KINGSTON, Ont. - Nothing about it was easy, but the Guelph Gryphons managed to escape Kingston Thursday evening with an overtime victory over the Queen's Gaels. Playing in a back-and-forth contest, the Gryphons managed to tie the game late in regulation before an Eric Stranz 26-yard field goal in overtime completed the comeback and earned Guelph (5-2) their 5th victory of the season.
Coming into the week ranked No. 5 in the country, the Gryphons had to scrape and claw throughout the duration of the game. In the beginning, neither team was able to get much going offensively. The two teams traded two-and-outs until the Gryphons managed to get something going late in the opening quarter. With the first seven drives of the game resulting in just 31 net yards between the two sides, Guelph was able to take advantage of good field position and capitalize with a major. 
Starting on the Queen's 54-yard line, the Gryphons worked a quick 4-play drive which ended in a 4-yard touchdown run by Kiondre Smith on a reverse.
Despite the breakthrough on the scoreboard, both offences continued to sputter. Looking for a spark the Gaels made a switch at quarterback, and it worked. James Keenan came in to the game replacing Ryan Licandro, and the results seemed to show up instantly for the home side. Using the threat of his legs and his arm as well, Keenan drove the Gaels 58-yards on his second drive, ending in a Rasheed Tucker 17-yard run for a touchdown and a tie game.
With the clock winding down the first half, both teams appeared to be gaining momentum but after exchanging interceptions, it was Queen's who made the most of their opportunity. Starting their drive on their own 13-yard line, the Gaels went 97-yards and took their first lead of the game on a 15-yard touchdown pass from Keenan to Ben Arhen.
After an Eric Stranz field goal trimmed the Queen's lead to 14-10 early in the 3rd, the Gryphons then restored their lead just over eight minutes later. 
Capping off a 13 play, 85-yard drive that lasted 6:35, Theo Landers plunged into the end zone from one-yard away making it 17-14 Gryphons. The Gaels promptly responded with a tying field goal on their next drive. Queen's then also took advantage of a turnover scoring their third touchdown of the game to take a 24-17 lead. With 6:51 left on the clock and the Gryphons stuck by seven points, the comeback was on. On the road and beginning their drive on their own 7-yard line, the visitors went to work. Kade Belyk, Jordan Terrio and Kian Schaffer-Baker each caught a Landers pass, and Juwan Jeffrey had 33 rushing yards on the drive to set up the tying score. Facing 1st and 20 on the Queen's 25, Landers connected with Kiondre Smith over the middle of the field, who then took off towards the end zone and forced his way across the goal line to tie the game with just 2:54 to play in regulation.
Each team then punted, setting up the Gryphons for a chance to close it out. Scrimmaging on their own 49, and with 1:06 remaining in regulation, Guelph got the ball to Gael's 40-yard line, but Stranz's last second field goal went wide left. Heading to overtime for the first time this season, Guelph managed to win the coin toss and elected to send their defence on to the field first, and the move worked perfectly. The Gryphon's stopped Queen's on three straight plays forcing a turnover and downs and getting their offence the ball only needing a point. The Gryphons gave the ball to Juwan Jeffrey three times, and he picked up 16 total yards on the ground to set the stage for Stranz once again. This time from 26-yards away, Stranz made no mistake, splitting the uprights and walking off the Gaels.
Gryphon's quarterback Theo Landers finished the game 19-28 for 224 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. Juan Jeffery led the way on the ground with 24 rushes for 150 yards, and Kiondre Smith finished as the Gryphon's leading receiver for the game with three receptions or 49 yards and one touchdown to go with his rushing touchdown as well. With the victory, Guelph improves to 5-2 on the season and will begin to prepare for their regular season finale. Next Saturday, the Gryphons will head to Varsity Field to battle the Toronto Varsity Blues. A win for Guelph on Saturday would secure the Gryphons no worse than 3rd place in the OUA standings.
