Bruised and battered Western Mustangs o-line promises big finish to season

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The big boys are feeling it right now.

The Western football team piled up a combined 100 points in blowout wins over Queen’s and McMaster the past two weeks. But a good chunk of its outstanding offensive line is feeling the aches and pain heading into the final regular-season road game Friday, 7 p.m. at Toronto’s Varsity Centre.

“It’s late in the year,” veteran Mustangs left tackle Erik Andersen said. “The games are physical and the boys are going to be a bit banged up. But the locker room is in a good spot. We’ll get all the guys healthy who are hurting and in the meantime, there are still a lot ready to do a great job.”

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Andersen wasn’t in pads early this week after tweaking his ankle at McMaster.

“Just taking Tuesday off like usual,” Western head coach Greg Marshall quipped. “He gets beaten up pretty good. He got rolled up on and his brace held, which is great. Sometimes, it transfers into the ankle but he’s just sore.”

Right tackle Reed Cloutier missed the Marauders win after his back tensed up during practice last week. Right guard Simon Smith left early with an ankle issue but there is hope he can answer the bell.

“Problem is, it’s a short week,” Marshall said. “Good thing we have a lot of o-linemen.”

The guts of the Western offence is the power run game. That makes the large men up front unsung heroes and being a starter on the line is never taken for granted.

Phil Jeffs filled in for Cloutier right after having a wisdom tooth removed.

“He told me, ‘Coach, I haven’t slept in a week’,” Marshall said, “but he played the game. He wanted to have it done before but the doctor said, ‘Then you won’t be able to play.’ So, he’ll be alright once we let the stitches heal up. He’s been feeling it, but had a great game. Matt Ounsted came in for Smith and did a great job.

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“We ran the football when we needed to and had a lot of guys touching the ball.”

The team was hoping for good news this week on Sebastian Sibbald’s banged-up knee. The six-foot-seven, 386-pounder hurt it against Laurier last month and his season is in jeopardy.

The same goes for six-foot-four, 315-pounder Keegan O’Neil, who hasn’t played a snap since being injured last year in the national semifinal against Montreal.

It’s hard to build the long-term offensive consistency Marshall wants when the lineup is in flux. But the Mustangs line is determined to make it work.

“It’s all trusting each other and getting in those reps, especially in the off-season,” Andersen said. “We had a good group of linemen out twice a week at 7 a.m. working on the necessary skills so when we got to camp, we were ready.

“When I came to Western, we had a big group of rookies who now know the system. They’ve put in a lot of work and now, we brought in another great group of first-years like (six-foot-two, 295-pound) Brady Hitchen, who got in there to play as a first-year guy.”

The Mustangs (5-1) can’t afford to rest anybody right now or take any opponent lightly. They want to keep the pressure on Laurier (6-0) for first place and build momentum heading into next week’s clash with Windsor (5-1).

“We’re all good,” Andersen said of the offensive line. “I definitely have as many (games) as I need left in me.”

rpyette@postmedia.com

OUA FOOTBALL

Western (5-1) at Toronto (1-5)

When: Friday, 7 p.m. at Varsity Centre.

The matchup: The Mustangs are 2-1 on the road while the Blues are 0-3 at home.

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