GUELPH, Ont. - With a spot in the OUA Men's Rugby Championship on the line, the Guelph Gryphons had one thing, and one thing only on their mind, do whatever it takes to get there. Do what it takes, is exactly what the Gryphons did Sunday afternoon at Varsity Field. Guelph jumped out to an early lead and never let up in a 53-7 victory over the Trent Excalibur. Thanks to their victory, the Gryphons have now secured a spot in the OUA Final as well as a spot at Nationals.
It took only four minutes for the home team to get themselves on the board as Collin Smibert crossed the Trent goal-line to score the first try of the match. Leading 5-0, the Gryphons added to their lead in the 17th minute with a try from Quenton McLean Lavado, and it wouldn't be the last time that Lavado made his presence felt either. With a successful convert, Guelph went up by 12 before extending the lead to 19-0 in the 22nd minute with a try from Guerschom Mukendi. As the score board began to widen, the Gryphons made sure to continue pushing the game towards being out of reach for the Excalibur. Max Goodwin scored a try for Guelph in the 27th minute, and then right before halftime, Smibert was able to tally his second try of the match sending the Gryphons into the half with a 31-0 lead.
As the second 40-minutes of play got underway, the Excalibur pushed back early to score their first and only try.
The Gryphons responded just five minutes after Trent got on the board. Getting in on the action, Riley Di Nardo picked up a try to give Guelph a 36-7 lead. Then over the next 18 minutes, it was Lavado making sure Trent wouldn't be able to get any ideas of a comeback. Lavado scored his second (51st minute) and third (66th minute) tries of the game to put the match on ice, as Guelph extended their advantage to 46-7. Rounding out the scoring, Mitchell King tallied a Gryphon's try with just two minutes left to play.
For the Gryphons, they will now get a second chance at the Queen's Gaels, who they will meet in the OUA Championship. Back on September 20th, the Gaels were able to get the better of Guelph 21-10. The two squads will square off in Kingston on Sunday, November 10th with kick-off set for 1:00pm from Nixon Field. Both Guelph and Queen's will also be heading to Montreal for the Canadian University Men's Rugby Championship, which runs from November 20th-24th.