'Colossal Matchup': Western to Face Laurier Saturday in 116th Yates Cup

The Western Mustangs celebrate their 2023 Yates Cup Championship win (Brent Lale/CTV News London)

If the Western Mustangs want to hoist a fourth straight Yates Cup they are going to have go through the only undefeated team in the OUA, and a hometown player hungry to win his first title.

“It’s going to be a colossal matchup,’ said Michael Faulds, Laurier head coach.

The Laurier Golden Hawks are led by London native and two-time OUA MVP Taylor Elgersma.

“Taylor can make plays with his legs, and he throws the ball well,” said Greg Marshall, Western’s head coach.

“The other thing Taylor has is really, really dynamic receivers.”

On Sept. 14, when Laurier beat Western 43-28, handing the Mustangs their only loss of the year, Elgersma threw for 385 yards and two scores, and ran for two more.

“Taylor Elgersma’s, the best player I've coached,” said Faulds when referring to his quarterback.

Elgersma threw for 2,643 total yards, 20 touchdowns and had the third-most rushing touchdowns by a quarterback with six.

Laurier QB Taylor Elgersma was named OUA Football MVP for the second straight year (Source: Laurier Athletics)

“He's the best leader,” added Faulds, the former Mustangs quarterback who was named OUA Coach of the Year Thursday.

“He's a really smart player, he's super tough and just in terms of playing the position, he can make absolutely every throw. So, when your hardest worker is also your best player and your best leader, it's a dangerous, combination.”

This is the fifteenth time Western and Laurier will battle for the Yates Cup, with Western holding a 10-5 advantage against Laurier.

It’s the ninth straight year the Mustangs have appeared in the OUA Final game.

“Each one's different and it's a real credit to the to the players and the coaches and everyone on our team that we're back at it again,” said Marshall.

“Sometimes you just take it for granted that you are going to Yates Cup.”

The Mustangs defence, led by OUA Standup Defensive Player of the Year will have to keep Elgersma in check. They defeated the Hawks last year and know that this time will be a little more difficult.

They are headed to Waterloo’s University Stadium to play this final away from home for only the second time in the last nine years.

“It's my fourth Yates Cup in a row and it means the world to me,” said Soren Hallschmid, Mustangs defensive lineman.

“I wish you was here at Western but dropped that one game early in the year, and now we have to go back there with a vengeance and take care of business. This means so much, as this is history if we can win four in a row.”

Winning the Yates Cup title game four straight times has only happened on two other occasions. Western head coach Greg Marshall was involved both times.

The first was 1979-1982 when he was a player (for the first three titles), the second was when Marshall led McMaster to four straight wins as head coach from 2000-2003.

The last time Laurier won the title was 2016, when they came from 21 points down in the final eight minutes to stun Western.

Faulds and some of the coaches remain, but none of his players have ever hoisted the historic trophy.

“When we had our big match up early in September, both teams kind of shook each other's hands and said, ‘We'll see you later in the playoffs,’” said Faulds.

“That’s the mutual respect both teams have for each other, both coaches and players. It’s the matchup we want and we know if we're going to be, Yates Cup victorious it would be defeating the Western Mustangs.”

Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. in Waterloo.

Award Winners

Three Western Mustangs were honoured by the OUA Thursday in Hamilton at the annual awards ceremony.

Jackson Findlay was named the President’s Award winner as Standup Defensive Player of the Year, while EriK Anderson won the J.P. Metras Award as Lineman of the Year, and PJ Edgeworth took home Assistant Coach of the Year.