KINGSTON, Ont. – There will be plenty of playoff implications on the line on Thursday evening in Kingston as the Guelph Gryphons (4-2) and Queen's Gaels (2-4) meet up at Richardson Stadium to kickoff Week 8 of the 2019 OUA football regular season schedule.
For the No. 5-nationally ranked Gryphons, Thursday night's game versus a young, but talented Gaels squad will serve as an opportunity to take one step closer towards securing homefield advantage in the opening round of the OUA playoffs.
Kian Schaffer-Baker celebrates a TD on homecoming vs Ottawa
The Gryphons currently have two games remaining on their regular season schedule, both of which come on the road (Oct. 10 at Queens and Oct. 19 at Toronto), but in the crowded OUA standings, the Gryphs sit in poll position in regard to the pursuit of the No. 3-seed in the conference (with their hopes still alive of also potentially catching McMaster for the No. 2-seed in the conference should the Marauders stumble over the final two weeks). For Queen's meanwhile, the equation is simple, as a win on Thursday night over Guelph would keep their 2019 playoff hopes alive. Both teams will enter the game well-rested with each team coming off of a bye week. Kickoff is set for 6pm on Thursday night with the game broadcast live online at OUA.tv.
Thursday night's game between the Gryphons and Gaels also marks the return of a familiar name to the sidelines in Kingston.
Ryan Sheahan, alongside his father, Pat, at Queen's
Gryphons first-year head coach
Ryan Sheahan returns to Queen's University, a place where he spent a decade as both a student-athlete as well as a coach, playing quarterback for the Gaels (2001-2004) while also spending a total of six seasons as a member of the Gaels coaching staff (2008-2011, 2013-14). Ryan's father, Pat Sheahan, served as head coach of the Queen's Gaels for 19 seasons (2000-2018), with the two coaching alongside one another during the Gaels' 2009 Vanier Cup-winning campaign. Pat Sheahan has since taken over his son's previous role and is serving as the offensive coordinator of the Calgary Dinos for the 2019 season.
"I have fond memories of the old Richardson stadium and of my time living and playing in Kingston and studying at that school," says Ryan Sheahan, who took over as the head coach of the Gryphon football program in January of 2019.
Ryan Sheahan addresses the team prior to Homecoming
But for the 38-year-old Sheahan, the focus remains squarely on the on-field product as the Gryphons prepare to face a dangerous, and desperate, Queen's team. "Our message all week is that we believe that we're going to be playing a desperate football team," adds Sheahan. "They have a few experienced athletes in some positions that can cause us some problems and we need to make sure that those pieces don't disrupt our plans."
Leading the way for Queen's in 2019 is second-year running back Rasheed Tucker, a product of Upper Canada College who currently ranks 3rd in the OUA with an average of 109.5 rushing yards per game. On the defensive side, the Gaels boast the OUA's leading sack-getter in second-year defensive lineman Anthony Federico (5.5 sacks in six games played). After an 0-3 start to the season, the Gaels picked up back-to-back wins in September over Windsor and Toronto before falling in their most recent outing, a 52-16 loss in Waterloo for Laurier's homecoming.
The Gryphons meanwhile will look to build off perhaps their most complete effort of the season in the team's 33-6 homecoming win over the then-No. 8-ranked Ottawa Gee-Gees. The victory capped an impressive month of September for the Gryphons, who posted a 4-1 record, with the team's lone loss coming in the form of a 9-3 loss to the No. 1-ranked Western Mustangs.
Guelph's last trip to Kingston came in 2015 at the old Richardson Stadium
The Gryphons will look to exact some revenge on the Queen's Gaels, who a season ago spoiled Guelph's homecoming in a 33-32.
Thursday night's meeting will also mark the first time that Guelph has traveled to the
revitalized Richardson Stadium, which underwent construction before opening in 2016 with all new amenities as well as a new artificial playing surface.
The last time the Gryphons played in Kingston was in 2015. That year, the Gryphons also rolled into Kingston as the No. 5-ranked team in the country,
only to be upset 23-15 on the natural grass playing surface by the Gaels. It would prove to be Guelph's only OUA loss that season as they
went on to capture the 2015 Yates Cup, their fourth OUA title in program history. Thursday night's trip to the new Richardson Stadium will be a new experience for the Gryphons. Even for their head coach with Kingston roots.
"Well
this Richardson Stadium is not a familiar place for me," says Sheahan. "I've been there to scout a couple of times for the Canada Cup, but I've never competed on that brand new, state-of-the-art field. Our team is very excited to go play in this ballpark, because it looks like the kind of stadium everybody dreams of playing in in university football. It's brand new to us. It's brand new to me. It will be nice to be back in Kingston, but we're excited to play them because all of our energy and effort is going to be are going to be put towards helping us improve to 5-2 on the season."
