Gryphons football falls to 7-1, missing first-round playoff bye.
With a first round playoff bye on the line, the Gryphons were handed their first loss during the last game of the regular season on Oct. 19. The Queen’s Gaels grabbed hold of second in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) standings with the 37-23 victory.
In the last two meetings between these teams, the Gryphons orchestrated huge come-from-behind wins at home. One of those games saw the Gaels lose a 36-14 fourth quarter lead, with Guelph winning in overtime.
Now stealing a page out of the Gryphons playbook, with a 16-7 score in the second quarter, the Gaels launched a comeback versus the black, red, and gold just before halftime, marking the beginning of a 30-point outburst. In the obvious turning point of the game, Gaels Billy McPhee connected with Aaron Gazendam for a 16-yard pass to score with 52 seconds left. Dillon Wamsley’s extra-point kick put the Gaels ahead for the first time since the first quarter, leaving Queen’s heading into halftime with a 17-16 lead.
The second half gave way to 20 more points for the Gaels, putting the game out of reach for the Gryphons. However, the fresh memory of a big fourth-quarter comeback was nearly relived as Guelph made a late attempt with 2:18 left in the game. The six play, 87 yard drive finished as Jazz Lindsey connected with A’Dre Fraser on a five-yard pass, making the score 37-23 after Daniel Ferraro’s kick extra-point. That would be the final score, as the Gryphons were silenced with an interception at the hands of Yann Dika-Balotoken with just over a minute left in the game.
The Gryphons can look back on their first regular season loss as a game where they might have just beat themselves. With three interceptions, only 52 per cent of passing attempts completed, and the Gaels getting through three times for the sack on Lindsey, this loss can be chalked up to sloppy play. However, one of the few highlights for Guelph came with Carl Trivieri’s performance as the game’s top receiver. Trivieri had one touchdown, and 136 yards on six receptions in the loss.
As the 7-1 Queens enjoy the first round bye (earning the tiebreaker against Guelph), the 7-1 Gryphons get ready to host Windsor in the opening round of the playoffs on Saturday, Oct. 26 at 8 p.m.