OTTAWA, Ont. – The 2023 OUA football season officially came to an end for the Guelph Gryphons on Saturday afternoon in Ottawa, where the Carleton Ravens (4-4) staged a dramatic, late 4th-quarter comeback, defeating Guelph (3-5) by a final score of 29-27. The Ravens, who found themselves trailing Guelph 27-14 with just over two minutes remaining in the final quarter, scored a pair of late touchdowns to erase the 13-point deficit and steal the 29-27 win. The Gryphons (3-5) loss on Saturday to Carleton, combined with the Waterloo Warriors victory over the Toronto Varsity Blues, means that the Warriors (3-5) claim the seventh and final spot in the OUA playoffs thanks to Waterloo holding the head-to-head tiebreaker over Guelph (with Waterloo having defeated the Gryphons 30-23 back on September 30).
With 2:14 remaining in the 4th-quarter, Gryphons rookie quarterback
Marshall McCray recorded his U SPORTS-leading 9th rushing touchdown of the season, giving the Gryphons a 27-14 lead over the Ravens. But Carleton would storm back late. The Ravens put together a 7-play, 74-yard touchdown drive that ended with Carleton quarterback Tristan Lefebvre hitting Hunter Brown for a 5-yard score to trim the deficit to 27-21 with 1:01 remaining in the final quarter.
After a failed onside kick attempt by the Ravens, the Gryphons would pick up one first down before eventually being forced to punt the ball back to Carleton, with under :40 seconds remaining in the final quarter, and with Guelph still up 27-21.
The Ravens would get the ball back on their own 18-yard line with :37 seconds remaining, down six. But it would take the Ravens just 3-plays to go 101-yards, with Ravens quarterback Tristan Lefebvre connecting with receiver Tristan Ready for a 42-yard gain on the first play of the drive to get Carleton to midfield. Two plays later, Lefebvre would air it out for a 50-yard touchdown strike to Frederik Hachey, tying the game at 27-27 with just :12 seconds remaining in the 4th quarter. The Ravens connected on the extra point, giving Carleton a 28-27 lead. A rouge on the ensuing kickoff extended the Carleton lead to 29-27, with Guelph's last second hopes of a late comeback of their own ending on an incomplete pass attempt from
Tristan Aboud on the game's final play.
Gryphons second-year running back,
Donavin Milloy, continued his oustanding sophomore season, with the Hamilton native finishing the day with 30 carries for 192 yards and a touchdown. Milloy finishes the 2023 regular season with 1,044 yards rushing, ranking him 2nd in U SPORTS behind only Queen's running back Jeremy Chisari (1,178). Milloy's standout campaign sees him become just the 2nd Gryphon in program history to eclipse the 1,000-yard mark for rushing yards in a single-season, with Milloy finishing just 87 yards shy of matching Gerrit Stam's single-season rushing record of 1,131 yards (set in 1998).
Senior receiver,
Kaine Stevenson, led the way for the Gryphons receiving corps, with the Windsor native hauling in 7 receptions for 115 yards, including a two-point conversion in the 3rd quarter that put Guelph ahead 20-13. Stevenson accounted for nearly half of the receptions for Gryphons first-year quarterback,
Tristan Aboud, who finished the day 15-of-23 for 168 yards, 0 touchdowns and 1 interception.
The Gryphons out-gained the Ravens in total offence (419 to 363), while also picking up 25 first downs to Carleton's 18. Guelph also dominated time of possession (37:21 to Carleton's 22:39), before the late heroics from the Ravens swung the game. Gryphons senior linebacker,
Brandon Ferigo, finished the day with a team-high 5 tackles to go along with an interception and a fumble recovery.
The Ravens (4-4) will now head to Windsor to face the Lancers (6-2) in the No. 6 at No. 3-seed matchup.
2023 OUA Football Playoffs (*unofficial*)
1 - Western Mustangs (8-0) * first-round bye *
2 - Laurier Golden Hawks (7-1)
3 - Windsor Lancers (6-2)
4 - Queen's Gaels (5-3)
5 - Ottawa Gee-Gees (4-4)
6 - Carleton Ravens (4-4)
7 - Waterloo Warriors (3-5)
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8 - Guelph Gryphons (3-5)
9 - Toronto Varsity Blues (2-6)
10 - McMaster Marauders (2-6)
11 - York Lions (0-8)
Gerrit Stam (1,131) having rushed for more yards in a single-season.
