TORONTO - With the Gryphon football team having now officially reached the halfway point of the regular season, things are certainly trending in the right direction following a second straight lopsided victory. With the Gryphons 2017 Homecoming clash versus McMaster now just seven days away, it's a good time to be clicking on all cylinders.
Saturday afternoon (Sept. 16) at Varsity Stadium in Toronto, the Gryphons improved to 2-2 on the season with a convincing 43-6 victory over the University of Toronto Varsity Blues (1-3). The Gryphons, who entered the game fresh off of an 81-10 win over Windsor, finished the day with 500 yards of offence while limiting U of T to just 157.
Jacob Scarfone makes a catch Saturday vs U of T
"We were able to make some good things happen today in all three phases," said Gryphons head coach
Kevin MacNeill. "We had tremendous focus today and I thought our defence really set the tone and allowed us to settle in as a team."
The Gryphon defence forced a total of four turnovers on the day (2 INT, 2 fumbles) and held the Varsity Blues to just 21-yards rushing and 142 yards passing. Fourth year linebacker
Luke Korol finished the day with a team-high 9 tackles to go along with 1 sack and 1 fumble recovery.
Derek Drouillard and
Nick Parisotto both came up with interceptions in what was a defensive clinic from the Gryphons from start to finish.
Offensively, fifth year receiver
Jacob Scarfone provided the game's biggest plays. Scarfone hauled in a 36-yard touchdown in the 1st quarter to give the Gryphs an early 10-0 lead. Scarfone would later provide the exclamation point on the victory by connecting with quarterback
James Roberts for another long touchdown, this time a 55-yarder, which pushed U of G's lead to 43-5. Scarfone, who finished the day with 4 catches for 110 yards and 2 touchdowns, was one of two Gryphon receivers to eclipse the 100-yard plateau, with second year standout
Kian Schaffer-Baker leading the team with 9 receptions for 132 yards. Roberts finished the day with 333 yards pass, just 58-yards shy of matching a career-high. Roberts now has 9 touchdown passes on the year, most amongst quarterbacks in the OUA.
On the ground,
Johnny Augustine and
Jamal Hooker combined for 159 yards rushing, with Augustine twice finding the end zone.
For Gryphons kicker
Gabe Ferraro, a new career-high was reached on Saturday afternoon as the All-Star kicker connected on a personal best five field goals on the day, with the longest coming from 43 yards out.
The Gryphons (2-2) will now prepare to host the McMaster Marauders (2-1) on Saturday, September 23.
Tickets for the Gryphons annual Homecoming game are available online with the game broadcast live on TV on Rogers Cable 20 and online at www.oua.tv. Kickoff is set for 1pm at Alumni Stadium.
