Kingston, ON – Saturday afternoon in Kingston the No. 5-ranked Guelph Gryphons lost 23-15 to the Queen's Gaels in a game that featured a wild finish at Richardson Stadium. The loss marks the first of the season for the Gryphons who fall to 5-1, while the Gaels improve to 4-2.
 
The wind was a factor all game long. After winning the coin toss, Queen's chose to have the wind at their backs for the opening quarter. However, what the Gaels did not have for the opening quarter was their kicker. Fourth year man Dillon Wamsley (London, ON) was missing-in-action for the entire first half as he was busy writing his LSAT (Law School Admission Test). In his place stepped Queen's slot back Aaron Dowd to take over kicking duties and he would fail his first test as a kicker, missing wide left on a 22-yard field. Nevertheless, the Gaels led 9-0 after the opening quarter of play.
 
Early in the 2^nd quarter, the Gryphons were poised to get on the board themselves until a costly turnover kept the score unchanged. On a 2^nd and Goal from the 8-yard line, Gryphons quarterback James Roberts was intercepted by Queen's linebacker Luke McQuilkin. Later in the 2^nd quarter, it was déjà-vu for Roberts and the Gryphons as they would once again be picked off deep in Queen's territory. This time it was Gaels linebacker Justin Bowman who was able to pick off Roberts at the Queen's 5-yard line. After a pair of costly turnovers through the air, the Gryphons would turn things over to third year running back Johnny Augustine who would do some damage on the ground.
 
The Gryphons would march 51-yards on 3 plays, with Augustine accounting for all of those yards himself. After breaking off a 39-yard run down to the Queen's 3-yard line, Augustine would punch it in for his 8^th TD run of the season. At halftime, the Gryphons went into the locker room trailing Queen's 9-7.
 
In the 3^rd quarter, the Gryphons would put together an impressive drive with the wind in their face. Roberts and company would travel 75-yards on 16 plays in a lengthy drive that took nearly 8 and a half minutes off the clock. Unfortunately for the Gryphons, that drive did not end the way they would have wanted. On 1^st and Goal from the 1-yard line, Roberts would bobble the snap from under centre before falling on it to maintain possession. On 2^nd and Goal, Augustine was stuffed on a run up the middle. On 3^rd and Goal, the Gryphons would opt to go for the touchdown instead of settling for the field goal. With a spread formation and no running backs in the backfield, Roberts would fire incomplete over the middle. The turnover on downs hurt. But the next play hurt even more.
 
Queen's quarterback Nate Hobbs would air it out for his receiver Matteo Del Brocco. Del Brocco would make the catch and take it 108-yards for the touchdown. In the blink of an eye, the Gryphons went from nearly taking the lead, to now trailing 16-7. Before the end of the 3^rd quarter, the turnover issues would continue for the Gryphons on offence when James Roberts had his pass tipped and picked off for what was his third INT of the game. Roberts finished the day 16-of-28 for 156 yds, 0 TD and 3 INT. The Gryphons trailed 16-7 heading to the final quarter.
 
In the 4^th, Augustine was at it again, this time finding the endzone on a 25-yard touchdown run. That score trimmed the deficit to just two as the Gaels now led 16-14. For Augustine, it was his CIS-leading 9^th touchdown run on the season. Augustine finished the day with some monster numbers, rushing for 179 yards on 24 carries (7.5 yards per carry) to go along with his 2 touchdowns.
 
A rouge by Gryphons kicker Gabriel Ferraro made it a one point game. But the Gaels would answer back on their next possession. The Gryphon defence did a tremendous job all game long getting pressure in the Queen's backfield. Leading the way was senior defensive end Blake McNeely (Waterloo, ON) who recorded a team-high 6.5 tackles on the day while also accounting for 2 of the team's 4 sacks in the ball game. However, in the 4^th quarter the Gaels were able to take advantage of Guelph's aggressive pass rush when they set up a screen to running back Jonah Pataki who would take it 40-yards down to the Gryphons 1-yard line. Pataki would punch it in one play later as Queen's now led 23-15.
 
With just over one minute remaining in the 4^th quarter, the Gryphon defence would come up with a stop to get the ball back for their offence one last time. Or so it seemed. On a 3^rd and 4 from their own 43-yard line, the Gaels would pull off a fake punt when Aaron Dowd took a direct snap and ran 6-yards for the Queen's first down. But there was still plenty more drama to come.
 
On the ensuing play, Gryphons standout defensive back Nicholas Parisotto would get in the backfield and force Queen's running back Jonah Pataki to fumble. The Gryphons would recover on the Queen's 50-yard line and suddenly Guelph had life once more.
 
With only :45 seconds remaining and needing to go 50-yards for a touchdown and a 2-point conversion, the Gryphons comeback would fall short. After being sacked on 1^st down, Roberts would complete each of his next two passes short of the first down marker. The Gaels took over after the turnover on downs. And the Gryphons undefeated season came to an end.
 
The Gryphons had more first downs than Queen's (25 to 21), more rushing yards than Queen's (274 to 139) and held an almost 10 minute advantage in 'time of possession' (34:33 to 25:27). But a few costly turnovers and a big play here and there by the Gaels was enough to give Queen's the victory. Both teams will now enter into their Bye Weeks over the Thanksgiving weekend. The Gryphons will next be in action on Saturday, October 17 when they return to Alumni Stadium to face the Windsor Lancers (1-5).