WINDSOR, Ont. – The Guelph Gryphons football team officially saw their 2026 season come to an end on Saturday afternoon (Oct. 31) in Windsor, with a hard-fought matchup versus the No. 5-nationally ranked Lancers, with Windsor edging the Gryphons, 28-24, in OUA quarterfinal action. With the win, the Lancers move on to the OUA semifinals, where they will travel to London to face the Western Mustangs on Saturday, Nov. 7.
Meeting for a second consecutive week, the Gryphons and Lancers played to a near identical scoreline, with last week's regular season finale matchup up also ending in a four-point Windsor win, with the Lancers winning 27-23 in Guelph seven days prior to secure homefield advantage for the OUA quarterfinals. The Gryphons entered the postseason as the No. 5-seed in the conference after posting a 4-4 record, while the Lancers posted a 6-2 regular season record and entered the playoffs as the No. 4-seed in the OUA.
The Gryphons arrived in Windsor without the services of standout quarterback,
Tristan Aboud, who was injured in the regular season finale and unable to suit up for the OUA quarterfinals. In his place, Gryphons fourth-year quarterback
Marshall McCray stepped up admirably, like he has done so many times over his U of G career, with McCray putting up some impressive numbers against one of the toughest defensive units in the conference in the Windsor Lancers. After the Lancers jumped out to an early 14-0 lead on Saturday, the Gryphons answered back with McCray connecting with
Jarod Tessier for a 75-yard touchdown late in the 2nd quarter to make it a 14-7 game heading into halftime.
In the 3rd quarter, McCray would pick up his second touchdown pass of the game, this time finding
Ethan Garwe in the back of the endzone for a 17-yard TD to tie things up at 14-14. With Windsor leading 21-16 in the 4th quarter,
Marshall McCray would pick up his third touchdown pass of the day, connecting once again with
Jarod Tessier, with the 11-yard TD giving Guelph a 24-21 lead with 6:24 remaining in regulation. Tessier, a senior receiver for the Gryphons out of Welland, Ontario, finished the day with 7 receptions for 143 yards and 2 touchdowns. McCray finished the day 19-32, 287 yards, 3 TD and 0 INT. Unfortunately for the Gryphons, the Lancers would answer on the ensuing drive, with Windsor quarterback Kareame Cotton finding Evan Martin for a 20-yard touchdown pass that would prove to be the game-winning score, with Windsor taking a 28-24 lead.
The Gryphons outgained the Lancers in total offensive yards, 464 to 316 on the day, with the Gryphon defence coming up with some key stops down the stretch to give the Gryphons some late hope. But Guelph's comeback attempt would officially fall short with under :30 seconds remaining when the drive stalled at midfield, giving the Lancers the four-point win.
The Gryphon defence limited Windsor quarterback, Kareame Cotton, to just 177 yards passing on the day and less than 50% completion percentage, with Cotton finishing the day 13-28, 177 yards, 2 TD and 1 INT.
Marshall McCray accounted for over 350 yards of offence, finishing the day as the team's leading rusher (67 yards rushing on 14 carries) to go along with his 287 yards passing.
The No. 5-nationally ranked Windsor Lancers will travel to London to face the No. 7-nationally ranked Western Mustangs in the OUA semifinals. The other OUA semifinal matchup will see the Ottawa Gee-Gees head to Kingston to the face the OUA's top-seeded Queen's Gaels.
