The Brock Badgers took on the Western Mustangs at Alumni Field on Friday (Sept. 29) night and came away with a hard-fought 24-24 draw.
In the first half, the Mustangs got on the scoreboard first, scoring a try and convert in the fourth minute. The Badgers answered back as Zachariah Bingham found the end zone in the seventh minute to reduce the Western lead to 7-5.
After some back-and-forth action, the Badgers took the lead, scoring near the end of the first half courtesy of a Joel Gibson try and a convert from senior Steven Commerford. As the halftime whistle went, the Badgers held a 12-7 advantage.
Much like the first half, the Mustangs scored first, retaking the lead with a try and successful convert to make it 14-12.
About ten minutes later, the Badgers saw Grant Meadows bring the ball into the end zone. Another Commerford convert extended the Badgers lead to 19-14.
Western reduced the lead to two in the middle of the second half with a penalty goal.
Third-year fly half Reon White dove into the end zone to score Brock's fourth try of the game, giving the Badgers a 24-17 advantage with just over ten minutes remaining. The fourth try earned the Badgers a bonus point on the night.
Logan Neable scored a try late in the second half, which was coupled by a successful convert from William Matthews to tie things up at 24.
The Badgers had possession near Western's goal line, but the final whistle blew before they could find the end zone for the fifth time.
"The full credit goes to our pack. What they did in the scrum and around the park was unbelievable and really gave us a lot of opportunities today," said head coach Sean Medeiros.
Medeiros also had time to reflect on what the team needs to do moving forward to continue the success they have had this season.
"For us, it's just mindset and discipline and limiting the self-inflicted damage. I think if we clean that up, the future holds well for us."
Up next, the Badgers (3-0-1) will play their final home game against the Queen's Gaels (2-0) on Saturday, Oct. 7 at 3:00 p.m.
BADGERS AT A GLANCE
Overall Record: 3-0-1
Conference Record: 3-0-1
Next match: Saturday, Oct. 7 vs Queen's Gaels • 3:00 p.m. – Alumni Field
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