Waterloo, Ont. – For many University of Guelph students, painting the cannon is the epitome of campus tradition.  Earlier this week, with the Gryphons and Golden Hawks just a few days away from clashing on the football field, somebody had the audacity to paint the cannon Laurier purple.  After a 41-36 victory over Laurier on Saturday, the Gryphons football team reminded everybody (for a second straight week) that purple is not a colour they are fond of.

Rookie quarterback James Roberts finished the day 11-for-24, 196 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.  James Ingram had one touchdown and 103 yards receiving on just four catches.
 
Kicker Daniel Ferraro hit three field goals on the day (40, 18, 42) to put his name in the record books.  His 26 made field goals is a new single-season CIS record (surpassing the mark of 25 set by Laval's Christopher Milo in 2008).  Ferraro came into the game tied with McMaster kick Tyler Crapigna with 23 made field goals on the season.  Crapigna finished with just one field goal in a Marauders loss to Ottawa.  Ferraro finished a perfect 3-for-3 on his field goal attempts.
 
With the Gryphons having already secured a first round bye, many presumed they would be resting starters versus the Golden Hawks in their regular season finale.  For the most part, that was not the case.  But there were a few noticeable absences, highlighted by starting quarterback Jazz Lindsey (Markham, Ont.) who was given the week off in order to heal up and prepare for the playoffs.  That meant that it was time for rookie quarterback James Roberts to make the first start of his university career.  And he got off to a dream start.
 
On his first pass attempt of the day, Roberts threw a beautiful pass to James Ingram (Guelph, Ont.) who was able to get behind Laurier's coverage for a 50-yard pass-and-catch to give the Gryphons a 7-0 lead right out of the gates.  As a senior in high school, Roberts led his team (Jacob Hespeler Secondary School in Cambridge) to a city championship on the very same field (Knight-Newbrough Field at Laurier's University Stadium).    While Roberts and the rest of the Gryphon offense got things rolling with that early touchdown, it was the special teams that would then electrify the U of G fans in attendance with a big play of their own.
 
Return specialist Ryan Nieuwesteeg (Niagara Falls, Ont.) has had a tremendous year for the Gryphons on both kick and punt returns.  He would pull off his best return of the season in the first quarter on Saturday, showing off some great breakaway speed on an 81-yard punt return for a touchdown.  The Gryphons led 19-0 after the opening quarter.
 
In the second quarter, Roberts would cut it loose once again, this time airing it out for Jacob Scarfone (London, Ont.).  Scarfone would lay out to make a great diving catch in the endzone.  The 31-yard touchdown pass put the Gryphons up 26-3.
 
Defensively, the Gryphons were able to keep Laurier's star running back Dillon Campbell (Whitby, Ont.) in check.  Campbell, who was averaging 8.4 yards per rush coming into the game, ran 16 times for 83 yards in the first half (5.1 yards per carry).  But with the Gryphons lead swelling early on, the Golden Hawks were forced to throw the ball.  Curtis Newton (London, Ont.) would intercept Laurier quarterback James Fracas (Waterloo, Ont.).  Initially, it looked like Newton might take the interception all the way back for a touchdown…but Dillon Campbell was able to track him down about 40 yards down the field and make the tackle.  Apparently Dillon Campbell does a bit of everything.  The turnover would lead to Daniel Ferraro's (Mississauga, Ont.) second field goal of the day to put Guelph up 29-3.
 
Running back Rob Farquharson (Niagara Falls, Ont.) would provide the exclamation mark to what was a dominating opening half for the Gryphons, by ripping off a 75-yard touchdown run.  In the first half, Farquharson had 11 carries for 149 yards as the Gryphons took a 36-4 lead into the locker room at halftime.
 
With a big lead in hand and the first round bye just around the corner, the Gryphons were perhaps guilty of letting their foot off the pedal in the second half.  Laurier would outscore Guelph 18-0 in the third quarter to make it a 36-22 game heading to the final quarter.  And then there was Dillon Campbell who still had to be dealt with.  Laurier's All-Star running back has been leaned on heavily all season long by the Golden Hawks, but not this heavily.  Campbell was given a season-high 35 carries on the day, and finished with 203 rushing yards (5.8 average).  His 17-yard touchdown run with just over eight minutes to go in the fourth made it a 10 point game (39-29).  Campbell finishes the regular season with 1,458 yards rushing (highest single-season total in Laurier history, sixth highest single-season total in CIS history). 
 
On the ensuing Gryphons possession, a Rob Farquharson fumble was recovered by Laurier. James Fracas then threw a 17-yard touchdown pass to Anthony Pizzuti (London, Ont.).  Just like that, it was a three point game.  Guelph 39 – Laurier 36.
 
With the wind at his back, Ferraro would launch a 71-yard punt into the endzone for a rouge, extending  Guelph's lead to 40-36.  The Golden Hawks would get the ball back, still with a chance to win the game with a touchdown, but facing third and five at midfield, the pass from James Fracas fell incomplete thanks to some tight coverage from the Gryphons secondary.  Another rouge from Ferraro pushed the lead to five, and an interception by Tristan Doughlin (Toronto, Ont.) in the dying seconds would officially seal the deal for the Gryphons as they would manage to hold off a late charge from Laurier to win it 41-36.

Despite the loss, the Laurier Golden Hawks still sneak into the playoffs and will travel to London to face the Mustangs in the OUA quarter-finals.  The other OUA quarter-final matchup sees Ottawa visit Windsor.
 
The Gryphons will next be in action on Saturday, November 8th when they host an OUA semi-final.