WATERLOO, Ont. – The Guelph Gryphons football team officially kicked off their 2026 season on Saturday night (Aug. 29) at University Stadium in Waterloo where they faced off against the No. 4-nationally ranked Laurier Golden Hawks in a season-opening marquee matchup that lived up to the billing. With Guelph leading 28-24 late in the fourth quarter, the host Golden Hawks would put together a 12-play, 74-yard game-winning touchdown drive, with Laurier quarterback Will Russell scoring on a QB sneak with :48 seconds remaining in the game to give the Golden Hawks a dramatic 33-28 victory.
An action-packed first half saw the two teams combine for 42 points, with the score tied at 21-21 at the half. Gryphons fourth-year running back
Caleb Sargeant (Kitchener, ON) scored Guelph's first touchdown of the new season, running it in from 17-yards out to tie the game at 7-7. Gryphons fourth-year quarterback
Tristan Aboud (Montreal, QC) threw for two touchdowns on the night, both coming in the second quarter on a 10-yard strike to
Thomas Rodehutskors followed by a 7-yard connection to
Jaxson Zurby. Aboud finished the game 15-of-28 for 191 yards, 2 touchdowns and 1 interception.
The Gryphons fourth touchdown of the game would come in the third quarter, with standout defensive lineman
Andre Thompson switching over to the offensive side of the ball to take a snap under centre in a short-yardage, QB sneak scenario. The QB sneak quickly turned into a QB power, with Thompson breaking through multiple Laurier tackles and dragging a group of Golden Hawk defenders into the endzone on a memorable 7-yard touchdown run, giving Guelph a 28-21 lead.
But the No. 4-ranked Golden Hawks would fight back late, with a field goal late in the third quarter trimming the deficit to 28-24, followed by the late game-winning touchdown drive which chewed up the clock and left little time for the Gryphon offence to answer. The Gryphons would get once last chance, needing to go the length of the field with no timeouts, but a
Tristan Aboud pass attempt would be intercepted Laurier defensive back Owen Goetz to seal the win for the hosts.
Caleb Sargeant (8 rushes, 69 yards, 8.6 avg, 1 TD) and
Kanye Nethersole (9 rushes, 45 yards, 5.0 avg) led the way on the ground for the Gryphons. Through the air, seven different Guelph receivers made catches, with
Willem Arseneau (5 receptions, 75 yards) and
Ethan Garwe (4 receptions, 47 yards) helping lead the way. The difference maker on the night for the Laurier Golden Hawks was their U SPORTS All-Canadian returner and OUA All-Star running back, Tayshaun Jackson. The third-year running back opened the scoring in the first quarter, returning a missed field goal 110-yards the other way for the game's opening touchdown. Jackson had another kick return for a touchdown later in the game called back due to penalty, but finished the game with a game-high 105 yards rushing on 17 carries (6.2 avg) and 1 rushing touchdown.
The Gryphons (0-1) will now look to bounce back on their home turf, as they return to the University of Guelph's Alumni Stadium for a Sunday afternoon (Sept. 6) matchup with the McMaster Marauders (1-0). McMaster is off to a 1-0 start thanks to their season-opening 31-26 win over the Windsor Lancers. Kickoff between the Gryphons and Marauders is set for 1pm on Sunday, Sept. 6, with tickets available online at gryphons.ca/tickets. The game will also be broadcast live online at
www.oua.tv and on local television on Rogers Cable 20.
