GUELPH, Ont. – Elite special teams play and a ball-hawking defence. Those have been the key ingredients for the Gryphon football team early on in 2019 when it comes to finding a winning formula. On Saturday afternoon in Guelph's Week 3 matchup with the York Lions, that same formula was on display once again for the No. 8-ranked Gryphons.
Gryphon rookie
Clark Barnes pulled off the unthinkable by recording a kickoff return for a touchdown for a third straight game to begin his OUA career. The Gryphon defence, fresh off of a memorable Week 2 performance at Carleton where they produced a pair of defensive scores, were at it once again, this time creating points off of a turnover thanks to a 58-yard pick-six from rookie linebacker Justin Lauzon.
Standout rookie Clark Barnes returns a kickoff versus York
And the Gryphon offence came alive late, exploding for 27 points in the 4th quarter. In the end, it all added up to a 53-19 victory for the Gryphons, who improve to 2-1 on the season while the York Lions fall to 0-3. The game was played in front of over 4,000 fans as part of the Gryphons annual "O-Week" game.
With a rich history of varsity football at the University of Guelph that dates back nearly 100 years, there have been quite a few rookies that have passed through the program. It is hard to think of any rookie debut in Gryphon history that has started quite like that of Clark Barnes. The 6-2, 200 pound receiver from Brampton, Ontario has made quite the name for himself through his first three weeks in the red, black and gold. In Week 1 versus McMaster, Barnes took the opening kickoff back 100-yards for a touchdown. In Week 2 at Carleton, Barnes pulled off the feat again, taking the opening kickoff versus the Ravens back 106-yards for the score. And on Saturday afternoon versus the Lions, Clark Barnes was at it once again. This time, however, it was not on the game's opening play, as the York Lions received the opening kickoff. But late in the 1st quarter, after the Lions conceded a safety, York was left with no choice but to kickoff to the Gryphons. And they made the mistake of kicking it to No. 6 in red.
The first kickoff return attempt of Week 3 for Clark Barnes would result in an 82-yard scamper up the sideline for his third kick return for a touchdown in the young, 2019 season. "Coach (Donnavan) Carter has been a great special teams coordinator to work with," says Barnes, an arts major who received interest from multiple NCAA D1 programs coming out of prep school at Football North in Mississauga. "He (Donnavan Carter) definitely knows what he's doing and has done a great job getting everything lined up for us. This whole week, a lot of the guys were in my ear saying 'we've got to go three for three,' but in my mind, it's just one play, just one return, every time. I just try to envision how the blocks are going to line up and then just hit my hole when I see it."
In the 2nd quarter, Barnes would show that he's much more than just a return specialist, hauling in a 30-yard touchdown reception from quarterback
Theo Landers to cap a 9-play, 76-yard scoring drive that put the Gryphons in front of York 19-2.
In the 3rd quarter, it was time for the Gryphon defence to steal the spotlight, with rookie linebacker
Justin Lauzon recording a 58-yard interception returned for a touchdown to give Guelph a 26-5 lead. For Gryphon head coach
Ryan Sheahan, the pick-six from Lauzon was a much-deserved reward for the standout rookie linebacker from St-Hyacinthe, Quebec who has earned a starting spot on the Gryphon defence since Week 1, "Justin has been an excellent team player and just an excellent teammate overall," says Sheahan. "He's a hard working guy who is also one of the top performing players on our roster in terms of academics, which is especially impressive considering English is his second language. It was great to see him rewarded for his strong play early in this season with that score. As we continue to find out what we're best at on offence, it definitely takes the pressure off when our defence is able to contribute like that."
After York battled back to make it a one-score game (26-19 Guelph) heading to the 4th quarter, the Gryphon offence would come alive over the final 15 minutes to put the game out of reach.
Fifth-year senior quarterback Theo Landers completed 12 passes on the day, but four of those went for touchdowns, including three in the final quarter.
Kian Schaffer-Baker made an acrobatic 12-yard touchdown catch to extend the Gryphon lead to 36-19. Less than three minutes later, Landers would air it out for Calgary Dinos transfer
Abdraman Abdel-Rahim for a 44-yard TD connection to make it a 43-19 game. And with just under three minutes remaining in regulation, Landers would record his fourth TD pass of the day, this time a six-yard completion to third-year receiver
A.J. Chase (Montreal, QC).
"There were times where we looked a little skittish today, but we're finding ways to win games and that's what's most important," adds Sheahan. "We're just going to have to go back to work and get ready, because Waterloo is going to be ready for us."
The No. 8-ranked Gryphons (2-1) will travel to Waterloo next Saturday (Sept. 14) to take on the Waterloo Warriors (2-0). Guelph won a pair of matchups with Waterloo a season ago, including an OUA quarter-final matchup at Alumni Stadium. The Warriors are off to a 2-0 start in 2019 after a pair of three-point wins to start their season (33-30 over Toronto in Week 1 and 45-42 over Windsor in their second game of the season). Kickoff at Warrior Field is set for 1pm and can be seen live online at OUA.tv.
