Western's offensive momentum. Dolby would finish the drive with a power rush at the goal line to push the Mustangs lead to 42-22. Though Ottawa responded with a touchdown at 4:28, the Mustangs maintained their lead, with Brian Garrity adding a 22-yard field goal to solidify the advantage as the quarter drew to a close.
The fourth quarter began with a pivotal turnover as Hallschmid's sack and forced fumble allowed Max von Muehldorfer to recover the ball at midfield, shifting momentum to Western.



"You know, veteran guy, try and be savvy while I'm out there and just do what I can to contribute and we try and create turnovers so when I get a clean shot at the quarterback, the ball has to come out right away," said Hallschmid. "We try and force at least 3 takeaways or turnovers, so you know that's definitely a big point of our emphasis, the best job we can do is give our offence a short field. So, I think we did a good job of that today."

Midway through the 4th quarter, Dolby would cap his trio of touchdowns with the 50-yard rush to add to the Western lead at 55-29 and secure their third win in a row.

"He's really starting to get back into the form that he had before (his broken ankle last season). So it takes a while," said Marshall of Dolby. "Keon (Edwards, Running Back Coach) went through the same thing, so he's a good sounding board for him because he broke his ankle as well, and so it does take a little bit of time, even though the bones healed, you know, some of the soft tissue around just takes a little bit of time to come around.

KEY STATS
QB Evan Hillock completed 11 of 16 passes for 208 yards and three touchdowns.
RB Ethan Dolby rushed 182 yards on 13 carries with 3 TDs
WR Seth Robertson had 2 receptions, both for touchdowns, for 32 yards.
DL Soren Hallschmid 2 Forced Fumbles, 3.5 tackles and .5 sacks.
DB Thomson Silcox 1 Interception (44 yard return) and 4 tackles.

NEXT GAME
Western is on the road next week as they head to the nation's capital to take on the Carleton Ravens. The game is set for Saturday, September 13, for a 1:00pm kickoff from TAAG Park in Ottawa. Fans can watch the action live on OUA.tv.