Saturday, October 28
1pm
Gee-Gees' Field, University of Ottawa
Guelph Gryphons vs Ottawa Gee-Gees
Online:  www.oua.tv
 

---

GUELPH – It's incredible how things change over the course of two months. In late August, the Guelph Gryphons football team was lamenting a double-overtime loss on their own turf to the Ottawa Gee-Gees in the OUA season opener. The pain was evident on the Gryphons' faces, and the result was not the way they had hoped to kick off a new campaign.
 
Eight weeks later, fortunes have changed. Guelph, ranked No. 9 in the country, has won five of its past six games to erase the memories of an 0-2 start. As the Gryphons head to Ottawa for the second week in a row, this time for an OUA Quarter-final and rematch with those same Gee-Gees at 1pm on Saturday, the team is in a much different place.
 
"It's the second season now," says Gryphons' head coach Kevin MacNeill. "Every game is critical but we have kind of been in playoff mode since week one. We approach each game with the same mindset."
 
The Gryphons (5-3 in the regular season) certainly evolved as a group over the course of the year. While errors contributed to the two straight losses out of the gate, intelligence, execution, and a will to finish games strong have been the keys to the 5-1 run.
 

Guelph will travel to Ottawa for the second straight week after coming back to defeat the Carleton Ravens 28-23 last Saturday. The good thing is that routine won't change.
 
"It's our new normal," MacNeill says with a laugh about the back-to-back treks to the nation's capital. "It's nice to have had that warm up game down there to get us used to the process.
 
"In order to have a long playoff run, you have to win on the road. That's just the reality of U SPORTS football."
 
Preparation was critical this week. The Gryphons get their second look at an Ottawa team that also went 5-3, including a narrow 24-21 win at Alumni Stadium after Guelph mounted an incredible late rally to send the game to overtime. The team is led by rookie quarterback Alex Lavric, who threw for 1,409 yards this season. While the signal caller is young, the skill players have experience and no shortage of talent. The Gee-Gees can attack on the ground with fourth-year running back Bryce Viera or work through the air with a slew of talented receivers, including second-year player Carter Matheson, who led the team with 38 receptions.
 
But on-the-field play seemed like an afterthought given the news that hit Ottawa recently. The program has had to deal with the devastating loss of team member Loic Kayembe. The 24-year-old social science student and defensive end passed away in his sleep last month.
 
"They've gone through a horrific tragedy this year," says MacNeill, who like everyone in Canadian university football circles, was saddened to hear of Kayembe's death. "That situation has strengthened the bond of everyone there. They're a tight group, hardworking, and they'll definitely be motivated to win on Saturday."
 
The Gryphons have been winning games with a mix of old and new. The latter refers to third-year quarterback Theodore Landers, who has grown into his role after fourth-year starter James Roberts was hurt against McMaster. Landers has made some mistakes turning the ball over but has managed the offence well, using his legs to run for 387 yards on 56 rushes, second only to Johnny Augustine's 690 yards.
 
Augustine has been resurgent in his fifth and final year. He has run for 404 yards in the last three games (all wins) and added four touchdowns. The Welland, ON native moved up to second on the all-time Gryphons' rushing list, behind only Nick FitzGibbon, after a 137-yard effort against Carleton. And his nine rushing touchdowns – second in the OUA – gave him 28 for his distinguished career, more than any other Guelph running back. He will do whatever it takes to ensure the Ottawa game isn't his last in Gryphon colours.
 
Whether it's Augustine churning our yards or the stable of excellent receiver targets led by Jacob Scarfone (who had a career-long 74-yard touchdown reception late in the opener against Ottawa to get the Gryphons back in the game) and Kian Schaffer-Baker, Guelph will be adaptable offensively.  
 

"Our approach all year has been to take what we're given," says MacNeill. "Ottawa is good at disguising things defensively so it will be important for us to understand that, see their counters and take advantage of what we see."
 
 One of the most consistent components of Guelph's 5-1 run has been the stellar play of the defence. They have given up points at times, like in a wild 53-49 win at Waterloo, but they always make plays. The unit was rock-solid against the defending Yates Cup champion Laurier Golden Hawks in a 24-14 home win on Oct. 14. And someone always seems to rise to the occasion, like OUA Defensive Player of the Week Dotun Aketepe did against Carleton when he racked up 12 solo tackles.
 
Critical playoff games can always come down to kicking and the matchup Saturday is maybe the best in the OUA. Lewis Ward has been one of the best Gee-Gees on the season, while Guelph's Gabriel Ferraro just cemented his status as one of the best ever in Canadian university football. The fourth-year Mississauga native entered last week tied, with his brother and former Gryphon Daniel, for the most field goals ever in a season with 26. The younger Ferraro blew the mark away, connecting on all seven of his field goals to tie an OUA record for most in a game and establish the new U SPORTS single-season total. He accounted for 125 points on the season, another all-time Gryphon record.

MacNeill knows it will be a battle. And he's sure that his players have the mentality to advance.
 
"We've definitely improved every week and that's the big thing you look for as a coach, to get better," he says. "Our players have been working extremely hard and rallying. They never feel like they're out of any game."
 

---

Gryphon Team Statistics
Gryphon Individual Statistics
 

---