Gryphons Defeat Ravens 44-24 Under the Lights at Alumni Stadium

Guelph, Ont - The Guelph Gryphon football team defeated the Carleton Ravens with a final score of 44-24 under the lights at Alumni Stadium on Friday night. The Gryphons move to 5-1 on the season with the Ravens dropping to 3-3.  The Gryphon defense came out strong early on, highlighted by a near pick-six by Michael Carney (Burnaby, B.C.) in the 1st quarter.  Carleton quarterback Nick Gorgichuk (Ottawa, Ont.) had his pass intercepted by Carney who returned it 30 yards before being brought down just shy of the endzone.   The Gryphons would settle for a field goal to open the scoring.

In the absence of starting running back Robert Farquharson (Niagara Falls, Ont.), the Gryphons had several different ball carriers step into the spotlight.  Johnny Augustine (Welland, Ont.) ripped off a powerful 22-yard run right up the gut of the Carleton defence, setting the Gryphons up with a first and goal from the one.  After a change of ends, Augustine would punch it in to make it 10-0 Guelph.

Carleton's star receiver Nate Behar (London, Ont.) was able to give the Ravens a spark with a 44 yard touchdown reception in the 2nd quarter to trim the deficit to 14-10 Guelph.  But as the Gryphons did all night, they were quick to respond with a score of their own.  This time, it was Daniel Palmer-Salmon's (Brampton, Ont.) turn to step up from the group of talented Guelph running backs.  The first year player electrified the Alumni Stadium crowd with a 51 yard run to down to the Ravens six yard line.  From there, Jazz Lindsey (Markham, Ont.) would keep it himself and run it in to give the Gryphons a 21-10 lead.  Before the end of the second half, the Gryphons would score again with Alex Charette (St. Catherines, Ont.) making a nice 38 yard reception to put the Gryphons deep into Ravens territory.  It was then time to share the love in the backfield once again, with Brandon Gordon (Toronto, Ont.) this time finding the end zone, making it 28-10 Gryphons at the half.

Guelph also received another stellar performance on special teams from their kicker Daniel Ferraro (Mississauga, Ont.).  For a second straight week, Ferraro would connect on five field goals, with three of those coming from over 40 yards away (13, 43, 42, 15, 41).  Thanks in large part to Ferraro's leg, and some continued strong play from the defence, the Gryphons were able to extend their lead to 37-10 early in the fourth quarter.

A'Dre Fraser (Halifax, N.S.) would haul in an 8-yard touchdown pass to cap off the Gryphons scoring on the night.  The Ravens were able to find the endzone a few times final quarter, but the outcome was never in doubt as the Gryphons would go on to win it 44-24.

With the Guelph running backs sharing the load, the final numbers in terms of total yards rushing were not eye-popping, but the productivity was certainly there.  Palmer-Salmon averaged 10.8 yards per carry on his six attempts, Augustine 7.2 per carry on his eight touches, and Gordon provided a workman-like 10 carries for 56 yards.  Jazz Lindsey had another efficient day throwing the ball finishing 20-33, 291 yards, TD and 0 INT.  Alex Charette led the receivers with seven catches for 94 yards.

Defensively, the Gryphons were led by a pair of fourth year players in Iain Hutchison (Sault Ste Marie, Ont.) and linebacker John Rush (Niagara Falls, Ont.).  Hutchison racked up nine unassisted tackles while Rush tallied seven.  Aside from the big interception in the first quarter, Michael Carney also made a big play on special teams.  On a fake punt, Carney completed a 13 yard pass for a first down. 

Next up for the Gryphons, a huge matchup versus the 5-1 Western Mustangs in Guelph's final home game of the regular season.  Gametime is scheduled for 1pm on Saturday October 18th.

Source: Guelph Gryphons