WATERLOO, Ont. – The first win of the 2022 OUA football season is officially in the books for the Gryphons. And it came in the form of a memorable Week 3 shootout with the Waterloo Warriors. There was no shortage of offensive fireworks on display for the 3,867 fans in attendance at Warriors Field on Saturday afternoon at the University of Waterloo.
The Gryphons and No. 8-nationally ranked Waterloo Warriors combined for nearly 1,000 total yards of offence between the two sides (Guelph – 484, Waterloo – 505). When the dust settled, it was the Gryphons coming out on top of a thrilling 41-35 contest in Waterloo. With the win, the Gryphons improve to 1-2 on the season, while the Warriors fall to 1-1.
Making just the second start of his OUA career, Gryphons rookie quarterback
Jake Helfrich put on a show, going 19-32, 370 yards, 3 touchdowns and 0 interceptions. Helfrich accounted for 4 touchdowns on the day, also adding a 2-yard TD run in the first half. For the 20-year-old freshman, who just recently transferred to the University of Guelph from the University of South Carolina Gamecocks, Saturday afternoon's performance in Waterloo was made even more impressive considering the Gryphons were without the services of OUA All-Star receiver,
Clark Barnes, due to injury. With Barnes not in the lineup, Helfrich quickly established
Vyshonne Janusas as his favourite target on the day, with the QB-receiver duo causing the Warriors secondary fits throughout the day.
The first touchdown pass of
Jake Helfrich's OUA career would come in the 1st quarter, when the Charlotte, North Carolina native was able to roll out to his right, before firing a deep ball down the field for Janusas, who would haul it in, shed a tackle, and go 84-yards to the endzone to tie the game at 7-7.
In the 2nd quarter, Helfrich would find Janusas for his second touchdown pass of the day, this time, with Helfrich improvising outside of the pocket and firing to Janusas near the pilon to put Guelph up 21-7. Janusas, a 21-year-old Windsor native out of W.F. Herman Academy, finished the day with 8 receptions for 160 yards and 2 touchdowns. By the 3rd quarter, the Gryphon lead would grow to as much as 18-points, with Helfrich's third TD pass of the day coming on a 9-yard strike to
Jakob Tomas. With 4:28 remaining in the 3rd quarter, the Gryphons lead was 35-17. But the No. 8-ranked Warriors would claw their way back into it.
Warriors second-year quarterback, Nolan Kaban (Calgary, AB), also finished the day with 3 touchdown passes, the second of which came late in the 3rd quarter to make it a 35-23 game.
After a conceded Guelph safety got the home team two points closer, the Warriors would strike again at the 9:44 mark of the final quarter, with Kaban connecting with James Basalyga for a 36-yard touchdown, making it a 35-32 game. Waterloo's run of 18-unanswered points would be capped off by a 49-yard field goal from Cole Crossett. With just 3:42 remaining in the game, the game was tied at 35-35.
With under 2 minutes remaining in the 4th quarter, the Gryphons would get a big play from their defence. Gryphons fourth-year defensive tackle
Josh Campbell (Montreal, QC) would come up with a timely sack, forcing the Warriors to punt it away from the shadows of their own goal posts. A nice, 16-yard punt return from
Jakob Tomas set the Gryphons up with excellent field position at the Waterloo 34-yard line with 1:20 remaining. The Gryphons would take advantage of the short field, with the 3-play, 34-yard drive capped off by rookie running back
Isaiah Smith on a 9-yard touchdown run with :53 seconds left on the clock. The extra point would be blocked, but the Gryphons were back in front 41-35. Smith, a 19-year-old first-year running back from Burlington, finished the day as his team's leading rusher with 70 yards on 14 carries.
The Gryphons also received some nice contributions in the ground game from
Sito Berrio, with the Hamilton native now in his second season with the Gryphon football program finishing with 6 carries for 46 yards and 1 touchdown (7.7 yards per carry). The Warriors, on their final possession of the ball game, would manage to get to mid-field before running of time and ending any hopes of a Waterloo comeback.
Six different Gryphon receivers hauled in passes from rookie quarterback
Jake Helfrich, including a big day from
Ryan Ogilvie. The Stoney Creek native, now in his third-year with the program and second-year of eligibility, made 5 catches for 114 yards. On the defensive side of the ball for the Gryphons, rookie defensive back
Gianni Green (Mississauga, ON) recorded the first interception of his OUA career, while defensive back
Miles La Foucade (Brampton, ON) led the Gryphons with 9.5 tackles on the day.
The Gryphons (1-2) will now head to the nation's capital for September 17 road game against the Ottawa Gee-Gees. The Gee-Gees own a 1-1 record early in the 2022 season, having lost their season-opener to Queen's, followed by a win at McMaster on September 10. Kickoff between the Gryphons and Gee-Gees on September 17 is set for 12pm and can be seen live online at
www.oua.tv.
