GEE-GEES END UP ON THE WRONG SIDE OF A 50-50, DROPPING THEIR FIRST GAME OF THE YEAR.
Following an outstanding win against top-ranked Laurier 20-18 last weekend, the Gee-Gees came back home with a 3-0 record and a new spot in the U SPORTS top 10 rankings. While facing a 1-2 Guelph team, the Gryphons were coming into the game hot after beating U of O’s historic rivals, the Carleton Ravens, 60-15 in the previous week.
On a beautiful Saturday afternoon, the two red-hot teams would meet in an intense contest determined by only a couple of key plays. Despite the back-and-forth, the Gee-Gees came up second best on the day, losing a heartbreaker 31-26.
First Quarter
With the Gee-Gees starting with the ball, they picked up right where they left off, driving into the Guelph red zone early. However, while the Gee-Gees put up 44 points in their previous home game, they could not keep their clinical execution in threatening areas going and were forced to kick a field goal on the opening drive.
Following the first drive, the bulk of the first quarter was a defensive stalemate, with lots of punts and the Gee-Gees standing strong, including on a third-and-second to get a turnover on downs.
Nevertheless, the Gryphons still put together strong drives, especially through their running game, and inside the Gee-Gees’ red zone. Despite a fumble in the end zone, Guelph would fall on it to get a 7-3 advantage approaching the end of the quarter.
Second Quarter
While the second quarter maintained the first-quarter scoreboard, on the field, Guelph was beginning to take over. Through the great running game from the Guelph o-line and running back #27 Caleb Sargent, the Gryphons began controlling the time of possession and pushing the Gee-Gees defence to the brink. However, all that matters is the scoreboard, and despite the momentum shift, the Gee-Gees defence held strong throughout the second quarter, limiting the Gryphons to only three more points before half-time.
The Gee-Gees offence also finally came alive approaching the intermission. In their final drive of the half, relying heavily on receiver #3 Emyl Gregoire, the Gee-Gees quickly pushed the ball into the Guelph half. Then, finding Gregoire again, Gee-Gees’ Quarterback #15 Josh Janssen threw a quick flat route to the Gee-Gees #3, who finished the job, evening the score at ten with 1:31 left in the half.
With strong defensive play notably from Gee-Gees #1 Denny Ferdinand and #94 Seyi Ayedegbe, along with the brief push from the offence, while the general statistics may have been in Guelph’s favour, going into halftime the scoreboard sat at 10-10.
Third Quarter
Coming out of halftime, the Guelph offence really began pushing the ball hard. Even when the Gee-Gees defence seemed to get a good stop on first down, or pin the QB in the pocket, the Gryphons often managed to escape unharmed and in many cases explode for a big gain on second down.
This really began to wear down the Gee-Gees defence, and it would soon be reflected on the scoreboard as, despite a Gee-Gees 47-yard field goal in between, Guelph scored two touchdowns, one on a QB draw and the other on a clinical passing-heavy drive. As a result, the Gee-Gees went into the fourth quarter down 26-13 and desperate for a big play to flip the script.
Fourth Quarter
With the ball around midfield to start the quarter, the Gee-Gees would flip the script, pulling a flea-flicker out of their bag of tricks. This bold yet brilliant call caught the Gryphons defence sleeping, leaving #82 Regis Kodua wide open for the touchdown. Head coach Marcel Bellefeuille remarked post-game, “we [needed] a play, something to get the bench energized, and it did that”. This was a huge call in a big spot that paid off immensely as the momentum did flip and the Gee-Gees began eyeing up a comeback.
Unfortunately, the Gryphons’ offence responded, and on another pivotal 2nd-down play, the Gryphons once again exploded on a halfback draw and a hurdle to cap off a strong run inside the Gee-Gees 25-yard line. The Gryphons then capitalized with a quick slant touchdown pass, pushing the advantage back up to 11.
While being down approaching the last few minutes of the game, the Gee-Gees did not give up, scoring again through a pass to #11 Robin Collioud, cutting the lead to 5. Then to make things interesting again, after a quick stop, the Gee-Gees got the ball back and drove into the Gryphons’ half. On the game-deciding play, Janssen threw a 50-50 lob pass to the corner of the end zone, and while to the naked eye it seemed as if the Gee-Gees may have walked it off, the Guelph defensive back came out with the ball to ice the game on the goal line. Despite the Gee-Gees getting one more opportunity to throw a Hail Mary in the dying seconds, this incredible interception from the Guelph defence ended the game in favour of the Gryphons.
Beyond the Scoreboard
Overall, while the Gee-Gees came up short in this one, they still showed flashes of being strong contenders for the rest of the OUA season. Even with their 1-2 record, the Gryphons showed they are a top-tier team during this match-up with great running game, passing game, and defence. In reality, the game came down to the final quarter 50-50. On another day it could’ve gone the other way.
The Gee-Gees will have another difficult test next week, traveling to Kingston to face another top-ten-ranked team, the Queen’s Gaels. Head coach Bellefeuille understood that the team will have to “dive back in and get ourselves going and get ourselves ready to go.”
