Fourth quarter burst allows Gryphons to push past Varsity Blues
The Guelph Gryphons football team pushed the visiting University of Toronto Varsity Blues to 0-2 after taking the home opener by a score of 50-18, improving to 1-1 on the season. A crowd of 3,144 fans were treated to the home Gryphons taking to the field in their new gold jerseys in honour of the University of Guelph’s 50th anniversary this year. Due to the help of new jerseys or not, a 33-point outburst in the second half of the game gave way to a strong Gryphons win despite the somewhat slow offensive start.
Maintaining momentum for the first half, the Gryphons defence stood tall and was the obvious strength for the black, red, and gold early on, holding the Varsity Blues to a Guelph conceded safety and a 30-yard field goal until scoring their first touchdown of the game with 34.1 seconds left in the second quarter. Heading into the second half of the game, the Gryphons led the Varsity Blues 14-12.
The Gryphons defence continued to make a statement in the third quarter, forcing Varsity Blues quarterback Simon Nassar’s long attempts to be incomplete. However Toronto would still manage to put points on the board with a 40-yard field goal by Eric Hewitson, taking a 15-14 lead just under five minutes into the second half.
The teams would exchange field goals, first a 15-yard field goal from Gryphon Gabriel Ferraro, pulling the home team ahead 17-15, followed up shortly afterwards by Toronto taking back the lead, 18-17, with 3:25 to go in the third quarter.
The exchange of leads would end there as Gryphon defensive back, Ryan Nieuwesteeg, capitalized on a 62 yard Varsity Blues punt, returning for a touchdown and putting the home team up 24-18 after Ferraro added the extra point with just 12.4 seconds left before the fourth and final quarter.
Nieuwesteeg, who returned nine punts for a total of 175 yards resulting in an Ontarion University Athletics (OUA) Special Teams Player of the Week honour, would be the ultimate turning point and gateway for the Gryphons offence, opening it up for 33-unanswered points.
Gryphons receiver Alex Charette would capitalize next, catching his second of three touchdowns with 11:32 left in the game. Running back Johnny Augustine would find the end zone for the two-point conversion, putting the Gryphons up 32-18.
The real story, however, may be first-year quarterback, James Roberts, who came in early in the third quarter to relieve fourth-year quarterback, Jazz Lindsey. The Burlington, Ontario native completed 12 of 20 pass attempts for 125 yards and three touchdowns, throwing only one interception.
“I just kind of played it; didn’t think much of it,” Roberts said of coming into game. “I just did what I knew how to do and did my best.”
When asked of the pressure, Roberts maintained he kept a simple mindset.
“Usually when you try and overthink things, that’s when you make some mistakes,” the 6’0”, 185lb quarterback explained. “I just tried to play and see what happened.”
Fifth-year Gryphon quarterback, Mackenzie Blewett, would close out the game, finding wide receiver Colin Booth for the touchdown and the two-point conversion, putting the final score at 50-18 in favour of the home team.
Charette led receivers with 61 yards on eight catches and a total of three touchdowns, while Gryphon wide receiver Lucas Spagnuolo totaled for 74 yards on six catches, a long of 26 yards and one touchdown.
The Gryphons defence remained strong throughout the game, with Ian Hutchison leading the way with nine solo tackles and three assisted, totaling for 10.5 tackles. Linebacker and Guelph native Mackenzie Myers was a close second with five solo tackles, while linebacker Curtis Newton was not too far behind with three solo tackles and two assisted for a total of four tackles.
The Gryphons are on the road next, looking for their second win of the season when they face off against the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees on Sept. 13. Kick off is set for 1:00pm.