Guelph, ON - Sunday afternoon at Varsity Field on the campus of the University of Guelph, the Gryphons Men's Rugby team won 47-15 over the McMaster Marauders in an OUA semi-final showdown. With the win, the Gryphons book a spot in the 2015 OUA Final where they will face off against the three-time defending OUA champion Queen's Gaels. The Gryphons last won an OUA title in Men's Rugby in 1998 and have won Turner Trophy twice in program history (1974, 1998). Game time for the championship match will be announced on Monday.

With beautiful conditions and a large crowd on hand, the Gryphons were able to give the crowd something to cheer about right out of the gates with a try in the 3rd minute. Fifth year flanker Stephen Seccareccia, or "Seccy" as he's known to his teammates, would set the tone early for what was a dominant day by the Gryphons by carrying a handful of McMaster defenders in from about 10 metres out to give the Gryphs the early lead. Seccareccia was dangerous all match long at breakdown and had a tremendous game individually, forcing several Marauder turnovers. His early try, plus Nate Stein's convert, meant the Gryphons were out to an early 7-0 lead.

After Mac fought back to take an 8-7 lead, the Gryphons would go on to score three straight tries with Byron Boville, Jon West and Eric Howard all touching down in the 14th, 25th and 33rd minutes respectively. The tries by Boville and Howard were the result of sustained pressure by the Gryphons inside McMaster's 22 as Guelph took a 26-15 lead into halftime.

The game was essentially put out of reach in the opening minutes of the second half with back-to-back tries from the Gryphons in the 47th and 48th minutes of play. Workhorse Blake Aram pushed Guelph's lead to 33-15 before Jon West broke off a 50-metre run for a try set up by a cheeky kick by Boville as the Gryphons lead had suddenly ballooned to 40-15.

Sunday's match marked the first this season in which Nate Stein had handled kicking duties. The fourth year fly half, who won the job after impressing the coaching staff in training, did not disappoint in his kicking debut, finishing with 5 converts on the day, several of which were hit from almost the touch line. Sunday's match also marked the return of team captain Eric Charest-Pekeski who returned to the lineup after missing six weeks after shattering his orbital bone in a match earlier this year versus Laurier. Charest-Pekeski did not miss a step in his return to action and was oustanding at blind side flanker in his first game back.

With the win, the Gryphons return to the OUA Final for a second straight year after suffering a 32-23 loss in the title game a year ago. This year, the Gryphons will have a chance to hoist the Turner Trophy on their home field, as they host the Queen's Gaels. Guelph and Queen's met earlier this season back on September 9th in what was the season opener for both teams. The Gryphons came out on top of that hard-fought game with a 35-28 victory. Check gryphons.ca on Monday for more information regarding game time of the 2015 OUA Final.

Gryphon scoring leaders:
 
John West – 10 pts
Nate Stein – 10 pts
Stephen Seccareccia – 5 pts
Byron Boville – 5 pts
Eric Howard – 5 pts
Blake Aram – 5 pts
Ryan Brethour – 5 pts
James McLeod – 2 pts
 
Marauders scoring leaders:
 
Nicol – 5 pts
Waldock – 5 pts
Blunt – 3 pts
Dobbs – 2 pts
 

SCORING SUMMARY

 

MINUTE	PLAYER	TYPE OF SCORE	CONVERT	GAME SCORE
3rd	Stephen Seccareccia (GUE)	TRY (5 pts)	Nate Stein convert (2 pts)	7-0 Guelph
9th	Ryan Blunt (MAC)	DROP GOAL (3 pts)		7-3 Guelph
9th	Matt Nicol (MAC)	TRY (5 pts)	convert no good	8-7 McMaster
14th	Byron Boville (GUE)	TRY (5 pts)	Nate Stein convert (2 pts)	14-8 Guelph
25th	John West (GUE)	TRY (5 pts)	convert no good	19-8 Guelph
33rd	Eric Howard (GUE)	TRY (5 pts)	Nate Stein convert (2 pts)	26-8 Guelph
39th	Mike Waldock (MAC)	TRY (5 pts)	Graham Dobbs convert (2 pts)	26-15 Guelph
HALFTIME
47th	Blake Aram (GUE)	TRY (5 pts)	Nate Stein convert (2 pts)	33-15 Guelph
48th	John West (GUE)	TRY (5 pts)	Nate Stein convert (2 pts)	40-15 Guelph
66th	Ryan Brethour (GUE)	TRY (5 pts)	James McLeod convert (2 pts)	47-15 Guelph