Gryphons to face undefeated Western Mustangs Saturday

LONDON – The Guelph Gryphon’s (1-4) have a tough task ahead of them when they hit the road to face the CIS ranked #2 Western Mustangs (5-0) Saturday, October 8th at 1:00 p.m. in London. The Gryphon’s come into the game on a three game losing streak and are hoping that personnel changes can help save their season. Their ground defence will be tested against the hard-running Mustangs, who lead the league in rushing yards per game, points per game and offensive yards per game.

Western is 15-1 overall against Guelph since 1997. Guelph’s lone head-to-head win over this period was a 31-17 win in the 2007 regular season.

The game will be webcast LIVE here: [URL]http://www.ssncanada.ca/game/2930/ . The game will also be aired LIVE on Rogers Cable 13 in London.

What To Look For: Gryphon’s Offense
The Gryphon’s will once again hand the ball to first year quarterback Jazz Lindsey in an attempt to get their offense going. In last week’s game against Windsor, Lindsey went 11-32 for 202 yards to go with two touchdowns. If he can manage to hit more of his targets, the Gryphon’s have second year running back Robert Farguharson to rely on in the rushing game. Farguharson has really taken control of the rushing game, picking up 92 yards on 17 carries last week.

What To Look For: Gryphon’s Defence
Guelph’s defence took a step back in last week’s game against Windsor, as they allowed the Lancers to utilize a balanced attack to keep the Gryphon’s off-balanced all game. The Lancers completed17-24 passes, as well as attempted 42 rushing attempts for 233 yards. What the defence was able to do was get to the quarterback, compiling four sacks on the night. The Gryphon’s will need to contain the ground game against the Mustangs if they want to have any success.

What To Look For: Mustangs Offense
Running back Tyler Varga has taken the CIS by storm, as the first year player has accumulated 659 yards in his first five games. Not only that, but he leads the nation in touchdowns with 13. The Mustangs are one of the most dangerous rushing teams in the CIS, and have a number of running backs to keep opposing defences guessing. The Mustangs currently lead the CIS in scoring, averaging over 51 points per game.

What To Look For: Mustangs Defence
Western’s defence has been as solid as their offense, leading the CIS in defensive touchdowns with three. With 11 interceptions on the season, it’s not surprising the Mustangs have been able to hold their opposition to under 30 points each game.

OUA Team of the Month: The Western Mustangs football team has been named the OUA Male Team of the Month for September 2011. The team has started the season with a perfect 5-0 record and they have been ranked No. 2 in the CIS Top Ten since the start of the season. The Mustangs are the top scoring team in the OUA and CIS, averaging 51.4 points per game and have already dismantled two CIS Top Ten teams, after beating McMaster in Week 2 by a score of 48-21 when they were ranked No. 3, and followed that up in Week 3 with a 41-13 win over the Ottawa Gee Gees when they were ranked No. 9.

Giving Thanks: With Thanksgiving approaching it is only appropriate to give thanks to the dynamic duo of Western Mustangs running backs who are leading the CIS and OUA in touchdowns. Rookie Tyler Varga (Kitchener, Ont.) leads the CIS with 13 touchdowns (all rushing), while veteran Nathan Riva (LaSalle, Ont.) now has 9 (8 rushing, 1 receiving) and the pair sit one-two in total touchdowns across Canada.

Special Returns: It might not be the holiday season yet, but the Mustangs were the recipients of many happy returns on Saturday against York as Ben Roberts (London, Ont.) and Garret Sanvido (Vancouver, BC) both had excellent days handling kick return duties. Sanvido returned 3 kickoffs for 117 yards, while Roberts returned 5 punts 84 yards and one kickoff for 22 yards.
Gryphons for Thanksgiving: The Mustangs hope to continue their dominance against the Guelph Gryphons, having won nine of the previous 10 meetings. The Gryphons last win over the Mustangs was a 31-17 win in 2007 in Guelph and the last time the Mustangs lost to Guelph in London was in 1996, a span of 7 straight home wins.

With files from Guelph & Western Sports Info