HAMILTON - In a battle for first place, and what could prove to be a preview of the 2019 Yates Cup, the No. 5 McMaster Marauders fell 34-17 to the No. 2 Western Mustangs on Saturday at Ron Joyce Stadium.

Western's quarterback, Chris Merchant rushed for two touchdowns while running back Trey Humes added another to dash the Marauders hope of a perfect 3-0 start to the 2019 OUA football season. The loss sees McMaster's record fall to 2-1 while Western now has sole possession of first place and stays perfect at 3-0.

Andreas Dueck countered for the Marauders by tossing two touchdowns and throwing for 345 yards, but that wasn't enough to upset the defending Yates Cup champions. Tyson Middlemost was McMaster's top receiver, registering 73 yards on four catches. 

McMaster stayed in touch with Western for three quarters before the Mustangs broke the game open with 17 unanswered points in the final 21 minutes.

Although not pleased with the loss, Head Coach Stef Ptaszek did recognize the positives of contending with the highest-ranked OUA team.

"They weren't bullying us and running right over us," said Ptaszek. "I think that's a different feel for us and then certainly it was 17-17 in the third quarter, and we were playing football with them. So I don't think anyone in my locker room feels like on any given day we can't compete with the Mustangs." 

Ptaszek emphasized that, while early for the Marauders, it was an opportunity for his players and coaches to measure themselves against the OUA standard. 

"We saw [Western's level of play] and it's nothing that scares us." said Ptaszk. "There's work to do to get to it and compete with this team for four quarters, and fortunately it's week three and we've probably got about nine weeks here to do it. So roll up your sleeves and let's get our fingernails dirty."

Merchant rushed for a touchdown late in the third while tossing another to Brett Ellerman. Liegghio notched his second field goal in that rampant 20-minute period to account for the 17 final Western points.

After seeing Western build a 10-0, the Marauders responded in the second quarter with Dueck hitting Noah Griffith on a 22-yard strike. That was followed by a late Adam Preocanin field goal to tie the score with a 1:43 remaining in the first half.

Unfortunately, Western would break that Marauder momentum by using an eight play 75-yard drive to set the game at 17-10 heading into the half.

McMaster's secondary was able to pickoff Merchant once in the game with Mitch Garland nabbing the Western quarterback. McMaster now has nine interceptions which leads the OUA.

Penalty yards undid a lot of the McMaster momentum which could have changed the outcome of the game with the Marauders being flagged 15 times for a loss of 183 yards. 

BY THE NUMBERS: 

22 - The number of field goals by which Adam Preocanin trails McMaster's all time-career leader Tyler Crapigna, who set the mark of 84 in 2014. He added a single field goal in today's game against Western.

29 - Jordan Lyons returned to action after missing the first two games of the 2019 season. He registered 29 yards on Saturday and needs just five yards to pass Steve Malizia (1982-85) for seventh on McMaster's all-time career rushing yardage list.

4 - McMaster's offence converted four of the six chances on third downs. 

0 - Interceptions thrown by McMaster quarterback Andreas Dueck

LOOK SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS: McMaster defensive back, Josh Cumber was held without an interception for the first time in his career. The OUA rookie was coming into the game leading the OUA with three interceptions, tallying two in his first career game. Last week, he picked off Ottawa quarterbacks once. Zack Kealey of Queen's had two interceptions against Ottawa today to move into a tie with Cumber. 

UP NEXT: Next week, McMaster travels to Toronto to take on the York Lions at Alumni Field. York's record fell to 0-3 after a 53-19 loss to Guelph on Saturday. The last time McMaster and York met was back on September 30, 2017, with the Marauders winning 32-2 at Ron Joyce Stadium. McMaster currently holds a 20 game winning streak against the Lions. Tickets for the Sept. 14 matchup are available online at https://york.universitytickets.com