WINDSOR, Ont. – The Guelph Gryphons picked up their first win of the season in a hard fought 31-17 road win over the Windsor Lancers on Saturday night (Sept. 6). The Gryphons scored 24 points in the second half, turning a seven-point halftime deficit into a decisive 14-point victory to move to 1-2 on the season led by a returning Donavin Milloy and a stout defensive performance.

The Gryphons would overcome a slow start with Windsor jumping out to a 14-0 lead midway through the opening quarter. Gryphons fourth-year running back Donavin Milloy, playing in his first game of the 2025 season, would find the end zone from 5-yards out midway through the 2nd quarter for Guelph's first touchdown of the day to cut the deficit in half. With halftime approaching and the Lancers driving, the Gryphon defence would come up with a key stop right before the half. Guelph native Anakin Guthrie off a deflection in the end zone, would pick off the pass and return it back all the way to the other end zone as it appeared Guelph tied the game up. However, a block in the back penalty on the return negated the touchdown and the Gryphons were forced to settle for a 14-7 deficit at the half.

With the Gryphons trailing 17-7 midway through the 3rd quarter, they needed a spark and got it in the form of Harry Varty. The second-year marketing management major was able to get behind the Lancers secondary as the Gryphons did a tremendous job to pick up the blitz which gave Tristan Aboud time to hit Varty for the 54-yard touchdown to cut the Windsor lead down to three. Varty finished with a team-high 7 receptions 103 yards and a TD. Ben Lane tied up the game at 17 all with a 30-yard field goal late in the quarter. With the game still tied in the 4th quarter, the biggest play of the game would come from the Gryphon run game. Donavin Milloy, after missing the first two games of the season due to injury, would announce his return to the lineup with one of his signature game-breaking runs, with Milloy finding a seam and breaking away from the Windsor defence for a game-winning 63-yard touchdown run that gave Guelph a 24-17 lead. Milloy finished the night as the game's leading rushing with 15 carries for 132 yards and 2 touchdowns.   

The Gryphon defence was tremendous all night, limiting the Lancers to 3 points in the final three quarters of the game. With under two minutes left in the game and Windsor driving at the Guelph 27-yard line, the defence won the battle at the line of scrimmage as they chased down Lancers QB Nick Dimovski for the sack to force a 3rd and long situation where they would force an incompletion to get the turnover on downs. The Gryphons offence with 1:16 left would make it a two possession game when Gryphons fourth-year running back Isaiah Smith provided the insurance with a  58-yard touchdown run to give the visitors a 31-17 lead. Anakin Guthrie's second interception of the game in the end zone clinched the 31-17 road win for Guelph.

The Gryphons (1-2) return home to the University of Guelph's Alumni Stadium on Saturday afternoon (Sept. 13) when they host the Ottawa Gee-Gees (2-1). The Gee-Gees come into Guelph off a 55-29 road loss to No. 3-ranked Western Mustangs. The Gryphons and Gee-Gees matchup on Saturday can be seen live online at oua.tv with tickets for the game are available at gryphons.ca/tickets.