In his first trip back to London as the head coach of the Waterloo Warriors, Chris Bertoia received a rather rude homecoming from his former team.

The Western Mustangs roared out to a 35-point lead in the first quarter and never looked back, galloping past the Warriors 75-14 on Saturday afternoon at TD stadium in London.

Bertoia, who spent five years as Western's offensive line coach and recruiting coordinator, saw his Warriors fall to 0-3 on the season. Meanwhile, the Mustangs bounced back from a week 2 loss at Carleton to improve to 2-1.

Western quarterback Chris Merchant starred for the seventh-ranked Mustangs, completing 16 of 18 passes for 258 yards and 4 touchdowns. George Johnson was Merchant's most frequent target, catching four balls for 100 yards and a pair of first-quarter touchdowns.

The Mustangs were also effective on the ground, as Alex Taylor ran for 141 yards and one of Western's four rushing TDs on the day. All told, the experience of the Mustangs offense was too much for the young Warriors, as the hosts outgained Waterloo 749 yards to 246.

But despite the final score, the game wasn't without its bright spots from the Warriors. Quarterback Lucas McConnell (Waterford) went 15-33 with two touchdown passes to a pair of rookies, Brandon Metz (Cambridge) and Tyler Ternowski (Hamilton) – the latter of which was a perfectly floated pass by McConnell that went for an 85-yard score.

On the defensive side of the ball, Jordan Hoover (Sault Ste. Marie) registered his first interception of the season after tying for the CIS lead in picks in 2015. Hoover also tied for the team lead in total tackles with 11, equaled by rookie linebacker Michael Reid (Sault Ste. Marie). Fellow first-year LB Kurtis Gray (Waterloo) contributed 7.5 total tackles, including his first career solo sack.

The Warriors will now return home to play another nationally-ranked opponent, as they host the McMaster Marauders on Saturday, September 17. Kickoff is scheduled for 1pm.