GUELPH, Ont. – Happy to be back at home, the Guelph Gryphons football team (1-2) will look to use the noisy home crowd to their advantage on Saturday night (Oct. 16) as they look to snap a two-game slide. After dropping back-to-back road games, the Gryphons return home to host the No. 10-nationally ranked Waterloo Warriors (2-1) on Saturday night under the lights at Alumni Stadium.
The contest will mark the third time in four weeks that the Gryphs have gone head-to-head with a team ranked in the U SPORTS Top 10 (having defeated then-No. 1 Western back on Sept. 25 while also taking on then-No. 6 ranked Queen's on Friday, Oct. 8). Guelph heads into Saturday night's game looking to bounce back from a 14-8 defeat last week in Kingston against the Queen's Gaels who, at 4-0, are the lone undefeated team remaining in the OUA. Meanwhile, the Waterloo Warriors roll into Guelph also looking to get back into the win column on Saturday following a loss in their most recent outing, a 34-13 defeat at the hands of the McMaster Marauders. With the 2021 OUA football season moving to a shortened six-game regular season schedule (down two games from the usual eight-game slate), the importance of Saturday night's matchup at Alumni Stadium cannot be overstated. The Gryphons (1-2) will look to create a further logjam in the crowded OUA West Division standings, where Waterloo (2-1) currently sits in a three-way tie for top spot. 
The Gryphons will be looking to get their offence rolling Saturday night against the Warriors after having been held to a combined 20 points in their last two losses. Having missed roughly a game-and-a-half of action this season due to injury, Gryphons starting quarterback Shawn Lal has shown that, when healthy, he has the ability to help the Gryphon offence make some big plays through the air. The Abbotsford, B.C. native is in his rookie season as a Gryphon and started his U SPORTS career in dream fashion by leading the Gryphons to a victory over Western in the season-opener. An upper body injury then forced the 21-year-old Lal to miss Guelph's second game of the season (at Windsor), while injuries also prevented Lal from playing a full game this past Friday (Oct. 8) at Queen's. In limited action this season, the 6-foot-6, 230 lbs Lal has thrown for 306 yards, 1 touchdown and 0 interceptions while completing 50% of his passes (21-of-42). If Lal is unable to go, the Gryphon quarterbacking duties will likely fall to DeAndre Rose, a 21-year-old Brampton native who can cause issues for opposing defences both through the air or on the ground. Like Lal, the 2021 season also marks the rookie season for DeAndre Rose, who in two games of on-field action for the Gryphons has thrown for 248 yards while completing 58% of his passes (21-of-36). Rose is also averaging 11.3 yards per carry, rushing for 34 yards on 8 carries while also recording a rushing touchdown himself in the home victory over Western back on Sept. 25.
Regardless of who is the Gryphons starting quarterback on Saturday night, there will be comfort in knowing that Gryphons standout receiver Clark Barnes is back. Barnes missed each of the Gryphons first two games of the season, but made his 2021 debut on Friday against Queen's, hauling in 4 receptions for 64 yards. Barnes is currently in his second season of on-field action with the Gryphons following a stellar rookie campaign back in 2019 when he was named a U SPORTS First Team All-Canadian returner. Like Barnes, another talented playmaker for the Gryphons who has made an impact in both the receiving game as well as on special teams, is fourth-year man Kiondre Smith. Smith currently leads the Gryphons with 171 receiving yards on the season and has also made in impact in the Gryphon return game. Both Barnes and Smith should continue to be key pieces for the Gryphon offence moving forward in 2021.
As Guelph's offence continues to learn and grow, the Gryphon defence continues to dominate in all aspects. Since Dennis McPhee took over defensive coordinating duties back in 2019, the Gryphons have been sensational on the defensive end, and that form has continued in 2021. After defeating Western in the season-opener, the Gryphons have limited their opponents to 14 points in each of their past two games.
A key component of their defensive success has been their ability to pressure the quarterback. That was never any more apparent than on Friday when
Kristian Stewart recorded 3.5 sacks against Queen's. Saskatchewan Roughriders 2020 draft pick,
A.J. Allen is also continuing to dominate OUA offences for the Gryphons. The linebacker from Burlington, Ontario has already recorded 23 total tackles in just three games, while also recording a pair of sacks, and ranks 3rd in all of U SPORTS with 7.7 tackles per game.
Taking a look at this week's opponent, the Waterloo Warriors come to Guelph bringing a very potent offence with them. Second in the OUA in scoring averaging just over 30 points per game, the Warriors are also second in the OUA in both rushing yards per game (194.7) and passing yards per game (268). Slowing down the Waterloo offence, which is no easy task, begins and ends with slowing down dual-threat quarterback, Tre Ford. A problem for defences both passing and running, Ford is averaging 267.7 pass yards per game and 93.3 rush yards per game. On the defensive side of the ball, Waterloo has been vulnerable in the air so far in 2021 allowing an OUA high 252 yards per game. However, despite the yardage surrendered, the Warriors have also been very opportunistic, picking off five passes in three games.
Going back through the recent meetings between the Gryphons and the Warriors, Guelph has had a lot of success against Waterloo, winning each of their last six meetings. The most recent regular season meeting between these two sides came in September of 2019, with Guelph winning 39-13. In that game, Guelph's defence sacked Tre Ford five times, intercepted him once and held him without a touchdown pass. Guelph will be hoping to replicate those numbers on Saturday when the two teams meet. Kick-off between the Gryphons and Warriors is scheduled for 6:00pm from Alumni Stadium, with the GryphVision pre-game show starting at 5:45pm online at OUA.tv.
