Queen's Football came away with a statement victory Saturday afternoon, defeating the Western Mustangs 41-30 on the road in London.
The Gaels got on the board first, with Tyler Mullan (Arts & Science) connecting on a 38-yard field goal in the opening quarter. Western answered with a field goal of their own to even the score at 3-3.
Queen's found the end zone in the second quarter when Jayce Baldwin (Health Studies) rushed nine yards for the touchdown, with Mullan adding the extra point to give the Gaels a 10-3 advantage.
After Western tied the game, Queen's responded with another trip to the end zone. Alex Vreeken (Kinesiology) connected with Russell Weir (Arts & Science) for a 40-yard touchdown, putting the Gaels back in front.
Queen's added another touchdown late in the half to extend its advantage to 24-10 before Western connected on a field goal as time expired, sending the Gaels into halftime with a 24-13 lead.
Western cut into the Queen's advantage early in the third quarter, but Mullan answered with a 39-yard field goal to push the Gaels' lead to 27-20.
The Mustangs continued to battle back and eventually took their first lead of the afternoon at 29-27, setting up a crucial response from the Gaels' offence.
Queen's delivered.
The Gaels marched 76 yards on seven plays before finding the end zone to regain the lead. Vreeken completed the ensuing two-point conversion to give Queen's a 35-29 advantage heading into the fourth quarter.
With the game still within one possession in the final frame, the Gaels turned to their kicking game to put the result away. Matt Driver (Arts & Science) connected on a 23-yard field goal with 4:47 remaining, extending the lead to 38-30.
Mullan then capped off a strong afternoon with his third field goal of the game, converting from 39 yards with 1:11 remaining to secure the 41-30 victory.
Queen's finished the afternoon with four field goals, three from Mullan, while the Gaels' offence produced timely scoring drives throughout the contest to answer each Western push.
The 41-30 result gives Queen's a major road victory as the Gaels continue through the second half of their OUA regular-season schedule.
The Gaels will return home next weekend, hosting the Windsor Lancers on Saturday, Oct. 10 at 3 p.m. at Richardson Stadium as Queen's looks to carry the momentum from Saturday's road victory into the final stretch of the OUA regular season. Tickets are available on gogaelsgo.com or stream all the action live from OUA.TV.Â
