GUELPH, Ont. – Homecoming is back at the University of Guelph for the first time since the 2019 season. The 2022 edition of the U of G homecoming football game will feature the No. 4-ranked Queen's Gaels coming into Alumni Stadium to take on the Gryphons football team on Saturday, September 24 at 1pm.
The Gryphons enter Week 5 of the 2022 OUA football season with a 1-3 record, coming off a tough 46-10 road loss to the now No. 8-ranked Ottawa Gee-Gees in the nation's capital. The Gryphons will look to get back in the win column, as they play in front of their home crowd for just the second time this season. The Gaels come into Guelph with a 3-1 record on the season, with their most recent win coming in the form of a 49-17 victory over the Carleton Ravens this past Saturday (Sept. 17).
The Gaels, ranked No. 4 nationally in the latest U SPORTS Top 10 polls, opened the 2022 season with a 47-25 win over the University of Toronto Varsity Blues, followed by a 26-16 win over the Ottawa Gee-Gees in Ottawa. The lone loss of the 2022 season for the Gaels came at the hands of the No. 1-ranked Western Mustangs, 35-11 on September 10 in London. A season ago, the Queen's Gaels reached the Yates Cup, but were shutout 29-0 by the Mustangs.
"There is a lot of excitement circling the game this weekend," says Gryphons head coach,
Ryan Sheahan. "It is a crucial point in our season where we are doing all that we can to get another notch in the win column. We can already feel the buzz here on campus with it being the University of Guelph's homecoming, so we are excited for Saturday's contest. Queen's is a good football team and a highly-respected opponent. They are well-coached in all three facets of the game. They don't take a lot of penalties, they are efficient at rushing the football and their quarterback, James Keenan, seems to be playing like a seasoned vet. We are preparing with everything we have.
Hopefully Saturday's contest is an exciting game and an amazing atmosphere here on U of G campus."
The Gryphons last head-to-head meeting with the Queen's Gaels came a season ago on October 8, 2021, with the Gryphons traveling to Kingston
and coming up just short in a hard-fought, 14-8 defensive slugfest at Richardson Stadium. Two seasons ago, during the 2019 campaign, the Gryphons also made the trip to Kingston, this time edging Queen's in an overtime thriller
that finished 27-24 in Guelph's favour. It has been an evenly-fought matchup in recent years between these two proud programs, with Guelph holding a slight 6-5 edge in head-to-head meetings with Queen's since 2010. Gryphons head coach,
Ryan Sheahan, who took over the University of Guelph football program in 2019, is more than familiar with the Queen's football program. Sheahan played quarterback for the Gaels from 2001-to-2004, and also spent a total of six seasons on the Queen's football coaching staff. From 2013-to-2014, Ryan served as the Gaels offensive coordinator. From 2008-to-2011,
Ryan Sheahan served as the Gaels assistant offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, including a memorable 2009 season which ended in a Vanier Cup title for the Gaels. During both stints at Queen's, Ryan worked under his father, Pat Sheahan, one of the most decorated coaches in Canadian university football history, who served as head coach of the Queen's Gaels football program for nearly two decades (2000-2018).
Now. the father-son coaching duo has re-united in Guelph, with Pat joining Ryan's staff as the Gryphons offensive line coach for the 2022 season. On Saturday, Ryan and Pat Sheahan will look to help lead the Gryphons to a victory over the 2021 Yates Cup finalists and the No. 4-ranked team in the country.
On offence, the Gaels are led by fifth-year quarterback, James Keenan. Keenan comes into the game as the reigning "OUA Offensive Player of the Week" after throwing for 364 yards and 4 touchdowns against the Carleton Ravens this past week.
On the season, Keenan ranks first in the OUA in completion percentage (69.7%), third in total passing yards (908), and third in touchdown passes (6). Also, contributing to the Gaels offensive success are receivers Richard Burton and Aidan O'Neal, both of whom rank in the top 10 for receiving yards with 283 (4th) and 240 (10th), respectively. A dangerous Queen's rushing attack is led by running back, Anthony Soles, with the Pointe Claire, Quebec native rushing for 92.3 yards per game in 2022. On defence, the Gaels are led by linebacker Walter Karabin who leads the team with 25 total tackles and 1 interception. The Gaels defence will be facing off against one of the top performing freshman in the country in Gryphons rookie running back
Isaiah Smith. The rookie from Burlington, Ontario tallied 101 rushing yards against the Gee-Gees last week, and currently ranks 7th in the OUA in rushing yards per game (77.5). Also in the backfield for the Gryphons and suiting up in his first U of G homecoming game is University of South Carolina transfer quarterback,
Jake Helfrich.
Helfrich, a native of Charlotte, North Carolina, currently ranks 4th in the OUA in passing yards per game (221.3) and 6th in total yards (664). Saturday's matchup with Queen's will mark just the fourth start of Helfrich's OUA career. On the other side of the ball, the Gryphon defence is led by linebacker
Brandon Ferigo, who leads the team in tackles (27.5), and linebacker
Scott Murray who is tied for 4th in the OUA for sacks (2.5) while leading the conference in tackles-for-a-loss (7.5).
A limited number of tickets are still available for Saturday's homecoming game, with a capacity crowd expected at Alumni Stadium for the 2022 edition of the University of Guelph homecoming game. Following their 2022 homecoming game, the Gryphons will head into their bye week before taking on the McMaster Marauders in a Friday night matchup on October 7 at Alumni Stadium, with kickoff for the inaugural "Highway 6 Bowl" set for 6pm.
Fans unable to attend this Saturday's homecoming game at U of G can watch live online at www.oua.tv, with the GryphVision pre-game show set to get underway at 12:45pm.
