GUELPH, Ont.- Coming down the stretch run of an abbreviated 2021 OUA regular season schedule, the No. 8-nationally ranked Guelph Gryphons (2-2), already a perfect 2-0 at Alumni Stadium, will try to finish the home portion of their regular season without a loss Saturday afternoon (Oct. 23) when they play host to the Toronto Varsity Blues (2-2).
Coming off a victory over Waterloo in a game that they had to have, the Gryphons showed tremendous resiliency last weekend, which they will look to carry over to Saturday against a Toronto team that will also be fighting for playoff positioning with only two weeks remaining in the regular season.
Getting back to his old tricks of 2019, Gryphon's receiver and kick returner Clark Barnes earned himself the honour of U SPORTS Special Teams Player of the Week thanks to his 109-yard kick return for a touchdown last Saturday. Perhaps the most exciting player in the country, the Brampton native created all kinds of momentum against Waterloo and is fully capable of single-handedly electrifying the Alumni Stadium crowd again on Saturday against Toronto.
In recent meetings, the Gryphons have found themselves having plenty of success against the Varsity Blues having won six of their last seven, including five straight games. Their most recent outing took place in Toronto just over two years ago with the Gryphons winning 40-26 thanks to their over 600 yards of offence. However, Toronto has shown steady improvement over the last few seasons under the direction of Head Coach Greg Marshall.
Fortunately for Guelph, their defence has continued to get better and better week after week despite having already set a very high standard. Currently allowing just 14.8 points per game, Defensive Coordinator Dennis McPhee's crew has been very difficult to score on all year. A big reason for that has been their ability to terrorize the opposition's backfield. Third in the OUA with 13 sacks, the Gryphon defence has made a habit of getting to the quarterback, led by the likes of Kristian Stewart (4.5), A.J. Allen (2) and Jeremy Kapelanski (2).
As the game moves along, keep an eye on how much pressure the Gryphons are able to generate on Varsity Blues quarterback Clay Sequeira. Through their four games this season, the Toronto offensive line has only allowed four quarterback sacks, an OUA best.
On the other side of the ball, the Gryphon's offence which arguably had its best showing of the season last week against the Warriors, will face a tough test against a stingy Varsity Blue's defence. Having surrendered only 74 points through four games, Toronto ranks just behind Guelph in points allowed per game with 18.5. Although the Blues have had some troubles against the run, their pass defence has only given up 190 yards per game (3rd in OUA).
Saturday's quarterback match-up will feature a pair of gun-slingers at opposite ends of their varsity careers. A freshman, Shawn Lal has continued to develop on the fly for the Gryphons leading them to a pair of wins over top ten ranked teams at the time, including a season opening victory over then No. 1-ranked Western. Despite having to battle through injury during the 2021 campaign, Lal has managed to throw for over 400 yards to go with three touchdowns and just one interception. For Toronto, Clay Sequeira is playing in his fifth and final year of eligibility. A mainstay of the OUA over the past couple of seasons, Sequeira had a career year in 2019 leading the country in pass yards, yards per game and touchdowns. Through four games in 2021, Sequeira is 67 of 135 for 820 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions.
One of the adjustments made by the OUA for the shortened 2021 season was splitting the conference into an East and West division with the top four from each making the playoffs. Currently, the Gryphons find themselves right in the thick of that race making their game on Saturday against Toronto of the upmost importance. Sitting atop the West at 3-1, Western is currently one game clear of a jumbled mess that features Guelph. Spots two through five in the six team West division are all filled by teams with 2-2 records. Meanwhile, McMaster sits just one game back of the 2-2 squads at 1-3. Speaking of the Marauders, that is who Guelph will take on next week in their regular season finale in Hamilton.
Kickoff between the Gryphons and Varsity Blues is scheduled for 1:00pm from Alumni Stadium at the University of Guelph. The game can be seen live online at OUA.tv, with the GryphVision pregame show on the air at 12:45pm.
