GUELPH, Ont. – In front of a sold-out crowd of 8,500 fans at Alumni Stadium on Saturday afternoon (Sept. 28), the No. 10-ranked Guelph Gryphons (4-2) defeated the Waterloo Warriors (0-5) by a score of 42-25 in the University of Guelph's annual Homecoming football game. The Gryphons exploded for 24-points in the second half, turning a four-point halftime deficit into a convincing 17-point victory to move to 4-2 on the season. The Gryphons were led by fourth-year receiver,
Vyshonne Janusas (Windsor, ON) who took home player of the game honours for the Gryphons after amassing 294 total yards (102 yards receiving on six catches, and 192 kick return yards).
With just under nine minutes remaining in the 4th quarter, after the Waterloo Warriors were able to make it a 10-point game on a Logan Heroux touchdown reception, the Gryphons would respond on the ensuing kickoff, with
Vyshonne Janusas providing the exclamation mark on a memorable Homecoming performance, returning the kickoff 109-yards for a touchdown to cap off Guelph's 42-25 victory.
Gryphons second-year quarterback,
Tristan Aboud, impressed for a second consecutive year on Homecoming. The Montreal, Quebec native, who was a perfect 16-for-16 a season ago in Guelph's Homecoming victory over York, was solid on Saturday versus Waterloo, with Aboud finishing the game an efficient 13-of-17 passing for 224 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Marshall McCray, Guelph's standout, dual-threat quarterback, also made an impact on Saturday afternoon, with McCray throwing a pair of touchdown passes of his own in the game. In the 3rd quarter, McCray connected with
Willem Arseneau for a 14-yard touchdown and followed that up with a 1-yard touchdown pass in the 4th quarter to
Laurent Paquin, who hauled in the one-handed catch in the back of the endzone to put Guelph up 35-18.
The Gryphons were able to overcome a slow start, with Waterloo jumping out to a 15-3 lead in the opening half. But the Gryphon defence provided the early spark, with third-year linebacker,
Jack Cobb (Burlington, ON) coming up with a sack of Waterloo quarterback Nolan Kaban for a safety in the 2nd quarter to start to shift the momentum back in Guelph's favour. After Cobb's safety gave the ball back to Guelph, the Gryphons would strike quickly. A powerful 33-yard run by second-year running back
Caleb Sargeant would set up a touchdown pass from
Tristan Aboud to
Jordan Buick (Kingston, ON). Buick's first career touchdown reception made it a three-point game, with Guelph trailing 15-12.
In the 3rd quarter, the Gryphons would find the endzone twice, with
Willem Arseneau hauling in a pair of touchdown receptions, one from McCray and one from Aboud, to help the Gryphons take a 28-18 lead into the final quarter.
The Gryphon defence limited Waterloo to just 7 points in the second half, with Guelph also producing a pair of interceptions on the day, with both
Nathaniel Slawter (Cole Harbour, NS) and
Anthony Moretuzzo (Stoney Creek, ON) picking off Warriors quarterback, Nolan Kaban. The Gryphon defence stood tall, despite being on the field for most of the day, with Waterloo winning the time-of-possession battle (35:34 to Guelph's 24:19). Gryphons second-year linebacker/safety,
Jevaun Jacobsen (Burnaby, BC) was all over the field for the Gryphons, recording a team-high 7.5 tackles, headlining a strong, group effort on the defensive end for the Gryphons.
The No. 10-ranked Gryphons (4-2) will now shift their focus to the No. 5-ranked team in the country in the Windsor Lancers (4-0). The Gryphons will play at home once again next week, with the undefeated Lancers rolling into the University of Guelph's Alumni Stadium for a 1pm kickoff on Saturday, October 5. Tickets are available online at gryphons.ca/tickets, with the game broadcast live online (
www.oua.tv) as well as on Rogers TV Cable 20.
