Sometimes knowing it is not enough. You also have to experience it. Case in point. As I took my seat in section C of Little Stadium for Saturday's game agianst Bishops, I wondered why a Western player was getting help from a trainer at the visitors bench. Of course, it took only a second to put the two together - Bishops wears purple and white. Nevertheless, it was odd to see purple and white emerge from that side of the stands.

This game started slowly for the Mustang offence. Quarterback Mike O'Brien seemed somewhat awkward at first, almost as though he was nervous or something was not quite right. He settled down as the game progressed but never got in the groove throwing the ball. On more than one occasion he overthrew a receiver or just missed the target. The dismal 3 for 14 reception/attempt statistic (39 yards in all) was unsual even for this mediocre receiving corps.

The teams strength, the running game, also took a while to get going. The Mustangs go-to-guy in previous games, Scott Crawley wasn't able to get anywhere during his first few carries. In fact, it took several possesions before Western was able to earn a first down.

Even mother nature was against them early in the game. The strong winds from the south made it virtually impossible for Mike O'Brien to get off one of his trademark booming punts. This resulted in Bishops having excellent field position throughout most of the first quarter. Fortunately for Western, the Gaiters were not able to do much with it.

Credit goes to the Mustang coaches, however, for finding Bishop's weakness and fully exploiting it. The weakness? The inside run. It all started when Fabian Rayne got the ball and began to blow through the Gaiter defence. He had one particularly stellar run that left a wake Gaiter tacklers on the Little Stadium grass. It went for 29 yards and a touchdown. On the day, Rayne carried 9 times for 79 yards - an average of 8.7 yards per carry - before suffering an ankle injury late in the second quarter.

With Rayne gone for the remainder of the day the ball went to Mike Laszlo, a former OUA all-star that had been relegated to spot duty after missing last season with a knee injury. The running game continued and Laszlo ended up carrying 24 times for 124 yards, an average of 5.2 yards per carry. Prior to this he had averaged just 2.4 carries and 13.8 yards per game.

Scott Crawley carried 12 times for 58 yards and one touchdown.

The defence, to which we have become accustomed, had it's usual outstanding game. For a while, it was looking as though they were going to begin a new touchdown-free streak, their last one being broken the week previous after 16 touchdown free quarters. The defence allowed only 244 total yards, 79 on the ground and 165 through the air. Justin Anania and Adam McLeod had interceptions.

Notes

• Many of the Bishops players seemed more interested in the Mustang cheerleaders than the game during the second quarter.

• One thing the Mustangs don't lack is offensive backfield depth. For many teams, the loss of a player of Fabian Rayne's calibre would be devistating. But for the Mustangs Rayne's second quarter ankle injury was no more than an inconvience. Mike Laszlo stepped in and had a great game.

• he mustangfootball.com player of the game is runningback Mike Laszlo. Going into the game he was expecting to play no more than the spot duty he had seen all season. With the injury to Rayne, he was now the primary ball carrier. And he responded with a great effort. Honourable mention goes to the offensive line, without whom Laszlo's great game whould not hve been possible.

• By the way, Rayne's injury is only an ankle sprain expected to keep him out about a week or two. (Note to the coaches: Don't rush him back. The regular season is wrapped up. Save him for the playoffs!)

• London Free Press reported Steve Coad made a comment in his game report that "Western's offence has grabbed most of the headlines this season." That's only because they are his headlines! I think that this site has done a good job of recognizing the efforts of this seasons defence. In fact, defensive players have been mustangfootball.com players of the game twice this season. When was the last time you saw an "official" player of the game award go to the defence? I'm looking forward to see how the Western defence handles the high-powered McMaster offence next week. For those interested, the breakdown of the other four players-of-the-game was two special teams and two offence (including this week.)