A valiant comeback attempt failed on Saturday as the McMaster Mauraders beat the Mustangs 34-27 in Hamilton. And it's a good thing it failed. Why? Simply because Western didn't deserve to win and the loss will likely do more good than the comeback win.

On Saturday Western was beaten on offence, on defence and on special teams. And they looked very bad doing it. The defence, who has shut down many of the leagues best rushers all season, let the Mac backs run freely throughout the defensive backfield. There were even times when Mac fullback Chris Dorrington looked confused at not having been hit yet.

Similarly the Western offense had a difficult time generating yards against one of the lowest rated defenses in the country. Usually solid quarterback Mike O'Brien was often off target with passes. And whan he did hit the mark, the receivers often dropped the ball. Weaterns strength, the running game, generated only 56 yards in the first half and only 137 all game.

But you knew it was going to be a bad day when even fate was against them.

In the first half McMaster was lined up for a field goal. Mustang linebacker Justin Anania burst through the line and successfully blocked the kick. But what would usually be a victory turned to defeat when the holder, Mac QB Ben Chapdelaine, found the ball lying at his feet. He picked it up and ran into the endzone for a touchdown. It was nobody's fault but it illustrated how the day was going from bad to worse.

In the fourth quarter Western was mounting their comeback. They had pulled to within seven points. The defense, by now back to it's normal self, had been repeatedly stopping the Mac offence. After one effective defensive stand, Mac was set to punt. Western was to get the ball in great field position. But not so fast.

Kris Aiken wasn't able to catch the ball. While he claimed that he had not touched it, the official, only a few yards away, claimed he did. Live ball and Mac recovered. The was then, effectively, over.

Scott Crawley gained 99 yards rushing and another 31 through the air. Fabian Rayne gained only 23 yards.

Notes

Fabian Rayne returned from an ankle injury last week. Initially it was reported that he would be out about two weeks. He was ineffective against McMaster (although the ankle probably had nothing to do with it.)

Some interesting stats on superkicker Mike O'Brien. Apparently only 6 other kickers in all of Canadian college, Canadian Pro, US college and US Pro football have a better punting average than Mike. Like I said in an earlier report, if this guy doesn't get a look from pro scouts, Canadian football is in trouble.

Next weeks game against the Toronto Blues will be the last regularly scheduled game at Western's little stadium. (We hope there will be at least two more.) Construction on the new stadium began recently.

This week's mustangfootball.com player of the game is linebacker Justin Anania. He had two sacks and a blocked field goal.

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

The Good - McMaster coach Greg Marshall and his attitude. After turning over the ball on a failed third down attempt, and after Western turned it into a Mustang touchdown, Marshall had this to say about the third down call: "There ain't no getting around it; it's dumb."

The Bad - Kris Aiken's decision not to catch the fourth quarter punt. Kris, it's like in baseball, late in the game you don't take a pitch that's close!

The Ugly - The overall Mustang's performace.