<%--Mens Rugby Playoffs vs. RMC Gallery--%>   Guelph, Ont. – The Guelph Gryphon men's rugby team came out with a win against the Royal Military College Paladins Wednesday night at Varsity Field with a final score of 34-31, allowing the Gryphons to advance to OUA semi-finals. The Gryphons will now travel to London to take on the Western Mustangs in an OUA semi-final on Saturday (Oct. 26) at 1:00 p.m.  
 
Adam Maahs led the Gryphons in scoring with a total of ten points after scoring a try in the first half and again in the first overtime period.
 
Despite the loss of a player in the first minute of play due to injury, the Paladins started out strong with RMC player Maxwell Williams (Windsor, Ont.) scoring the first try of the game, with Sam Hogg (Romteln, AB.) successfully converting to make it 7-0 in the first few minutes of play. The Paladins were dominating possession, and Guelph was finding it difficult to generate any momentum to get the ball moving. It would be Adam Maahs who would find the try zone first for the Gryphons, finding space to run down the side of the field making it 7-5 after a missed conversion. The Gryphons would keep their momentum and again find space between the RMC players to find their way down the sidelines for another try by Jason Valencia and a successful conversion by Joe Newman it 12-7 for the Gryphons. The Gryphons were able to keep RMC from scoring for the remainder of the first half, keeping it at 12-7 as they entered the second half of play.
 
The Paladins would be the first on the board again in the second half with a quick try and a conversion in the first 10 minutes, making it 14-12. The Paladins would put more points on the board shortly after with a penalty goal by Hogg. The Gryphons would regain control of the ball, and find a spot between RMC players with Byron Boville using his speed to score a try, making it 17-17 for the Gryphons. Shortly after the Paladins would break the tie with a try scored by Matt Taylor (Bridgewater, N.S.) and a successful conversion by Sam Hogg to make it 24-17. The Gryphons powered back in the last minutes five minutes before added time to make it 24-24 after a try by Scott Sopel and another successful conversion by Joe Newman, forcing the game into overtime.
 
The Gryphons were able to come back in the first ten minute period of overtime with a try by Adam Maahs and another by Joshua Morgan  to make it 34-24. The Paladins made it a close game with Richard Spiller (Vernon, B.C) scoring a try early and Hogg successfully converting in the second ten minute period of overtime, making it 34-31. The Paladins were unable to score again against the Gryphons, leaving the score at 34-31.
 
The Guelph Gryphon men's rugby team will now advance to semi-finals against the Western Mustangs on Saturday, October 26 at 1pm in London.