The Guelph Gryphons (2-0) come home this Saturday (Sept. 18) to host the Queen's Gaels (1-1) at Alumni Stadium, after picking up their second win on the road last week.  Kickoff is at 1:00pm.

With the offence resting on the shoulders of a new starting quarterback and under the direction of a new head coach, the potential for miscommunication would seem to be difficult to overcome, but the Gryphons have proved otherwise. Getting off to a slow start against Toronto in the season opener, the team managed to seal the victory and responded to the tight win with a trampling of the York Lions last week (Sept. 6), 26-2.
 

Chris Rossetti  (Mississauga, Ont.), who has started both games under center for the Gryphons, has had decent success both through the air and on the ground, putting up 390 yards of passing and 77 rushing yards, while only giving up one interception.  The young quarterback has also had lots of help from veteran running back Nick FitzGibbon  (Puslinch, Ont.) who has showcased his outstanding speed and agility early in the season racking up 289 yards of rushing, averaging six yards per carry.  The passing game has been fairly equally distributed amongst the Gryphon receiving corps, but sophomore, Dillon Dimitroff  (Burlington, Ont.) leads the pack with 112 yards on five receptions.

Although the offence has had success, Guelph's offence has been stellar in the first two games of the season.  Struggling a bit with the passing game at points against Toronto, the Gryphons held the Blues to a measly 26 yards of rushing.  Against the York Lions, the offence shone across all aspects of the game, holding the Lions to only 183 yards of total offence, while also mustering up five sacks and two interceptions. Defensive veterans, Adam Dunk   (Guelph, Ont.) and Scott Eggleton  (Belleville, Ont.), have had a huge impact on the field in the two games, with Dunk tallying 16 tackles and Eggleton picking up 10 of his own and leading the team with three sacks.  The strength of the Guelph offence will have a greater test this weekend against the deadly air-attack of the Queen's Gaels.

Sophomore quarterback, Justin Chapdelaine (Abbotsford, B.C.), of the Gaels has shown great comfort in the starting role at Queen's, amassing 504 yards of passing and 98 yards rushing thus far this season.  Filling the shoes of former all-star quarterback, Danny Branagan, the pressure has not been lacking in abundance for the new quarterback, but Chapdelaine has certainly not had a problem establishing himself as a major threat in the league. Chris Ioannides (Toronto, Ont.) leads all Gaels receivers with 165 yards, while Jimmy Therien (Montreal, Que.) leads the running backs with 84 yards.

Giving up 23 points against McMaster in their first game was less than ideal, but the Gaels offence stepped it up last week (Sept. 12), allowing Windsor to only put up seven points.  The youth of the Queen's offence has showcased great talent so far this season with freshman linebacker, Sam Sabourin (Stittsville, Ont.), already boasting 23 tackles, while sophomore defensive lineman, Frank Pankewich (Thunder Bay, Ont.), has claimed 16 of his own and leads the CIS with 4.5 sacks.

With both teams sporting fresh young quarterbacks who take advantage of their speed on the ground, this weekend's match up should be an exciting one.  The Gryphons are hoping to extend their winning streak to three games and improve to a 3-0 record.  The Gaels will look to move above .500 with a win on Saturday, but can be assured that the brick wall that is the Gryphon offence will be reluctant to let that happen.

Kickoff is at 1:00pm, Saturday (Sept. 18) at Alumni Stadium.

If you can't make the game you can watch it LIVE on The Score Television Network or via webcast at http://www.thescore.com/