GUELPH – A sold out crowd of 8,500 were on hand Saturday afternoon to brave scorching conditions at Alumni Stadium as the Gryphons played host to the McMaster Marauders in the 2017 edition of the Gryphons' annual Homecoming football game. After a tight opening half, the No. 8-ranked Marauders would pull away in the second half to spoil the Homecoming party and escape Guelph with a 29-9 victory. With the loss, the Gryphons fall to 2-3 on the season while McMaster improves to 3-1.
Factoring in the humidity, temperatures at field level were hovering just over 40 degrees Celsius on Saturday as the Gryphons and Marauders squared off in one of the most anticipated matchups on the OUA calendar. Early on, it was the McMaster defence who were feeling the effects of the heat as they were on the field for the majority of the opening 15 minutes of play. In the 1st quarter, the Gryphons ran a total of 22 plays on offence, compared to just seven for Mac, but were forced to settle for a pair of
Gabe Ferraro field goals and a 6-0 lead.
In the 2nd quarter, the Marauders offence would put together a methodical, 10-play, 86-yard drive, capped off by an 11-yard touchdown pass from McMaster's rookie quarterback Jackson White to receiver Tommy Nield, giving the visitors a 10-6 lead. With :17 seconds remaining in the half, the Marauders were looking to extend the lead to 13-6 when Adam Preocanin lined up for a 44-yard field goal. Instead of pushing the lead to seven however, the Gryphons would suddenly make it a one-point game thanks to a big return and a clutch kick. After Preocanin's long field goal attempt sailed wide, Gryphons receiver
Jacob Scarfone would head 87-yards the other way to put the Gryphs in McMaster territory with just :04 seconds remaining. Gabe Ferraro, the reigning U SPORTS Special Teams Player of the Week, would then step up and connect on his third field goal of the half, this one coming from 48-yards out and into a light breeze, making it a 10-9 game heading into halftime.
Theo Landers sheds a McMaster tackle
Before the Gryphons were able to enter the locker room however, they suffered a big loss as starting quarterback
James Roberts was forced to leave the game after taking a hard hit from McMaster's Mark Mackie. Roberts, who went 11-18, 125 yards before being forced to exit, would give way to third year man
Theo Landers (Maple Ridge, BC). Unfortunately for Landers and the rest of the Gryphon offence, they were not able to solve the OUA's top defence. The Marauders, who are limiting opponents to an OUA-best 13.5 points per game, shutout the Gryphons in the 2nd half and for the third time in four games this season, kept their opponent out of the end zone.
Despite not finding the end zone on the day, the Gryphons actually out-gained the Marauders on the day, finishing with 327 yards compared to Mac's 305. The turnover battle however was won by the Marauders, who were able to come up with a pair of timely interceptions on Landers during the 2nd half to help seal the victory.
"Our kids battled hard today," said Gryphons head coach
Kevin MacNeill. "The game came down to a few big plays that they were able to make that we weren't."
The Gryphons (2-3) will now turn their attention to the upstart and No. 9-ranked Waterloo Warriors (4-1). The Gryphons will travel to Warrior Field for a 1pm kickoff on Saturday, September 30 in a game that will carry significant playoff implications with it. Following their matchup with the Warriors, the Gryphons will have their bye week before returning home against Laurier on October 14.
