OTTAWA, Ont. – Saturday afternoon at TD Place Stadium in Ottawa, the No. 10-ranked Gryphon football team suffered a 46-10 defeat at the hands of the No. 9-ranked University of Ottawa Gee-Gees. Just one week after putting up an impressive 41 points on the road in a win against the Waterloo Warriors, Saturday's matchup in the nation's capital proved to be a different story for the Gryphon offence, which struggled to move the ball through the air against a stout Ottawa defence. The Gee-Gees also impressed on the offensive side of the ball, racking up 540 yards of total offence on the day. With the loss, the Gryphons fall to 1-3 on the season, while the Gee-Gees improve to 3-1. Next up for Guelph, the 2022 edition of the University of Guelph homecoming football game, with the Gryphons set to host the Queen's Gaels at Alumni Stadium on Saturday, September 24.
What success the Gryphons did have on offence on Saturday afternoon in Ottawa came on the ground, with U of G's standout rookie running back
Isaiah Smith continuing to impress in his first season of OUA football. The 6'0", 213-pound freshman eclipsed the 100-yard mark on the ground for the second time this season, finishing the day with 101 yards on 17 carries (5.9 average).
Of those 101 yards rushing by
Isaiah Smith, 85 came in the opening half of play, with the Burlington native carrying the ball 14 times in the opening two quarters to lead the way for the Gryphons. Guelph's best drive of the day came in the 2nd quarter, when a 9-play, 71-yard drive was capped off by a 1-yard touchdown run from rookie quarterback,
Jake Helfrich. For Helfrich, a transfer student from the University of South Carolina Gamecocks, it marked the second consecutive game in which the first-year QB had picked up a rushing touchdown, after the Charlotte, North Carolina native also ran one in versus the Warriors a week ago. Helfrich's short touchdown run against the Gee-Gees gave the Gryphons a 7-6 lead in the 2nd quarter. But it was all Ottawa from that point.
The Gee-Gees were led by third-year quarterback, Ben Maracle, who finished the day with 288 yards passing, 3 TD and 0 INT. Two of Maracle's touchdown passes came in the 2nd quarter, one on a 56-yard strike to Willy-Pierre Dimbongi and another on a 17-yard connection in the back of the end zone with Nicholas Gendron. Thanks to some big plays through the air, the Gee-Gees took a 19-7 lead into the locker room at the half. Early in the 3rd quarter, the Gryphons were on the wrong end of a missed call by the officials.
On Ottawa's opening possession of the second half, Ben Maracle threw a deep pass down the sideline towards the Gryphon endzone. Gee-Gees receiver, Daniel Oladejo, came down with a jump ball near the pilon, but had his foot land out of bounds when he came down with the ball. However, a touchdown signal from the nearby official meant Oladejo had a catch, and the Gee-Gees caught a break, extending their lead to 26-7. That Ottawa lead would grow to 33-7 later in the quarter, thanks to a 42-yard touchdown run from Gee-Gees running back Amlicar Polk. The host Gee-Gees would not look back from there, winning 46-10.
Gryphons first-year quarterback
Jake Helfrich finished the day 18-36, 169 yds, 0 TD, 2 INT (the first two interceptions of his OUA career). U of G receiver
Vyshonne Janusas had 8 receptions for 57 yards, while rookie linebacker
Braeden MacDougall (Windsor, ON) finished the day as the Gryphons leading tackler with 9.5 tackles. The Gryphons (1-3) will now return home for a September 24 matchup versus the No. 5-ranked team in the country in the Queen's Gaels (2-1). The September 24 matchup is the Gryphons 2022 Homecoming game, with kickoff at Alumni Stadium set for 1pm.
