Gryphons shut down the Warriors 47-17 on opening day
“It was a very exciting home opening win for us,” said Guelph head coach Stu Lang. “We are trying to create a professional feel here at Guelph and it really was that today at Alumni Stadium. The fans, field and new video board were outstanding, it was a great event and all in all a great day for us.”
Leading the Gryphon’s offence was Robert Farquharson (Niagara Falls, Ont.) who rushed for a monstrous 165 yards on 18 carries and two majors. Jazz Lindsey (Markham, Ont.) completed 13-of-30 attempts for 178 yards and two touchdowns.
The win propels the Gryphons to a 2-1 standing in the regular season while dropping the Warriors to 0-3.
Receiving the first kick-off in the new stadium, the Warriors sought to leave their mark with an early victory in the season. However, the Gryphon defence emerged strong, ruining any hopes of Waterloo domination. Yet following several sloppy penalties on both sides of the ball, it was unclear as to who would emerge on top in the first quarter.
It was only in the eighth minute of regulation that Jazz Lindsey (Markham, Ont.) was able to shovel the ball to veteran receiver Michael Fortino (Niagara Falls, Ont.) to punch Guelph’s first ticket into the end zone. The successful conversion by Daniel Ferraro (Mississauga, Ont.) gave the Gryphons their first lead of 7-0.
Wasting no time on retaliation, Warrior quarterback, Jamie Cook (Collingwood, Ont.) was able to connect with Guelph local, Nick Anapolsky to bring the Warriors within one. The successful conversion put the first, and only tie on the scoreboard to end the quarter at 7-7.
Carrying the momentum into the Warrior end to start the second, the Gryphons wasted no time in dominating the Warrior red-zone. However, a costly fumble saw possession switch to the Warriors within their 5-yard line. The defence wasted no time in bringing the ball back into Lindsey’s hands by shutting down the Warrior drive and forcing the punt. The special teams came up strong to force a Warrior safety, bringing their lead to 9-7.
Waterloo would once again cut this lead short as Jake Fiorucci (Niagara Falls, Ont.) hit a 38-yard field goal to give Waterloo their first and only lead of the game. Guelph quickly rebounded, but after a missed field goal attempt, the Gryphons were able to settle for a rouge to tie the game at 10.
As the half neared its completion, the Warriors had three big plays to bring them to a first and goal opportunity within Guelph’s 5-yard line. Rejected on the first two tries, the Warriors risked it on third and were once again denied by Guelph’s impenetrable D-line. The huge defensive upset gave the Gryphons the momentum they needed going into half to ensure the first victory in the new stadium.
“The goal line stand by the defence was a big turn of events for us and we realized that we need to be tougher, so that was very big. We just needed to settle down after the first half and the defence brought us into the second half with great momentum,” said Lang.
Following the Gryphons’ sixth sack, and a forced fumble by Iain Hutchison (Ottawa, Ont.) the offensive pressure surged into the Warrior red-zone with Rob Farquharson (Niagara Falls, Ont.) hammering home the second touchdown of the day to put Guelph up 17-9. He would secure his second ticket to the end-zone minutes later with a monstrous 38-yard run to extend the lead by seven. Daniel Ferraro (Mississauga, Ont.) capitalized on both conversion attempts.
As the offence finally found its rhythm, Jazz Lindsey (Markham, Ont.) connected with older brother Saxon Lindsey (Markham, Ont.) through the air to put Guelph up 33-10 going into the final quarter.
Dominance on both sides of the Guelph ball became the common theme in the fourth quarter as Guelph was able to keep Waterloo first-downs to a minimum, while maintaining possession to wind down the clock. This led to Guelph’s inevitable fifth touchdown as Marc Routledge snuck a 1-yard touchdown run in to put the Gryphons up 40-10.
Waterloo started to show signs of life as they retaliated with a 27-yard pass to Nick Anapolsky (Guelph, Ont.) for his second of the day. The successful conversion cut the Gryphons’ lead to 23.
However, the Gryphons defence wasn’t finished as Taylor Palmer recorded the second interception of the game and ran it back for a whopping 75 yard touchdown in the final seven minutes to bring the lead back to 30.
The defence finished the day with an impressive seven sacks and 41 tackles. Guelph local Jake Reinhart led the team with eight solo tackles and 1.5 sacks, while Zachary Androschuk (Sarnia, Ont.) recorded six solo tackles.
Impressive efforts on both fronts secured the Gryphons’ first win in their new stadium, and gives them the necessary momentum leading into their next game on homecoming weekend (Sept. 22). The team looks to continue their win-streak against the University of Toronto Varsity Blues who stand at 1-2 in the regular season. The game is scheduled to take place at 1:00 pm at Alumni Stadium and will be broadcast live on University Rush on theScore.
Source: Guelph Sports Info