GUELPH, Ont. - Trailing by one point with time and hope running out on the Guelph Gryphons 2019 season, a freshman defensive back pulled off the unthinkable Saturday afternoon at Alumni Stadium. With the Carleton Ravens leading the No. 3-nationally ranked Gryphons 17-16 and only 1:04 to play in the game, Siriman Harrison Bagayogo came up with the biggest football play of his life. As Raven's punter Vincent Plouffe attempted to launch a punt from his own 33-yard line, Bagayogo broke through to block the punt before recovering the bouncing ball in the Carleton end zone, giving Guelph a lead they would not relinquish and sending the Gryphon's faithful into euphoria.
"I knew there were two minutes left, coach called a punt block, me and the guys talked about it and then we went through," said Bagayogo. "I just ran. I ran and ran and then I saw the ball, blocked it and it was able to jump on it. That's just God. That's family. I really don't have to words to describe it right now."
Titled "the play that saved the season", the punt block served as the celebratory moment for the Gryphons after finding themselves in a battle all game long with the OUA's No. 6-seed Ravens. "Carleton played well and we have to give them a lot of credit," said Gryphons head coach
Ryan Sheahan.
"They changed up a few coverages. I felt like we snatched momentum back at certain points in the game, and I have to credit our defence again. They really got after the quarterback, were really disruptive and they kept us in it the whole way." Entering the game as one of the hottest teams in the conference, the Ravens were able to jump out to an early lead and eventually carry a 5-1 advantage into halftime.
After a Carleton conceded a safety in the third quarter, the Gryphons defence forced another Ravens punt which set Guelph up on the Carleton 47-yard line while trailing 5-3. That is when fifth-year quarterback
Theo Landers and the Gryphons offence went out and got the lead. After
Jordan Terrio and
Clark Barnes each hauled in first down receptions,
Juwan Jeffrey and
Theo Landers ran the ball, and aided by a Carleton penalty, Guelph all of a sudden had the ball on the Raven's one-yard line.
Landers then plunged the ball in himself for the touchdown and the Gryphons took a 10-5 lead. Following the touchdown drive, Guelph was then able to put together another drive right after which led to an
Eric Stranz 33-yard field goal to extend the advantage to 13-5.
Early in the fourth quarter with the wind at their backs, the Ravens pulled within five points as Vincent Plouffe connected on a 42-yard field goal, but with the Gryphons offence continuing to roll, they were able to respond right after. Again, Landers was able to march his troops down the field and get the ball into Stranz's range. Setting up for a 22-yard attempt, the Gryphon's kicker made no mistake as Guelph went up 16-9. From there, things began to get crazy.
Stuck deep in their own territory, the Gryphons elected to concede a safety making it a 16-11 game with 4:33 to play. 
After the Ravens got the ball back, their offence would finally break through against a swarming Gryphon's defence. Facing a 2nd and 13 on their own 53-yard line, Carleton quarterback Tanner Dejong scrambled out of the pocket before heaving a ball deep to a wide open Nick Renaud who would take it all the way down at the Guelph 2-yard line. Two plays later, the Ravens punched the ball in and had taken their first lead of the second half. The Gryphons were, however, able to stop the two-point conversion attempt and keep the score 17-16 Ravens.
With 1:53 to go in the game, the Guelph offence came back out looking to re-take the lead and win the game. Unfortunately, after a first down conversion on 3rd and 4, Landers' ensuing pass was intercepted. With little time left on the clock, and the Ravens in possession, the Gryphons needed to force and two-and-out in order to give the offence one last crack. 
After two straight rushing plays, the Guelph defence came up with the stops they needed, setting the stage for Bagayogo's magic.
"We just won the game," Bagayogo said when asked what he was thinking after scoring his touchdown. "I started to cry, and afterwards I picked the ball up, gave it to Coach Sheahan and we were on to the next play. It was just one of the many plays we will have to make to get to where we want to go."
In the game, the Gryphon's defence held the Carleton offence to 271 net yards, while sacking DeJong six times. Offensively, Landers threw for 157 yards while rushing for 51 more, including a touchdown.
"In the playoffs, it really doesn't matter how you do it," Sheahan said. 
"It is a matter of winning or losing. At the end of the day, one team is always grateful and one team is disappointed. That was a great special teams effort by Bagayogo to make that happen and the right amount of things went right on that play."
With the victory, the Gryphons will now head to Hamilton to take on the No. 4-nationally ranked, McMaster Marauders with a spot in the 112th Yates Cup on the line. With McMaster winning the only meeting of the season between the two teams back in week one, the Gryphons will be looking for a different result this time around. "They're a well-coached football team who just had a week off, so it will be a big challenge," said Sheahan. "We have to go down the highway and play them in their barn, but we have 47 (players) and they have 47 (players). If we have any chance at this thing, we're going to have to go beat a good team on the road."
The OUA semi-final match between the Gryphons and Marauders will take place on Saturday, November 2nd at 1:00pm from Ron Joyce Stadium in Hamilton. The other OUA semi-final will see the OUA's No. 5-seeded Waterloo Warriors head to London to face the top-seeded Western Mustangs.
