GUELPH, Ont. - With so much still to be decided and only one week remaining in the 2021 OUA football regular season, a single game does not get much bigger than what will take place Saturday afternoon in Hamilton. Looking to secure not only a playoff spot, but homefield advantage in the opening round of playoffs, the No. 7-nationally ranked Guelph Gryphons (3-2) will travel to Ron Joyce Stadium at McMaster to take on the Marauders (2-3), who will be needing a victory themselves to keep their playoff hopes alive.
Having built up no shortage of momentum last weekend against the Toronto Varsity Blues with a dominating 48-0 victory, the Gryphons will enter the final week of the regular season fresh off their best team performance of 2021. Totaling over 600 yards of offence while posting a shutout on defence, Guelph was firing on all cylinders in their home finale last Saturday (Oct. 23). Ironically enough, the Marauders will also be coming into the contest on the heels of their own 48-0 win after defeating York last week.
Going back through recent memory, the Gryphons have not had much luck against the Marauders which is something they will be looking to turnaround this weekend. Looking to defeat McMaster for the first time since 2015, the Gryphons will need to focus on slowing down a potent Marauder's attack. Fortunately for the Gryphs, their defence has been one of the best in the country all season. Leading the OUA in sacks with 20, while also being third in U SPORTS, the Gryphons have been able to create all kinds of havoc in their opponent's backfield. Using the strength of their defensive line and linebacking core, Guelph has only surrendered an impressive 11.8 points per game.
With quarterback Andreas Dueck leading the charge for the defending Yaets Cup champions McMaster, the Gryphons will want to make sure they are able to make the 4th-year signal-caller as uncomfortable as possible. Leading the OUA in passing yards with 1,181, Dueck is once again putting together a strong season despite McMaster currently sitting under .500. One of the downfalls for the Marauders this season though has been their ability to keep Dueck upright. Coming into the final week of the regular season, McMaster has surrendered a conference-high 20 sacks which Guelph will try to capitalize on.
Throwing the ball for the Gryphons, Shawn Lal had his best statistical game of his young OUA career on Saturday against Toronto. Completing 25 of 32 passes, Lal torched the Varsity Blue's defence for 388 yards and four touchdowns. Of his four majors, two went to Clark Barnes, with the other two going to Kiondre Smith. Both Smith (169) and Barnes (119) tallied over 100 yards receiving as well against Toronto as the chemistry between the two receivers and Lal appears to be growing by the week.
With so many different scenarios still up in the air regarding the playoff picture, the Gryphons can make the situation very simple for themselves. A Guelph win on Saturday would mean they can finish no worse than second place in the OUA West Division, which would secure them a home playoff game at Alumni Stadium for the OUA quarterfinals on Nov. 6. However, a Gryphons loss to McMaster could lead to Guelph finishing anywhere from the No. 4-seed to even missing out on the playoffs altogether depending on other results around the league. A full breakdown of the OUA playoff scenarios can be found on the OUA website.
After finishing a perfect 3-0 at home, the Gryphons will try to secure their first road victory of the season when they battle the Marauders. McMaster meanwhile will enter the contest with a 1-1 record when playing at Ron Joyce Stadium. Kickoff from Hamilton between the Gryphons and Marauders is scheduled for 1pm on Saturday and can be seen live online at OUA.tv.
