Guelph, Ont. – The Guelph Gryphons football team downed the Toronto Varsity Blues with a final score of 50-18 in their home opener at Alumni Stadiumon Saturday in front of 3,144 fans. The win moved the Guelph Gryphons up to (1-1) and the Varsity Blues will drop to (0-2).
Receiver Alex Charette (St. Catharines, Ont.) tallied 61 yards and three touchdowns as the CIS No. 8 Gryphons exploded with 33-unanswered points in the second half to put the game well out of reach.
First year quarterback James Roberts (Burlington, Ont.) would have a great game completing 12 of his 20 passes, throwing only one interception. Roberts threw for 125 yards, scoring three touchdowns. Along with Roberts, Ryan Nieuwesteeg (Niagara Falls, Ont.) would have an impressive game returning nine punts for a total of 175 yards and one touchdown.
The Gryphons started slow finding it hard to gain momentum defensively. Although the Varsity Blues were backed up to the seven-yard line due to a holding call, Toronto was able to put together a solid drive with Llevi Noel (Toronto, Ont.) gaining 19 yards after a solid pass from Simon Nassar (Toronto, Ont.). Toronto was slowed by the Gryphon coverage, but a roughing the passer penalty moved the Blues up another 15 yards. The Gryphons would put an end to the Toronto drive, forcing the Blues to punt, but bad field position would have Guelph conceding a safety, making it 2-0 early on for Toronto.
Later, the Varsity Blues would draw a no yards penalty on a punt return moving the Gryphons up to the 39-yard line. Both Jazz Lindsey (Markham, Ont.) and Johnny Augustine (Welland, Ont.) would run the ball for a first down, but it would be Lucas Spagnuolo (Grimsby, Ont.) who would get the Gryphons to the Toronto 32-yard line. Short passes to Jacob Scarfone (London, Ont.) and Alex Charette would set Guelph in the red zone. Charette would score the first touchdown of the day, with the extra point by Daniel Ferraro (Mississauga, Ont.) to make it 7-2 for the Gryphons in the first quarter.
Toronto would respond shortly after, stopping at the Gryphon 30-yard line where they would successfully kick a field goal, making it 7-5 at the start of the second quarter.
The game would turn in Guelph’s favour after the Gryphon defense tipped a pass from Simon Nassar (Toronto, Ont.) that was quickly intercepted by Andrew Graham (Union, Ont.). Guelph gained excellent field position and a hand off to Johnny Augustine would have the Gryphons standing on the seven-yard line. Charette would find the end zone and Ferraro’s kick would be good, making it 14-5 for Guelph.
Nassar would respond for Toronto with a long bomb to Llevi Noel, moving up to the 32-yard line. Kevin Bradfield would find the end zone for the Varsity Blues, with an extra point from Eric Hewitson (Cambridge, Ont.) making it 14-12 for the Gryphons before the half.
The Gryphon defense would come out strong in the second half, stopping Toronto in coverage, forcing the Nassar’s long bombs to be incomplete. Toronto would put points on the board after a 40-yard field goal by Hewitson instead, making it 15-14 for Toronto early on in the third quarter.
Later in the third, Ryan Nieuwesteeg would run a 29-yard return before being taken down at the 30-yard line. Roberts would throw an interception meaning Guelph would be unable to take advantage of the field position but another big return from Nieuwesteeg would start the next Gryphon drive on the 50-yard line. A facemask penalty on Toronto that would move Guelph up 15 yards and a pass off to Augustine and a nice catch from Charette would move the Gryphons up to the seven yard line, setting Ferraro up for a 15-yard field goal with Guelph pulling ahead 17-15. Toronto would respond with a field goal shortly after, pulling ahead 18-17.
A strong defensive show by the Gryphons would put Toronto in a bad position for their punt, allowing Nieuwesteeg to return for a touchdown. Ferraro would put up the extra point to make it 24-18 for Guelph at the end of the third quarter. The Gryphon offense would pick up speed with James Roberts behind centre, putting up 33 unanswered points to finish out the game.
Roberts would put together an impressive drive, with a beautiful pass and catch by Spagnuolo setting the Gryphons up on the 11-yard line. Augustine would take a hand off, falling just short of the goal line. A short pass to Charette would lead to his second touchdown of the game, with Augustine running in for the extra two points, putting Guelph up to 32-18 in the fourth quarter.
Later on in the fourth quarter, Nieuwesteeg would find the sidelines on a return and be forced out of bounds just short of the end zone. An offside call would move the Gryphons back five yards, but Roberts would still find Spagnuolo for another touchdown making it 39-18 for the Guelph.
The Varsity Blues would concede a safety later on in the quarter and Ferraro would score a rouge point to make it 42-18 with 3:19 left on the clock. Fifth year quarterback Mackenzie Blewett (Burlington, Ont.) would find Colin Booth (Sault Ste Marie, Ont.) for the touchdown and the two-point conversion that would end the game at 50-18 for the Gryphons.
Lindsey completed 10 of his 14 passes, throwing for 108 yards and one touchdown. Blewett completed two of his four passes and also threw for a touchdown. Alex Charette led the receivers with 61 yards on eight catches with a total of three touchdowns. Spagnuolo had a total of 74 yards on six catches, with a long of 26 yards and only one touchdown.
Ian Hutchison (Sault Ste Marie, Ont.) led the defense with nine solo tackles and three assisted for a total of 10.5 tackles. Mackenzie Myers (Guelph, Ont.) would be close behind with a five solo tackles, along with Curtis Newton (London, Ont.) who had three solo tackles and two assisted for a total of four tackles.
The Guelph Gryphon football team hits the field again next weekend against the Ottawa Gee-Gees on Saturday, September 13th. The game is set to kick off at 1:00 p.m. in Ottawa.
Source: Guelph Gryphons Sports Information
The University of Toronto Varsity Blues fell 50-18 to the No. 8 Gryphons in Week 2 of OUA football action on Saturday, September 6 in Guelph, Ont.
The loss drops the Blues to 0-2 on the season, while the Gryphons improve to 1-1.
With Toronto leading 18-17 midway through the third quarter, the Gryphons exploded for 33 unanswered points to bounce back from a 34-27 overtime loss to McMaster in Week 1.
Blues quarterback Simon Nassar was 26-of-41 for 298 yards and one touchdown. His favourite target once again was fellow Toronto native Llevi Noel, who led all players with nine catches for 95 yards.
Linebackers Corey Williams (Mississauga) and Darnell Girard (Windsor) led the Blues with seven tackles each, while JJ Lam (Aurora) added 6.5 tackles and one interception in the loss.
Guelph conceded a safety on their second drive of the game to give Toronto the two-point advantage. The Gryphons went ahead midway through the first as a six-yard Alexander Charette touchdown reception capped off an eight-play, 71-yard drive. The home team led 7-2 after the first quarter.
The Blues narrowed the gap early in the second frame with a 30-yard Eric Hewitson field goal. Both teams then traded long drives, unable to convert until the final minutes of the quarter. After Guelph picked off a Nassar pass, Charette added his second TD of the game, this time on a seven-yard reception, to give the Gryphons a 14-5 lead in the final minute of the half.
Not to be outdone, Nassar responded, hitting Noel with a long ball for a 45-yard gain to bring the Blues deep into Gryphons territory. After a 21-yard gain from Toronto receiver Domenic Battistella (Maple, Ont.), Nassar hit veteran Kevin Bradfield with an 11-yard touchdown strike.
Guelph held a narrow 14-12 lead at halftime.
Hewitson opened the second quarter with a season-long 40-yard field goal to give the Blues a 15-14 lead. Guelph answered back midway through the third with a 15-yard field goal of their own to regain the two-point advantage.
With just over five minutes remaining in the third quarter, Nassar connected a 47-yard pass with third-year receiver Rahul Madan (Toronto). That set up a 15-yard Hewiton field goal to give the Blues an 18-17 lead.
The Gryphons then took the lead for good. Late in the third quarter, Ryan Nieuwesteeg returned a Toronto punt for a 62-yard major. Guelph was up 24-18 heading into the final frame.
Charette notched his third touchdown of the game on a three-yard pass from James Roberts early in the fourth quarter and Lucas Spagnuolo scored on Guelph’s ensuing drive to extend the lead to 39-18. Guelph’s Colin Booth connected a five-yard pass with Mackenzie Blewett to end the game, 50-18, in the Gryphons favour.
Jazz Lindsey and James Roberts split quarterbacking duties for the Gryphons. Lindsay was 10-for-14 for 108 yards and one touchdown, while Roberts was 12-of-20 for 125 yards and three majors.
Johnny Augustine led all players with 20 rushes for 100 yards, while Spagnuolo made six catches for 74 yards and one major. Charette ended the game with eight receptions for 61 yards and three majors. Iain Hutchison notched a game-high 10.5 tackles in the win.
The Varsity Blues will be after their first win next Saturday, September 13 as they host the York Lions (0-2) in the 45th annual Red & Blue Bowl at Varsity Centre. Kick off is set for 1 p.m.
Source: University of Toronto Varsity Blues Sports Information
Toronto Varsity Blue vs. Guelph Gryphons at Guelph 9/6/2014 at 1:07 pm |
|
Toronto 18 |
Guelph 50 |
SCORING | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | FINAL |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Toronto (0-1) | 2 | 10 | 6 | 0 | 18 |
Guelph (1-0) | 7 | 7 | 10 | 26 | 50 |
Guelph | Alumni Stadium |
PRD | TIME | SCORING SUMMARY | TORONTO – GUELPH |
---|---|---|---|
1 | 07:40 | Toronto – Team safety | 2 – 0 |
1 | 02:44 | Guelph – Alex Charette 6 yd pass from Jazz Lindsey. (Daniel Ferraro kick is good). Drive: 8 plays, 71 yards in 3:05. |
2 – 7 |
2 | 13:21 | Toronto – E Hewitson 30 yd field goal. Drive: 16 plays, 0 yards in 4:16. |
5 – 7 |
2 | 01:09 | Guelph – Alex Charette 7 yd pass from James Roberts. (Daniel Ferraro kick is good). Drive: 2 plays, 18 yards in 0:20. |
5 – 14 |
2 | 00:34 | Toronto – K Bradfield 11 yd pass from S Nassar. (E Hewitson kick is good). Drive: 5 plays, 88 yards in 0:34. |
12 – 14 |
3 | 12:46 | Toronto – E Hewitson 40 yd field goal. Drive: 7 plays, 0 yards in 2:11. |
15 – 14 |
3 | 06:39 | Guelph – Daniel Ferraro 15 yd field goal. Drive: 19 plays, 0 yards in 5:34. |
15 – 17 |
3 | 03:20 | Toronto – E Hewitson 15 yd field goal. Drive: 19 plays, 0 yards in 5:34. |
18 – 17 |
3 | 00:12 | Guelph – Ryan Nieuwestee 62 yd punt return for TD. (Daniel Ferraro kick is good). | 18 – 24 |
4 | 11:32 | Guelph – Alex Charette 3 yd pass from James Roberts. (2pt conversion pass by John Augustine is good). Drive: 9 plays, 64 yards in 3:09. |
18 – 32 |
4 | 08:57 | Guelph – Lucas Spagnuolo 9 yd pass from James Roberts. (Daniel Ferraro kick is good). Drive: 2 plays, 7 yards in 1:05. |
18 – 39 |
4 | 07:30 | Guelph – Team safety | 18 – 41 |
4 | 03:56 | Guelph – Daniel Ferraro rouge point. | 18 – 42 |
4 | 00:51 | Guelph – Colin Booth 5 yd pass from Mackenzie Blewe. (2pt conversion pass by Colin Booth is good). Drive: 4 plays, 32 yards in 0:48. |
18 – 50 |
TORONTO | STATISTICS | GUELPH |
---|---|---|
21 | FIRST DOWNS | 25 |
11 5 5 |
Passing Rushing Penalty |
12 8 5 |
376 | TOTAL OFFENSE | 377 |
65 5.8 |
Total Offensive Plays Average gain per play |
71 5.3 |
296 | NET YARDS PASSING | 229 |
26-42 7.0 1-2 1 |
Completions-Attempts Net yards per pass play Sacked: Number-Yards Had intercepted |
24-38 6.0 3-28 1 |
80 | NET YARDS RUSHING | 148 |
22 3.6 |
Rushing Attempts Average gain per rush |
30 4.9 |
12-401 | PUNTS: Number-Yards | 8-328 |
33.4 | Average | 41.0 |
187 | TOTAL RETURN YARDS | 238 |
7-32 7-132 1-23 |
Punt Returns: Number-Yards Kickoff Returns: Number-Yards Interception Returns: Number-Yards |
10-179 2-52 1-7 |
10-161 | PENALTIES: Number-Yards | 14-115 |
0-0 | FUMBLES: Number-Lost | 0-0 |
3-28 | SACKS: Number-Yards | 1-2 |
1-23 | INTERCEPTIONS: Number-Yards | 1-7 |
20:44 | TIME OF POSSESSION | 39:16 |
Toronto |
Guelph |
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DEFENSIVE STATISTICS | ||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
# | TORONTO | SOLO | AST | TOTAL | SACKS-YDS | TFL-YDS | FF | FR-YDS | INT-YDS | BRUP | BLKS | QBH |
34 | C Williams | 7 | 0 | 7 | 1 – 16 | 1 – 16 | – | – | ||||
52 | D Girard | 7 | 0 | 7 | – | – | – | – | ||||
11 | J Lam | 6 | 1 | 6.5 | – | – | – | 1-23 | ||||
38 | L Broni | 5 | 0 | 5 | – | – | – | – | ||||
17 | N Hallett | 3 | 0 | 3 | – | 1 – 4 | – | – | 1 | |||
23 | P Kozachuk | 3 | 0 | 3 | – | – | – | – | ||||
67 | A Jervis | 3 | 0 | 3 | – | 1 – 2 | – | – | ||||
2 | B Mokube | 3 | 0 | 3 | – | – | – | – | ||||
97 | D Sackey | 3 | 0 | 3 | – | 1 – 2 | – | – | ||||
21 | J McBride | 2 | 1 | 2.5 | – | – | – | – | ||||
45 | D Gordon | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 – 4 | 1 – 4 | – | – | ||||
90 | G McAdam | 2 | 0 | 2 | – | – | – | – | ||||
92 | M Ehioghae | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 – 8 | 1 – 8 | – | – | ||||
99 | Z Lukings | 2 | 0 | 2 | – | – | – | – | ||||
30 | L Gavac | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
TM | TEAM | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
18 | T Defour | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
20 | D Green | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
25 | 25 | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
35 | O Lahnalampi | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | 1 – 2 | – | – | ||||
37 | K Deutschendorf | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
44 | D Howes | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
53 | 53 | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
86 | A Naccarato | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
5 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | 1 – 3 | – | – | ||||
TOTALS | 61 | 2 | 62 | 3 – 28 | 8 – 41 | – | 1-23 | 1 | ||||
# | GUELPH | SOLO | AST | TOTAL | SACKS-YDS | TFL-YDS | FF | FR-YDS | INT-YDS | BRUP | BLKS | QBH |
4 | Iain Hutchison | 9 | 3 | 10.5 | – | – | – | – | ||||
14 | Mackenzie Myers | 5 | 0 | 5 | – | – | – | – | ||||
5 | John Rush | 4 | 1 | 4.5 | 0.5 – 1 | 0.5 – 1 | – | – | ||||
12 | Royce Metchie | 3 | 2 | 4 | – | – | – | – | 2 | |||
15 | Curtis Newton | 3 | 2 | 4 | – | 0.5 – 1 | – | – | ||||
23 | Tristan Doughli | 3 | 1 | 3.5 | – | – | – | – | ||||
9 | Michael Carney | 3 | 0 | 3 | – | – | – | – | 1 | |||
3 | Colin Mandich | 2 | 2 | 3 | – | – | – | – | 1 | |||
59 | Fraser Speakman | 3 | 0 | 3 | – | – | – | – | ||||
33 | Derek Drouillar | 2 | 1 | 2.5 | – | – | – | – | ||||
50 | Andrew Graham | 2 | 1 | 2.5 | – | – | – | 1-7 | ||||
93 | Charlie Taggart | 2 | 0 | 2 | – | 1 – 4 | – | – | ||||
99 | Djordje Gravilo | 2 | 0 | 2 | – | 1 – 3 | – | – | ||||
19 | Ryan Nieuwestee | 1 | 1 | 1.5 | 0.5 – 1 | 0.5 – 1 | – | – | ||||
25 | Nicholas Pariso | 1 | 1 | 1.5 | – | – | – | – | ||||
41 | Patrick McGrath | 1 | 1 | 1.5 | – | – | – | – | ||||
52 | Cameron Walker | 1 | 1 | 1.5 | – | – | – | – | ||||
80 | Jacob Scarfone | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
39 | 39 | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
56 | Kyle Fraser-Aud | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
96 | Donnie Egerter | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
2 | Jazz Lindsey | 0 | 1 | 0.5 | – | 0.5 – 1 | – | – | ||||
TM | TEAM | – | – | – | – | |||||||
TOTALS | 51 | 18 | 60 | 1 – 2 | 4 – 11 | – | 1-7 | 4 |
OTHER INFORMATION | |
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Location: Guelph Stadium: Alumni Stadium Attendance: 0 Weather: Cloudy Temperature: 18c Wind: 19 nw |
Referee: Glenn Hill Umpire: Jim Lindsey Head Linesman: Trevor Semple Line Judge: Marc Cobb Back Judge: Ross Foxcroft Field Judge: Herman Murphy Side Judge: Dave Podetz |
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