GUELPH, Ont. – On Saturday afternoon (Oct. 4, 2025) in summer-like conditions in front of a sold-out crowd of 9,288 fans at the University of Guelph's Alumni Stadium, the No. 7-ranked Queen's Gaels scored a pair of touchdowns late in the 4th quarter to escape Guelph with a hard-fought 27-17 victory over the Gryphons in U of G's annual Homecoming football game. With the loss, the Gryphons fall to 2-5 on the season while the Gaels improve to 5-2.
 
With the Gryphons trailing 13-10 with under 7 minutes remaining in the 4th quarter, the capacity crowd would come alive on a 3rd and Goal conversion from the Gryphons, with third-year quarterback Marshall McCray taking the snap, running to his left and getting airborne to cross the goal line for his second rushing touchdown of the afternoon, giving Guelph a 17-13 lead.
 
But the visiting Gaels, ranked No. 7 in the country, would respond on the ensuing drive by leaning on their former U SPORTS First Team All-Canadian running back, Jared Chisari. On a 2nd and short, Chisari would break off a 40-yard run to get the Gaels down to the Guelph 19-yard line. A few plays later, Chisari would punch it in from 4-yards out to give Queen's a 20-17 lead.
 
With just over 1 minute remaining, and facing a 3rd-and-6 at midfield, the Gryphons needed a first down to keep their comeback hopes alive, but Gryphons third-year quarterback Tristan Aboud would come up inches short of a fresh set of downs after his scramble attempt ended just short of the first down marker. The turnover-on-downs gave the ball back to the Gaels, who would put the game out of reach with a screen pass from Gaels quarterback Alex Vreeken to receiver Nathan Falconi, who would go 67-yards to the endzone to put Queen's up 27-17.
 
A strong performance from the Gryphon defence saw U of G contain an explosive Gaels attack. Several big plays on the afternoon from the Gryphon defence included an interception from Deemetrius Masuka, as well as a forced fumble from last week's standout, Gianni Green. Offensively, Gryphons quarterback Tristan Aboud finished the day 16-25 for 212 yards, 0 TD and 0 INT. Aboud was also Guelph's leading rusher on the day with 67 yards on the ground.
 
The Gryphons (2-5) will now enter their bye week before wrapping up their 2025 regular season schedule at home on Saturday, October 18 when they host the York Lions (2-4). The Gryphons playoff hopes are still very much alive, with the top 7 teams in the conference reaching the playoffs. Guelph (2-5) is in a battle with Carleton (2-3), York (2-4), McMaster (2-4) and Waterloo (2-5), with those five teams all likely battling for the final two playoff spots.