Guelph-Western teed up for OUA Yates Cup; Will Finch goes down for mighty Mustangs

For Will Finch and his Western Mustangs, it might be déjà vu all over after the star quarterback sustained apparent head trauma during Ontario University Athletics' Semifinal Saturday.

As virtually everyone outside of those with rooting stakes in the four remaining teams expected, it will be a Guelph Gryphons-Mustangs matchup in the 108th Yates Cup. Both ended up engaged in nip-tuck November saw-offs for 3½, with Western winning 32-18 against Laurier Golden Hawks whilst the Gryphons of Stu Lang topped the burgeoning Carleton Ravens 33-21.

The big takeaway, though, is that Finch,, who had his 2014 season truncated by a brain injury, did not finish the game. The fourth-year quarterback that led Western to a Canadian Interuniversity-Sport record 494-point regular season was injured midway through the game Saturday. It did not look auspicious as far as the Mustangs' playoff aspirations are concerned.

Western coach Greg Marshall has guided teams with only-okay QB play to Yates titles, but it's hard to get by with a replacement-level QB in national playoffs. The Ontario representative will also host Quebec's best in the Mitchell Bowl, do not forget.

Without Finch and a host of other injured cogs in the '14 playoffs, Western was trounced 51-26 in the semifinal by Guelph. The quarterback was also unable to finish the 2013 Mitchell Bowl when Western was defeated by the Calgary Dinos.

Mustangs backup QB Stevenson Bone had a relatively sterling relief effort to help hold off Laurier, which lost its prolific running back Dillon Campbell to a leg injury during the first half. Coach Michael Faulds' Golden Hawks kept within a field goal until linebacker Preston Huggins intercepted a screen pass, setting up slotback Matt Uren's jet-sweep touchdown run for a backbreaking score.

With OUA's scheduling byes, Guelph and Western did not hook up during the regular season, much to the consternation of the CIS football cognoscenti. There was a serious prospect of having two undefeated teams until the Gryphons lost at Queen's on Oct. 3.

If Finch isn't medically cleared to play in the Yates Cup (CHCH, Saturday, 1 p.m. ET), that doesn't necessarily flip Guelph into the role of favorite. For what it is worth, against common opponents that made the playoffs, Western went 4-0 with an average 38.75-winning margin, whereas Guelph was 3-1 with an 11.25-average point differential.

Whichever quarterback Western starts, Lang's Gryphons will need more finish in the Yates. First-year starting quarterback James Roberts (17-of-31, 208 yards) short-armed a few passes in the red zone and Guelph coughed up a fumble in the last minute of the first half after a takeaway by his teammates.

That led to Guelph only leading 12-9 — on four field goals, all from 30 yards or closer — at intermission. Guelph's star linebacker John Rush blocked a punt to set up a Brandon Gordon touchdown run.

Carleton,, playing its first conference semifinal since 1986, didn't crumple and was even within a touchdown midway through the final quarter. Gryphons tailback Johnny Augustine, on his way to a 35-carry, 245-yard day, scored to cap a 10-play drive. A couple Gryphons stops later, Augustine had a sealing 33-yard score.

It is commendable that coach Steve Sumarah's third-year Ravens were competitive in a semifinal game against a Top 5 team. The final scoreline was a 20-point improvement over the teams' game in the nation's capital in the last week of the regular season (similarly, Carleton had a 41-point turnaround from first meeting to rematch when it humbled Queen's last week). That testifies to Carleton's coaching and its confidence.

At the same time, though, the scoreline might have flattered the Ravens somewhat. Guelph rushed for 347 of its 534 yards, while some of the score-zone settles were more a byproduct of poor passing-game execution in windy conditions.

Circling back to the story of the day, though, Finch's injury, has changed the playoff outlook in Ontario and across the university football landscape.

Neate Sager is a writer for Yahoo! Canada Sports. Follow him on Twitter @naitSAYger.