The Western Mustangs are now one win away from the Yates Cup title, after securing a hard-fought victory in the semi-finals against the Windsor Lancers.
The Mustangs will head to Kingston, Ontario, to compete against the Queen’s Gaels for the Yates Cup championship. In regular season action, the two teams faced off in early October, with the Gaels winning 41-30.
Western will need to be sharp on defence and find ways to stop Queen’s star quarterback Alex Vreeken. He has been putting up impressive numbers on the field this season.
Western Head coach Michael Faulds (Credit: Daniel Thuss XFM news)
“You got to limit his opportunities, you’re never going to stop someone at that level, but you want to limit their explosive plays and opportunities,” said Western Mustangs head coach Michael Faulds
In their regular season matchup, Vreeken threw for over 400 yards and three touchdowns against the Mustangs.
Western is coming in to the game ranked first in many offensive categories in the OUA. They lead the league in points per game and rushing yards per game. Scoring an average of 46.1 points per game.
Queen’s offence is not far behind. Finishing their season ranked third in many of the same categories as Western. Both teams are ready to put up a fight for the Yates Cup.
“It’s all about effort and energy in practice” said rookie D-Lineman Rory Lit. “We came off that loss against Laurier in the last regular season game. I think everyone kind of came together and figured there’s one way up from here and that’s to work harder and get better week in and week out.”
Both teams have history winning the OUA Championship.
The Queen Gaels are looking to win back to back titles making it their 25th win in franchise history. The Western Mustangs are looking to win their 36th Yates Cup title. Michael Faulds has won 2 cups as a player with the Mustangs, and is looking to win his first as a coach with the team.
The 118th Yates Cup takes place in Kingston, Ont on Saturday, Nov. 14, 2026. Kickoff is at 1pm.
