GUELPH, Ont. – The rain held off. The defence dominated once again. And the offence produced some explosive plays. In the end, it all added up to a convincing 33-6 win for the No. 6-ranked Guelph Gryphons over the No. 8-ranked Ottawa Gee-Gees in the 2019 edition of the University of Guelph's homecoming football game, played under overcast skies and in front of a crowd of 5,190 fans at Alumni Stadium.
"We were thrilled to have a great crowd out today supporting us," says Gryphon head coach
Ryan Sheahan. "We definitely felt that energy and were able to feed off of it at times, which was fantastic."
The Gryphon defence was also fantastic, a theme that has carried on throughout the 2019 season. On Saturday, the Gryphon 'D' overmatched Ottawa's freshman quarterback Ben Maracle, who finished the game just 12-32 for 70 yards, 0 TD and 4 interceptions. Fourth-year cornerback
Graham Brodie (Guelph, ON) accounted for two of those interceptions, including a 65-yard pick-six in the 4th quarter to cap the scoring on the day. Brodie's INT returned for a touchdown also marked Guelph's OUA-leading fourth defensive touchdown on the season. The Gryphons also recorded three more sacks on the day to add to their 2019 league leading total of 22.
Offensively, the Gryphons were led by fourth-year receiver
Kian Schaffer-Baker, who hauled in 6 receptions for 134 yards and 2 touchdowns, all of which came in the opening half. The talented playmaker got the homecoming crowd into the game early thanks to a diving 34-yard touchdown catch in the 1st quarter to put the Gryphons up 11-0.
With under a minute remaining in the opening half, Schaffer-Baker would strike again, this time connecting with quarterback
Theo Landers for a 26-yard TD to put the Gryphons up 21-6 at the half.
Landers finished the day with a season-high 286 yards passing in what was a memorable final homecoming appearance of his Gryphon career. "Homecoming is something that is super special and something I will remember the rest of my life," says Landers, a nutritional and nutraceutical sciences major from Maple Ridge, BC. "For the rookies and young guys on the team, I'd just say enjoy the moment, because it doesn't last forever. It's gone by so quick now that I'm standing here on my last homecoming. Just take in everything and really have fun, because that's what it all comes down to."
🏈📽️ IN-GAME HIGHLIGHT: Kian
Schaffer-Baker's diving catch gets the Homecoming crowd on their feet and gives @GryphonFootball an 11-0 lead! #GUEvsOTT #GryphonHC19 pic.twitter.com/rUXtWH4uyt
The Gryphons (4-2) now head into their bye week and will be on the road for each of their final two regular season games. Up next, the Queen's Gaels on Thursday, October 10 in Kingston, followed by a Saturday afternoon trip to Toronto on October 19 to face the Varsity Blues.
"It's a back-to-work-week for us with the bye coming up," adds Sheahan. "Even though today was one of our better days, there's still a lot of learning and a lot of growing to take place. We'll have to go back to the drawing board on a few things and heal up and try to put together a winning plan against Queen's before Thanksgiving."
