Guelph, ON - Jeff Volpe got some pretty good news on his cell phone last Saturday afternoon. The Guelph Gryphons football alum now resides in Tuspin, California but a part of his heart remains in Guelph. Volpe, known as "Hawk" by his teammates for his elite ball skills, was an outstanding free safety on the 1984 squad that went on to win the university's only Vanier Cup. On Saturday, when the phone rang, some of his old playing partners spoke on the other end. John O'Brien and Randy Dimitroff were driving back from London full of joy and called Volpe to tell him all about Guelph's memorable 23-17 victory over Western in last week's 108^th Yates Cup.

"It was 31 years ago that we beat Western in the Yates Cup and went on to that Central Bowl," says Volpe, the president of tech company Viewsonic Corporation. "It felt like déjà vu."

Despite all the years that have gone by, the 1984 edition of the Gryphons led by head coach John Musselman, and the success they achieved in winning the Vanier Cup after rallying to beat Mount Allison 22-13 in Toronto's Varsity Stadium, remains burned into the memories of those players. They reached the pinnacle with a team dismissed by many.

"When you win a championship, it's something that just galvanized everybody," says current defensive line coach Brian Cluff, who also helped anchor the D back in 1984. "To this day, that group is so close and it's because you achieve something pretty special."



The whole year was one to remember but the latter part of the journey – beating Western, then Calgary 12-7 in Central Bowl and ultimately, coming from behind in the Vanier – stands out. Cluff recalls the vibe on campus in the lead up to the final. They were in uncharted territory given that the Yates Cup win was the school's first, as was the victory in the Central Bowl.

"The week was crazy," Cluff recalls. "It was something that the campus had never seen. There was an electricity here and a focus as players going into the game. I remember that we had to bear down and it's cliché to say but we broke it down as one play at a time, one series at a time. It was easier to digest that way."

Volpe, whose son Marcus is a cornerback/free safety on the current Guelph scout team, describes the day in crisp detail. He says that when he arrived at Varsity Stadium with the team, he was overwhelmed with excitement. The weather was uncharacteristically beautiful for the time of year, warm and sunny, and it left Volpe and his teammates with a feeling that things were perfect. The stage was set. "We felt confident but not cocky," says Volpe.

The confidence grew as the game kicked off, especially on Volpe's side of the ball. The Guelph D, which ultimately allowed a then-record 161 yards of net offence in the game, did not surrender a touchdown throughout the playoff run. After everyone took or delivered a hit, the focus only intensified. Volpe says the boys up front did an excellent job of controlling the line of scrimmage, which enabled the corners to cover well and the roaming free safeties wreak havoc.

"Our defence is what won that championship for us," says Parri Ceci, who caught just two balls but scored touchdowns on both to nail down game MVP honours. "We were able to produce a few big plays but I always say, it was the defence that carried us. We came together at the right time."

Guelph drew first blood offensively when Ceci hauled in a Randy Walters pass and took it to the house for an 89-yard score. Then came disaster. On a Guelph punt in the second quarter, the ball was fumbled and Mount Allison recovered and returned it for its only touchdown of the game. "Nerve racking" is how Volpe recalls the moment. But the stress surprisingly didn't last. Instead, as was truly indicative of that 1984 team, they chose to dismiss the fluke play and come together. It was their moment of adversity. Nothing more. "From that point on, the game started to turn in our direction," Volpe says. "Everybody put it into fifth gear. It was a moment in the game that showed the true character of a good team and instead of succumbing to a problem, we used it as fuel."

The decisive moments were then in Guelph's favour. They intercepted Mount Allison. Jed Tommy started bouncing off defenders whenever he rushed the ball, carving out big chunks of yardage. Volpe says he could see that the Mount Allison players' faces revealed that they felt the game was slipping away. In the latter part of the fourth quarter, Ceci struck again with a huge 38-yard touchdown reception that tied it 13-13. "The DB thought he had the ball," recalls Ceci, who lives in Ottawa these days and works in IT for the federal government. "But in that moment, I was focused only on the ball. I was taught to always catch everything with your hands. You could tell it was deflating for them. If they made that interception, the game was pretty much over."

"Parri's catch was demoralizing for them," Volpe adds. "He jumped over a defender and pulled the ball away from him. It was the straw that broke the camel's back.

"The field was so titled at that moment. Their will to win was gone."

Guelph's was not. They got the go-ahead field goal and then scored another touchdown in the final moments to beat Mount Allison 22-13 and make history for the school. Volpe says he still gets goosebumps thinking about that game and the season as a whole. In truth, Ceci was the team's only player considered a star. Volpe says they were underrated and they liked it that way. However, many players went on to the CFL, many of whom had careers cut short by injuries, his and Ceci's included.

"We worked so hard that we couldn't lose, even though we weren't supposed to win," Volpe says. "We had a feeling of destiny, the feeling that you were part of something bigger than yourself. That, in essence, is what a team is all about.

"I have played on a lot of teams in my life but that year, the sense of team was incredible."

Cluff can relate. He was just 21 years old that season, a third-year defensive end. But what he and his fellow Gryphons achieved is something that lives on and has, in fact, helped shape them as individuals. "It's one of those moments where you realize that if you buy in and you believe in something, if you work together, that it's possible," says Cluff. "When a group comes together and you do you're part, collectively you're strong. You have to have a little bit of luck. I carried that with me, that concept of team. I played a lot of sports but there's something special about football. Everybody has to be together to be successful."

Thirty-one years have passed but that 1984 team is still a significant part of Guelph football. In the hallways underneath Alumni Stadium, the walls are adorned with the pictures that document the program's history, that Vanier Cup team hung proudly among them. When this current crop of players walk out of their locker room, it's right there in front of them. The players may not have been around but they understand the significance. And they want to build on it.

"Being here for five years, I've been to the gala dinners and all of those guys come back," says middle linebacker John Rush. "It's a cool thing about this program, the alumni are really invested in it. You get to meet a lot of them. After the Yates Cup, we got a chance to meet some of those guys because they came out to support us, which was awesome."

"We've tried to acknowledge our history because it's important for our players to see what others have done," adds head coach Stu Lang. "They are role models. You want to join that elite club of having won the Vanier Cup."

Ceci missed last week's Yates Cup because his son Cody, a defenceman with the Ottawa Senators, had an afternoon game so he had to follow on his phone and be satisfied with highlights. Ceci was at one of the team events earlier this year and also says it felt like the Vanier win was just yesterday. He and his teammates have kept in touch often and he wants that same thing for the 2015 team.

"It's pretty cool seeing those guys after all these years," says Ceci. "The current players saw that feeling we all had for each other. I wish them the best."

For Volpe, the images of 1984 remain so vivid. He even recalls minute details, like returning kicks in that game and seeing the ball fall end over end into his hands. Volpe believes that it's because a football team's success is so dependent on everyone contributing to the cause that the victory is so sweet and the subsequent memories so long lasting. They may not see each other for years but then one November afternoon, a teammate calls. And the news is good.

"It's an amazing bond that lasts forever," Volpe says.