Guelph 50 – Toronto 18
 
Guelph, Ont. (September 18, 2014) - The Guelph Gryphons football team downed the Toronto Varsity Blues with a final score of 50-18 in their home opener at Alumni Stadium on 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 Alexander 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 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, 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.
 
Iain 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 13^th. The game is set to kick off at 1:00 p.m. in Ottawa.