The University of Guelph Gryphons opened their 2011 regular season on the wrong end of a 35-8 score to the Ottawa Gee Gee’s Monday afternoon in front of 6,500 fans at Alumni Stadium. With the loss, Guelph opens the season with a 0-1 record while the Gee Gees advance to 1-0.
Aaron Colbon (Orleants, Ont.) led the Gee Gee’s with 298 passing yards and two touchdowns to leading receiver Bogdan Raic (Ottawa), who accumulated 138 yards to go with his two touchdowns. Colbon was an efficient 23-for-32 on passing attempts on the day. Brendan Gillanders (Orleans) gained an impressive 186 yards on 16 carries for an 11.6 rushing average to go with his scoring touchdown. Gillanders performance was the main reason the Gee Gees earned a total of 296 rushing yards, compared to Guelph’s 59 yards in rushing.
Gryphon’s quarterback Chris Rossetti (Mississauga, Ont.) completed 18-for-33 passes for 201 yards with a touchdown and an interception on the day. Rossetti also led the Gryphons with 36 rushing yards on five carries. David Honig led the Gryphon receivers with four catches for 58 yards and a touchdown. In total the Gryphons only generated 294 yards in offense compared to Ottawa’s 692 yards.
“I think its more mental than physical and the guys were rudely awakened with the outcome,” said Guelph head coach Stu Lang. “Despite the outcome though our special teams were a positive in this game. I think Alex Charette was a real weapon returning the ball and our kicker Daniel Ferraro, once he got his legs, showed promise. So I think our special teams was a big focus.”
The Gryphon’s tough loss overshadowed a career day by fifth year receiver Jedd Gardner (Niagara Falls, Ont.), who set the Gryphon’s all-time receiving mark with his catch early in the third quarter. With his 15-yard reception, Gardner became Guelph’s all-time leader in receiving yards, a mark that he will add to as the season carries forth. For the day, Gardner had two receptions for 25 yards.
Both teams struggled to find their offense early in the game. The Gryphon’s defence was able to hold the potent GeeGee’s offense to a pair of rouges and a field goal as they trailed 5-0 after the first quarter.
After adding another field goal early in the second quarter, the GeeGee’s finally got into the endzone as Colbon hooked up with Raic for the game’s first touchdown, capping off an eight play drive. The two would hit pay dirt once again before halftime on a 22-yard reception. At the half the GeeGee’s led 22-0.
While the Gryphon’s offense wasstagnate for most of the game, the Guelph defence was able to keep them in the game for much of the first half. Linebacker Jake Reinhart (Guelph, Ont.) led all defenders with 11 total tackles, while defensive back Jordan Duncan (Grimsby, Ont.) accumulated 10.5 tackles on the day.
The second half opened with an impressive defensive stand by Guelph. Gardner returned the Gee Gee’s punt 33-yards setting up his record setting catch.
On their second play of the half, Gardner made his record breaking catch for 15 yards, taking a big hit in the process. Gardner is now the sole owner of the Gryphon’s receiving record and was awarded the game ball in front of a packed stadium of 6500.
After Guelph was forced to punt shortly after, Gillanders rumbled for a four yard touchdown run, capping a six play, 88 yard drive. Gillanders also had a big 22-yard reception during the drive that kept the Gryphon’s defence off balance.
It wasn’t until the 13 minute mark of the third quarter that Guelph was able to get on the scoreboard, with Honig and Rossetti hooking up for a three yard touchdown pass. Rossetti completed a short throw to Saxon Lindsey (Markham, Ont.) for the two-point conversion.
The fourth quarter saw the Gee Gee’s score on two more field goals to close out the scoring. The Gryphon’s used the opportunity to get some of their rookies some valuable game time experience.
Guelph held a slight advantage in possession time, but ultimately saw a number of penalties hold them back. The Gryphon’s had 10 penalties accounting for 66 yards, with many negating some impressive plays. The Gee Gee’s held the advantage in terms of turnovers, accumulating three interceptions and a fumble recovery. Guelph on the other hand had two fumble recoveries on the day.
The Gryphon’s will be looking to avenge their season opening loss when they hit the road to take on the Waterloo Warriors on Saturday, September 10th in Waterloo. Kick-off is scheduled for 1pm.
Michelle Pino
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The uOttawa Gee-Gees kicked off the OUA football regular season with a big 35-8 win at Guelph on Monday afternoon. Gee-Gees fourth-year quarter back Aaron Colbon, Ottawa, Ont., had two touchdown while throwing for a total of 298 yards, and rushing for another 46 yards.
Third-year running back Brendan Gillanders, Ottawa, Ont., helped the garnet and grey move the ball with a total of 186 rushing yards, and one touchdown. Also putting some points on the board was fourth-year kicker Matt Falvo, Welland, Ont., who scored 14 points.
Defensively the Gee-Gees were solid finishing with four sacks and three interceptions. First-year defensive lineman Ettore Lattanzio, Ottawa, Ont., had a game high 2 sacks, while fourth-year linebacker Tyler Sawyer finished with five solo tackles and five assisted for a total of 7.5 tackles on the day. Fellow fourth-year linebacker John Beck, Welland, Ont., finished with one forced fumble and an interception.
Gee-Gees head coach Jean-Philippe Asselin was very pleased to get the win and start the season off with a solid effort. “Defense was solid I think, the score at half was twenty two-zero so that was really good,” explained Asselin. “Offensively we managed the ball well for the majority of the game with the exception of a few fumbles in the fourth quarter. But yeah we did very well I think,” he added.
“Aaron (Colbone) had some good numbers, and had a good first CIS start that’s for sure,” said Asselin. As for Gillanders, who missed all of but two games last season with a broken ankle proved his ability to make some big plays. “(Brendan) Gillanders I know was very excited to get back to game action heading into this one, and he did not disappoint.”
The Gee-Gees will now look ahead to next week’s home opener at Frank Clair Stadium in Ottawa on September 10, 2011 at 1:00 PM. They welcome Queen’s (0-1 OUA) who will be looking to avenge last season’s homecoming spoiler as they fell to the Gee-Gees in a 27-25 overtime loss at Richardson Stadium in Kingston.
| Ottawa 35 |
Guelph 8 |
| Guelph (0-1) | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 8 |
| Ottawa (1-0) | 5 | 17 | 7 | 6 | 35 |
| Guelph, Ontario | Alumni Stadium |
Box Score Drive Summary Play by Play
| 1 | 12:34 | Ottawa – M FALVO rouge point. | 1 – 0 |
| 1 | 06:21 | Ottawa – M FALVO 29 yd field goal. | 4 – 0 |
| 1 | 00:07 | Ottawa – M FALVO rouge point. | 5 – 0 |
| 2 | 11:03 | Ottawa – M FALVO 31 yd field goal. | 8 – 0 |
| 2 | 05:01 | Ottawa – B RAIC 7 yd pass from A COLBON. (M FALVO kick is good). Drive: 8 plays, 74 yards in 3:52. |
15 – 0 |
| 2 | 00:28 | Ottawa – B RAIC 22 yd pass from A COLBON. (M FALVO kick is good). Drive: 7 plays, 93 yards in 1:00. |
22 – 0 |
| 3 | 05:18 | Ottawa – B GILLANDERS 4 yd run. (M FALVO kick is good). Drive: 6 plays, 88 yards in 2:27. |
29 – 0 |
| 3 | 01:36 | Guelph – D Honig 3 yd pass from C Rossetti. (2pt conversion pass by S Lindsey is good). Drive: 5 plays, 20 yards in 2:24. |
29 – 8 |
| 4 | 08:19 | Ottawa – M FALVO 46 yd field goal. | 32 – 8 |
| 4 | 02:15 | Ottawa – M FALVO 39 yd field goal. | 35 – 8 |
| 33 | FIRST DOWNS | 20 |
| 16 15 2 |
Passing Rushing Penalty |
14 3 3 |
| 616 | TOTAL NET YARDS | 323 |
| 72 8.6 |
Total Offensive Plays Average gain per play |
61 5.3 |
| 320 | NET YARDS PASSING | 264 |
| 26-35 9.1 0 for 0 0 |
Completions-Attempts Net yards per pass play Sacked:Number-Yards Had intercepted |
21-42 6.3 4 for 29 3 |
| 296 | NET YARDS RUSHING | 59 |
| 37 8.0 |
Rushing Attempts Average gain per rush |
19 3.1 |
| 5 for 182 | PUNTS: Number-Yards | 10 for 330 |
| 36.4 | Average | 33.0 |
| 53 | TOTAL RETURN YARDS | 136 |
| 9 for 42 1 for 11 3 for 0 |
Punt Returns:No-Yards Kickof Returns:No-Yards Int. Returns:No-Yards |
2 for 46 5 for 90 0 for 0 |
| 9 for 75 | PENALTIES: Number-Yards | 10 for 66 |
| 3-2 | FUMBLES: Number-Lost | 2-1 |
| 4 for 29 | SACKS: Number-Yards | 0 for 0 |
| 3 for 0 | INTERCEPTIONS: Number-Yards | 0 for 0 |
| 29:42 | TIME OF POSSESSION | 30:18 |
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| 3 | ROBERTO ALMONTE | 1 | 3 | 2.5 | 1 – 5 | 1.5 – 6 | – | – | ||||
| 5 | STEVEN HUGHES | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 6 | MATT BOND-LAPOINTE | 2 | 1 | 2.5 | – | – | 1 | – | 1-0 | |||
| 8 | ROBERT PAYNE | 1 | 1 | 1.5 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 9 | FRANCOIS RODRIGUE | 2 | 3 | 3.5 | – | – | – | – | 1 | |||
| 10 | SOONBUM CHA | 2 | 0 | 2 | – | 1 – 1 | – | – | ||||
| 17 | JOHN BECK | 2 | 0 | 2 | – | – | 1-0 | 1-0 | ||||
| 19 | MATTHEW FALVO | 2 | 0 | 2 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 22 | MATT KASSNER | 2 | 0 | 2 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 23 | RANDY WILLIAMS | 2 | 1 | 2.5 | – | – | – | 1-0 | ||||
| 24 | CHRIS DALY | 2 | 0 | 2 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 26 | ZACH RAYNOR | 4 | 0 | 4 | – | 1 – 1 | – | – | 2 | |||
| 28 | DEMETRI DALEKOS | 0 | 1 | 0.5 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 32 | ERROL BROOKS | 0 | 1 | 0.5 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 35 | TREVOR SEAL | 1 | 1 | 1.5 | 1 – 12 | 1.5 – 14 | – | – | ||||
| 44 | NICK LECOUR | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 49 | ETTORE LATTANZIO | 3 | 1 | 3.5 | 2 – 12 | 2 – 12 | 1 | – | – | |||
| 50 | ANDREW RANDALL | 0 | 1 | 0.5 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 52 | TYLER SAWYER | 5 | 5 | 7.5 | – | 0.5 – 0 | – | – | ||||
| 55 | ROBERT GRIFFITHS | 0 | 4 | 2 | – | 0.5 – 2 | – | – | ||||
| 92 | ALEXIS PATENAUDE | 0 | 1 | 0.5 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 95 | ARNALDO LAVRES | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 98 | ALEX ADAMS | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| TOTALS | 35 | 24 | 47 | 4 – 29 | 8 – 36 | 2 | 1-0 | 3-0 | 3 | |||
| 2 | J Duncan | 10 | 1 | 10.5 | – | – | 1-0 | – | ||||
| 14 | K Campbell | 3 | 0 | 3 | – | – | 1 | – | – | |||
| 15 | J Reinhart | 8 | 6 | 11 | – | 1 – 2 | – | – | ||||
| 18 | J Baines | 2 | 4 | 4 | – | – | – | – | 1 | |||
| 19 | B Dunjko | 6 | 1 | 6.5 | – | – | – | – | 1 | |||
| 22 | J Savoie | 4 | 3 | 5.5 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 23 | Z Androschuk | 5 | 2 | 6 | – | – | 1 | – | – | |||
| 24 | S Howard | 3 | 2 | 4 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 31 | I Hutchison | 0 | 2 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 44 | J Thompson | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 52 | C Walker | 0 | 3 | 1.5 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 53 | J Rush | 1 | 1 | 1.5 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 55 | M Millar | 2 | 1 | 2.5 | – | – | 1-0 | – | ||||
| 58 | J Piotrowski | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 90 | H Bowman | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 91 | J Finley | 2 | 1 | 2.5 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 93 | K Seilis | 1 | 1 | 1.5 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 97 | C Thorn | 2 | 2 | 3 | – | – | – | – | 1 | |||
| TOTALS | 52 | 30 | 67 | 0 – 0 | 1 – 2 | 2 | 2-0 | – | 3 |
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