LONDON, Ont. – The Guelph Gryphons football team saw a memorable 2024 season come to an end on Saturday afternoon in London at Western's Alumni Stadium, with the Gryphons losing a tightly-contested OUA semifinal matchup with the Western Mustangs, 30-19. The final score does not reflect how close of a game it was, with the Gryphons and Mustangs locked in a one-possession game until the closing moments, with the Gryphons ultimately unable to produce a late 4th quarter touchdown to force overtime. With the win, the three-time defending Yates Cup champion Western Mustangs advance to the 116th Yates Cup, where they will face the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks on Saturday, November 9 in Waterloo. 
 
Saturday's OUA semifinal matchup in London marked the first time since 2022 that the Gryphons and Mustangs have met, with Guelph drawing Western as a non-combatant in each of the past two regular season schedules. Under sunny skies at Western's Alumni Stadium, it would be the host Mustangs getting off to a fast start on Saturday afternoon, with Western putting together a 7-play, 79-yard touchdown drive on their opening possession of the game, capped off by a Keon Edwards 3-yard touchdown run, to give the hosts an early 7-0 lead. The Gryphon defence would tighten up after giving up the touchdown, forcing a two-and-out deep in their opponent's territory as the Mustangs would take a knee in the end zone to concede the safety. The Gryphon special teams would also provide an early spark, when a 52-yard field goal attempt from Ben Lane hit off the crossbar and bounced over for three points to cut the deficit down to 7-5. With both defences doing their part, the Gryphon defence would be the ones to make a big play as second-year defensive back, Kyle-Simon Guerin, would intercept Western QB Evan Hillock for the Gryphons lone takeaway of the game. The Gryphons would capitalize off the turnover as second-year quarterback, Tristan Aboud, was able to elude pressure in the pocket and find Vyshonne Janusas for a 23-yard touchdown, to give the Gryphons a 13-10 lead in the 2nd quarter. Western would respond immediately on the next drive as Evan Hillock would complete all five of his passes on the drive, including the 19-yard touchdown to Seth Robertson in the corner of the end zone, to restore Western's four-point lead. Just when it looked like the Gryphons were going to get points before halftime, Kaine Stevenson would be stripped of the ball at the Western 29-yard line, ending a promising Gryphon drive, with Western taking a 17-13 lead into the locker room at halftime.
 
The biggest play of the game would come early in the 4th quarter, with the Mustangs clinging to a 20-19 lead. With the ball at the Guelph 36-yard line, Mustangs quarterback Evan Hillock connected with receiver Brayden Misseri near the sideline. Misseri was able to shed three would-be Gryphon tacklers before running up the sideline for a 36-yard touchodwn to put the Mustangs up 27-19. The Western defence would do the rest from there, keeping the Gryphon offence out of the end zone and before adding a late field goal to take away any hopes of a late U of G comeback. Gryphons quarterback Tristan Aboud impressed on the day, finishing the game completing 24 of his 38 passes for 304 yards and a touchdown pass. Vyshonne Janusas was Aboud's main target, catching 7 balls for 93 yards and scoring the team's lone touchdown of the game. The Gryphon defence did a great job holding the Mustangs to 377 total yards in the game in the loss, with defensive tackle Curtis Woodmansey recording 1.5 sacks in his final game as a Gryphon, and standout linebacker Anthony Moretuzzo finishing with a team-high 7 tackles. 
 
The loss ends a tremendous season for the Gryphons football team under first-year head coach Mark Surya, with the Gryphons posting a 6-2 regular season record to enter the playoffs as the No. 3-seed in the conference. The Western Mustangs, winners of three straight - and five of the last six - Yates Cups, will now take on the unfamiliar role of underdogs, with Western (No. 2-seed in the OUA and No. 4-ranked team in the country) will head to the campus of Wilfrid Laurier University for the playing of the 116th Yates Cup, where the undefeated Golden Hawks (No. 1-seed in the OUA, No. 2-ranked team in the country) await.