BURLINGTON, Ont. – For the second time in three seasons, Western Mustangs quarterback Will Finch has been named OUA Most Valuable Player and head coach Greg Marshall has been named the OUA Coach of the Year.
Coming off an injury plagued 2014 season, Finch returned to form once again this year, leading the Mustangs to one of the most prolific offensive seasons in OUA and CIS history. Western, who finished the regular season a perfect 8-0, became the highest-scoring team in CIS football history, finishing the with 494 points to break the previous single-season mark of 481 set by Laval in 2003. The Mustangs scored 64 touchdowns this season, two more than the old national standard shared by Laval (2003) and Saint Mary’s (2001).
Finch, a fourth-year social science student-athlete, threw for 2616 yards and 17 touchdowns while completing 69.5 % of his passes this season, the second highest mark of his career. The 6-foot-3, 215 lbs quarterback from Burlington, Ont., completed 166 of his 239 attempts on the season and averaged 327.0 yards per game to finish second in the conference. On the ground, Finch ran the ball 33 times for 237 yards and three touchdowns.
Finch, who previously was named OUA MVP in 2013, was the catalyst for a Mustangs offence that put up 5721 yards of total offence during the regular season, an unprecedented average of 729.5 yards per game.
The Burlington, Ont. native becomes the second Western Mustangs player along with Tim Tindale to win the award twice is his career and the first player since Queen’s Gaels quarterback Tommy Dennison (2002-03) to win the award twice in a career.
For the fifth time in his career, Western Mustangs head coach Greg Marshall has been honoured with the Dave ‘Tuffy’ Knight Award as OUA Coach of the Year, presented by Centaur Products. Marshall, in his ninth season with the team, guided the Mustangs to a perfect 8-0 regular season and a spot in the 108th Yates Cup, presented by Investors Group.
Marshall previously won the award in 2010 and 2013 with Western and in 1999 and 2000 while at the helm of the McMaster Marauders. He also captured the CIS Coach of the Year award back in 2000, and was named the CFL Coach of the Year in 2004 with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
In the final game of the regular season, Marshall recorded his 100th career regular season win against his former team, the previously mentioned Marauders.
The trophy case at the Marshall household is becoming quite crowded as the former Mustangs running back also won the Hec Crighton Trophy as the nation’s most outstanding player in 1980.
A native of Guelph, Ont., Marshall has coached all three of his sons at Western. Tom, who earlier this week was named a first-team all-star still plays for the Mustangs, while brothers Brian and Donnie have both finished their university careers.
The full OUA awards release is available here.
For more information please contact:
Tony von Richter
Manager, Communications and Media Relations
Western Mustangs
Office: 519-661-2111 ext. 83089
Cell: 519-709-1858
Email: tvonrich@uwo.ca
