WATERLOO, Ont. – The No. 7-nationally ranked Guelph Gryphon football team is moving on in the OUA playoffs thanks to an impressive team effort on the road Saturday afternoon in Waterloo. The Gryphons, seeded No. 3 in the OUA West Division's four-team playoff field, picked up a 31-18 road win over the No. 2-seeded Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks on Saturday at University Stadium in Waterloo. With the win, the Gryphons now move on to the OUA West Division finals, where they face the Western Mustangs in London on Nov. 13. It marks the fourth consecutive season that the Guelph Gryphons have earned a spot in the OUA's final four, with the team now one win away from returning to the Yates Cup for the first time since 2018.
Coming into Saturday's playoff game, the Gryphons were looking to change the narrative in regards to some of their struggles away from Alumni Stadium this year. During the regular season, the Gryphons were a perfect 3-0 at home, but that record was contrasted with an 0-3 mark in road games. On Saturday against the Golden Hawks, the Gryphons flipped the script. Guelph was able to jump out to a 17-0 first half lead on Laurier thanks to an 18-yard touchdown pass from a pair of rookies, as
Shawn Lal connected with
Keegan Dicks to open the scoring at the 6:27 mark of the 1st quarter. Later in the opening quarter, the Gryphons would get a spark from their special teams, as a blocked punt would be recovered in the end zone by first-year defensive back
Anthony Moretuzzo, putting the Gryphons in control early up two touchdowns. Moretuzzo, a Hamilton native enjoying a standout rookie season, also recorded an interception in the game for the Gryphons.
The Golden Hawks were able to chip away at the 17-0 deficit, with 8 unanswered points making it a one-score game in the 3rd quarter with the Gryphons leading 17-9.
Later in the 3rd quarter, Guelph's All-Canadian returner,
Clark Barnes, would make an uncharacteristic mistake, when his fumble on a punt return was recovered by the Hawks, setting Laurier up with a First and Goal at the Guelph 10 with a chance to tie the game with a touchdown and a two-point conversion. Instead, it would be the Gryphons defensive unit coming up with a huge 2-and-out, forcing Laurier to settle for a field goal and helping Guelph remain in front with a 17-12 lead. And it did not take long for
Clark Barnes to redeem himself for the earlier fumble.
With 4:35 remaining in the 4th quarter and Guelph still clinging to a five-point lead, Barnes would show off his incredible play-making ability by hauling in a 43-yard touchdown pass from
Shawn Lal to put Guelph up 24-12. Lal's playoff debut was a memorable one, with the 21-year-old Abbotsford, BC native finishing the day an efficient 20-24, 261 yards, 3 TD and 0 INT. Lal's third and final touchdown pass of the game was a 27-yard pass to Dicks, his second touchdown reception of the day, putting Guelph up 31-12 with 2:09 to go. Laurier would tack on a late touchdown, but it was the Gryphons leaving Waterloo with a convincing 13-point victory. The Gryphon defence, as they have been all season, was outstanding, as Guelph was able to limit Laurier quarterback Connor Carusello to just 14-31, 194 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT.
"We knew this would be a battle," said Gryphons head coach
Ryan Sheahan, now in his second season as head coach after also leading the Gryphons to an OUA semi-final appearance back in 2019. "Laurier is a well-coached team with a lot of great athletes, but our team's resiliency is what I'm most proud of. Our guys held on and made a few plays late in the game when we really needed to."
Just four teams now remain in the OUA on the road to the 113th Yates Cup. Guelph will travel to London to face Western on November 13, while undefeated Queen's will host the Ottawa Gee-Gees in the East Division Final.
