The 108th Yates Cup belongs to the Guelph Gryphons after 19 long years of coming up short. The No. 5 Gryphons traveled to London to face the previously unbeaten No. 2 Western Mustangs on Nov. 14, 2015, knowing it would be their biggest contest of the year, and held on to win after a furious last minute comeback drive by the Mustangs, who came just short on the final play of the game.
The Western Mustangs played without their star QB and league MVP, Will Finch. Finch led the Mustang offense to the best statistical season in OUA history, but was injured in the semi-final game against Laurier.
Western’s defence came out strong, often trying to rattle sophomore Gryphons QB James Roberts. Western’s choice had mixed results; to start the game, Western forced Guelph to punt after a big sack. A 33-yard return by Matt Uren and an off-tackle scamper by Alex Taylor got Western into good field position before Western QB Stephenson Bone ran for a TD. The Gryphons answered with a 47-yard return from Ryan Nieuwesteeg.
Guelph’s Johnny Augustine managed a few good runs before fumbling the ball and killing the drive. A holding penalty and John Rush sack later bailed out Augustine, who had only fumbled once this year. Western seemed reluctant to put the ball in the air early in the game, whereas Guelph came out throwing more than usual. Western focused on the off tackle area, usually behind one or more pulling offensive linemen, and dispersing the ball between their three talented running backs.
In the second quarter, Western continued their trend of successfully gambling on their third down to move into field goal position. Mustangs kicker Ben Kelly missed his second field goal of the game, this time a 47-yarder, which Nieuwesteeg ran out. Guelph responded with their best drive of the game thus far, consisting of a big run by Augustine, a deep completion to Jacob Scarfone, and a nice grab by A’dre Fraser to move into scoring position. A dropped ball prevented them from capitalizing and the Gryphons came away with a field goal to make the score 7-3. Western marched back down the field on a drive featuring two more third-down plays. Bone escaped a sack and scrambled to find his receiver, who brought the ball to the goal line.
Brandon Gordon checked into the game for Guelph, and after two good runs, fumbled at midfield to stall another promising Guelph scoring drive. Bone struggled all game with longer pass attempts, creating a challenge for Western against a staunch Gryphon defense.
In the third quarter, the Gryphons came out roaring with safety Tristan Doughlin grabbing an interception on Western’s first drive. After the teams traded punts, a 31-yard return from Nieuwesteeg, and a 24-yard scamper by Gordon, Roberts snuck into the end zone to make it 14-10.
Kelly hit a field goal on his third attempt of the game to keep Western a touchdown ahead. To start the fourth quarter, Augustine escaped for 21 yards on a well-blocked shovel pass, starting a drive that culminated in a 36-yard touchdown to Scarfone to tie the score at 17. Western then fumbled the ball deep in their own end, eventually leading to a successful Guelph field goal.
The Gryphons’ 20-17 lead marked the first time that Western found themselves losing by more than one point this season. Gryphons linebacker Rush sacked Bone for a 14-yard loss, and another short punt from Kelly resulted in great field position for Guelph. Gordon and Augustine marched down on a strong scoring drive to the 8-yard line, but the Gryphons couldn’t put the game away and had to settle for another field goal to make the score 23-17.
With 1 minute and 47 seconds left to play in the fourth, Guelph stopped Western at midfield, but the offence failed to score a first down to give the Mustangs a second chance. Bone led the Mustangs on a heroic 11-play, 70-yard drive, eventually getting to first and goal from the Guelph 10-yard line with five seconds to play. Bone found an open receiver, but he was short of the end zone, and Royce Metchie, with a flock of Gryphons behind him, made the tackle that would carve Guelph’s name on the Yates Cup once again.