Gryphons & Gaels battle for berth in 105th Yates Cup

The Gaels and Gryphons are unfamiliar foes when it comes to the OUA postseason, having met only once, a 23-16 win by Queen’s in the 1992 Churchill Bowl national semifinal. That season, the Gryphons won the Yates Cup, and the Gaels were the Dunsmore Cup champions as winners of the Ontario-Quebec Intercollegiate Football Conference. The Gaels moved on to win the Vanier Cup.

The Queen’s Gaels enter the semifinal contest after a dominant 34-0 win over the Laurier Golden Hawks in the quarter-finals. In that game, second-year Jesse Andrews (Arnprior, Ont.) saw his first major action of the year, as starting running back Ryan Granberg (Sherwood Park, Alta.) was out due to injury. Andrews rushed for 135 yards on 22 carries.

“Jesse is a terrific football player. Everyone here expected him to measure up and he did. His performance was not a surprise at all,” said Gaels head coach Pat Sheahan. “He’s a different kind of player than we have with Granberg; he’s a little stockier and lower to the ground, a solid receiver out of the backfield and a real tough physical runner.  His play is allowing us to continue to do our thing, as we see it.”

Despite the clutch performance from Andrews, the star of the quarter-final matchup was the Gaels defence.  Queen’s allowed only 179 total yards and didn’t let the Laurier offence get further than the Queen’s 36-yard line. The defence was led by Derek Wiggan (Toronto, Ont.), who had a pair of sacks, Matt Webster (Calgary, Alta.), who had 5.5 tackles and Sam Sabourin (Stittsville, Ont.), who had six tackles – two for losses.

The squad doesn’t want to look too far into the future, but the thought of playing their first Yates Cup since 2009 is big for the Gaels.  Several players currently on the Queen’s roster were a part of that team that took home both the Yates and Vanier Cups four seasons ago.

“Any time you have been to the show there’s a process you experience. You learn a bit about yourselves and how to play in big games,” said Sheahan. “I’m hoping those players that have been there before will take this opportunity to step up and lead by example. At this point in the year, miscues are the things that can end your season and having those players that have been there before will help up focus on reaching our goals.”

The Guelph Gryphons had a season for the ages.  After finishing the year 2-6 and missing the postseason in 2011, the Gryphs turned around their fortunes and completed one of the best seasons in school history. Guelph finished 7-1, collecting the most regular season wins since the inception of the program and their best record since the OUA went to an eight-game schedule in 1995. The next closest goes to 1996 when the squad went 6-2.

Gryphons head coach Stu Lang realizes the historical significance of his team’s regular season, but also understands that if they bow out in the semifinals, the year may be all for naught.

“From a season standpoint, no Gryphons team has been 7-1. The players are excited about what they’ve accomplished, but that doesn’t mean anything right now,” said Lang. “A new season has begun and we’re 0-0.  We’re now one of the four remaining OUA teams and that’s something new to us, but we have to come out in this game and show we belong.”

The Gryphons won games in every conceivable manner this season.  They used the power running game with Rob Farquharson (Niagara Falls, Ont.), who finished third in the OUA in rushing with 936 yards and eight scores. Other times, the Gryphs looked to the passing attack with quarterback Jazz Lindsey (Markham, Ont.) and a veteran receiving corps including Dillon Dimitroff (Burlington, Ont.), Saxon Lindsey (Markham, Ont.), and Carl Triveri (Toronto).

Defence has also helped Guelph to their seven-win total, as they feature John Rush (Niagara Falls, Ont.), Jake Reinhart (Guelph, Ont.) and Jerryd Baines (Ottawa) who finished second, fourth and 10th in the OUA in tackles, respectively. The Gryphon defence also collected OUA-high 16 interceptions and sat atop the conference in turnover margin in the regular season.

Guelph and Queen’s locked horns three weeks ago, with the Gryphons coming from behind to take a 33-28 home decision and lock up the second seed. Lang knows that a rematch can be tough, especially with games so close together.

“There are no surprises in a rematch,” explained Lang. “We’re fortunate that we had a week bye and most of our prep in that week was for Queen’s so that gave us a head start. They have some of the smartest coaches in the OUA and it’s difficult to surprise them. It’s going to be a very close game, just like last time.”

Whatever the outcome of the semifinal battle, expect it to be a grueling affair with both teams leaving everything on the field. The winner will advance to the 105th Yates Cup, and their opponent will be determined in the second game of the University Rush doubleheader live on theScore. The Gaels and Gryphons will kickoff at 1 p.m., with the other semifinal coming live from Ron Joyce Stadium as the Marauders host the Western Mustangs with kickoff at 4:30 p.m.

QUEEN’S REGULAR SEASON LEADERS

Passing
Billy McPhee (Burlington, Ont.)
158 completions, 252 attempts, 1975 yards, 10 touchdowns

Rushing
Ryan Granberg (Sherwood Park, Alta.)
179 carries, 966 yards, 10 touchdowns

Jesse Andrews (Arnprior, Ont.)
15 carries, 106 yards

Receiving
Giovanni Aprile (Toronto)
36 receptions, 619 yards, 3 touchdowns

Justin Chapdelaine (Abbotsford, B.C.)
36 catches, 521 yards, 4 touchdowns

Defence
Sam Sabourin (Stittsville, Ont.)
48 total tackles, 40 solo tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss, 3.0 sacks

Cory Dyer (Gananoque, Ont.)
29.5 total tackles, 10.5 sacks

Derek Wiggan (Toronto)
30.5 tackles, 6.0 sacks

GUELPH REGULAR SEASON LEADERS

Passing
Jazz Lindsey (Markham, Ont.)
128 completions, 228 attempts, 1601 yards, 12 touchdowns

Rushing
Rob Farquharson (Niagara Falls, Ont.)
151 carries, 934 yards, 8 touchdowns

Jazz Lindsey
40 carries, 232 yards, 1 touchdown

Receiving
Dylan Dimitroff (Burlington, Ont.)
29 catches, 330 yards, 2 touchdowns

Saxon Lindsey (Markham, Ont.)
23 catches, 240 yards, 3 touchdowns

Defence
John Rush (Niagara Falls, Ont.)
55 tackles, 41 solo tackles, 4.5 sacks. 2 interceptions

Jake Reinhart (Guelph, Ont.)
50 tackles, 1.5 sacks, 1 inteception

Jerryd Baines (Ottawa)
37.5 tackles, 3.0 sacks, 2 interceptions