KINGSTON, Ont. – Saturday afternoon (Sept. 21, 2024) at Richardson Stadium in Kingston, the No. 10-ranked Gryphon football team suffered a 24-18 road loss to the No. 8-ranked Queen's Gaels. An entertaining and competitive affair between two nationally-ranked programs saw the host Gaels take a 24-11 lead into the 4th quarter, before a late Gryphon comeback attempt would ultimately fall just short. With the win, the Queen's Gaels improve to 4-1 on the season, while the Gryphons fall to 3-2.
The Gaels were led on the day by senior receiver, Nathan Falconi, who hauled in a pair of touchdown receptions and finished the day with 7 catches for 117 yards and 2 TD's.
The Gryphons fought back late, with sophomore quarterback,
Tristan Aboud, connecting with fourth-year receiver,
Vyshonne Janusas, for a 33-yard touchdown with 9:33 remaining in the 4th quarter to make it a one-score game, with Guelph trailing 24-18. But that would be as close as the Gryphons would get, as the Queen's defence was able to come up with a pair of interceptions late in the 4th quarter to halt and Guelph hopes of a comeback.
The Gryphons received yet another strong performance from third-year running back,
Donavin Milloy, who produced one of the biggest plays of the game with a 99-yard touchdown run in the 1st quarter to tie the game at 7-7.
Milloy finished the game with 123 yards rushing on 8 carries. Eight different Gryphon receivers recorded receptions on the day, with quarterback
Tristan Aboud finishing the day 16-27, 222 yards, 1 TD and 3 interceptions. Fellow sophomore quarterback,
Marshall McCray, contributed with 7 rushes for 30 yards, while completing 3 of his 5 passes for 37 yards. McCray's remarkable streak of recording a rushing touchdown in every game of his career came to an end, with the second-year dual-threat QB kept out of the endzone after 12 straight games with at least one rushing touchdown to begin his OUA/U SPORTS career.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Gryphons once again came up with some big plays, none bigger than the interception made by second-year linebacker
Nicholas Metron (London, ON), who picked off Queen's QB Alex Vreeken with three and a half minutes left in the 4th quarter, to give the ball back to the Gryphons with a chance to win the game. But the Gaels secondary answered with some key takeaways of their own down the stretch, helping the Gaels hold on for the 24-18 win.
The Gryphons (3-2) will now prepare for the 2024 edition of the University of Guelph homecoming game, with the Waterloo Warriors (0-4) set to visit Alumni Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 28 for a 1pm kickoff.
Tickets are still available online at
www.gryphons.ca/tickets.
