October 30, 2009
GRYPHONS AND MUSTANGS, ROUND TWO ON UNIVERSITY RUSH
HAMILTON, Ont. - Ontario University Athletics (OUA) is back on The Score Television Network this Saturday at 1 p.m. ET as the Guelph Gryphons (3-5) visit the No. 5 nationally-ranked Western Mustangs (6-2) in a rematch of their hard-fought Week 4 battle, in which the Mustangs pulled out a win in the final second of the game.
Guelph wasn't going to make it an easy win for the as-yet undefeated Mustangs, keeping the game close from start to finish.
Gryphon quarterback Justin Dunk (Guelph, Ont.) gave Western's Michael Faulds (Eden Mills, Ont.) a run for his money, getting the scoring started early in the first frame with a scramble to the end zone for a touchdown. From that point on, the two QBs went toe-to-toe, sending the game to a 39-38 score in the final minutes in Guelph's favour.
With less than a minute to go, it looked as though the Gryphons had defeated the Mustangs and handed them their first loss of the season. But a last-second (literally) field goal by Darryl Wheeler (Hamilton, Ont.) at 14:59 sent the Mustangs to a 41-39 victory.
The intensity of the game was obviously running high with no one feeling it more than Dunk, who, in the heat of the moment, made a regrettable comment into a television camera. The impulsive move marked the beginning of what could be the end for the Gryphons 2009 season.
"Football is a violent game, it's an emotional game," said Guelph head coach Kyle Walters. "You need to play on the edge of being out of control and there's that fine line that we have to get to but not cross."
"That's a difficult thing when you're dealing with kids at this age, is to get them fired up and make plays with aggression and emotion, but under control, and that's a tough thing for all the coaches."
Dunk was suspended for the Gryphons game against Waterloo following his outburst. The game saw back-ups Chris Rossetti (Mississauga, Ont.) and Kurtis Dance (Guelph, Ont.) step in for a win, filling the void left by Dunk.
Since his return to the field, Dunk has seen dismal numbers. Three straight losses and a combined 471 passing yards isn't the stuff champions are made of, and facing Faulds, who averages 379.1 yards per game, is going to be a challenge of epic proportions.
But Dunk, of course, is aware of his shortcomings and is preparing for an even tougher fight than their Week 4 face-off against Western. After throwing for 277 yards and turning out another close game against McMaster last weekend where the Gryphons lost 32-29, Dunk seems to be on the road to recovery.
"I think for us when we're heading into the playoffs with three straight losses and not a lot of positives over the last few weeks, that we can take positives out of the second half with McMaster," said Walters.
"Justin had his best half in a while so we trying to build on the second half of that last game."
Knowing how much is riding on this game and assuming Dunk can get his focus back in time, their Week 4 loss was a strong indicator of just what these Gryphons are capable of. They have all the workings of a playoff-contending team, but when they fall apart, it's not pretty.
Guelph has the fast feet of Nick Fitzgibbon (Puslinch, Ont.), who is third in OUA with 736 rushing yards, scoring eight touchdowns along the ground and averaging 92 yards per game. Dunk himself has had an excellent rushing game this season with seven rushing touchdowns (20 TDs overall); of his 423 rushing yards on 60 attempts, 123 of them came in the game against Western.
Unfortunately, getting the ball to Fitzgibbon for rushing chances hasn't come easily. Dunk's struggles have had an effect on the rest of the field, whether good or bad, putting the Gryphons in a tough situation as far as getting Fitzgibbon in on the plays.
"When we get behind so early, then it kind of limits how much we can get Nick the ball," said Walters.
"The nice thing is we have enough in our package that we have ways to throw him the ball, so we can still find ways to get Nick the ball."
The receiving duties will likely be split between Jedd Gardner (Niagara Falls, Ont.) and David Harrison (Waterdown, Ont.). Gardner, in comparison to last season, has seen better days. So far, he's recorded just one touchdown and has only 461 yards on 32 receptions.
Harrison, a third-year receiver, has a team-leading 33 catches for 390 yards and three touchdowns.
Fitzgibbon, alternatively, has made a dent in the Gryphons receiving corps, making 22 catches for 400 yards and six touchdowns.
The passing offence might be suffering a bit but, on the bright side, Guelph's defence has some of the top players in the league.
Matthew Rossetti and Adam Dunk (Guelph, Ont.) lead the team with 52 and 42 solo take-downs, respectively, and Rossetti has made two sacks. Neither one has successfully picked off any passes, but they can leave that up to Mark Durigon. The second-year defensive back led OUA with six picks.
Defensive back Brad Lively (Calgary) has made a large contribution to the Guelph special teams in the five games he's dressed for (he sat three with an ankle injury), returning 12 punts for 141 yards. Also hand for the Gryphons returning team is James Savoie (Niagara Falls, Ont.), who stepped in while Lively was out, returned a punt 72 yards for a touchdown.
Let's not forget to mention Rob Maver (Brampton, Ont.). The fourth-year kicker led OUA in field goal percentage with 13 on 14 attempts, kicking at a whopping 92.9 per cent.
But we all know that it was Western's kicker that made all the difference in Week 4. Wheeler made a clutch kick sealing the deal for the Mustangs. While the second-year kicker has seven field goals less than Maver and currently sits at 60 per cent efficiency, he can obviously shine when the spotlight's on him.
Western's got a loaded gun in their pocket with Nathan Riva. The second-year running back leads the country (and therefore, the league) in scoring with 15 touchdowns, 10 of which came from rushing plays. Quite a feat for a running back, considering they have a wall of defence to get past before scoring. As for rushing, Riva has made 606 yards on 98 attempts, the longest attempt being 72.
Western's receiving corps could just simply be referred to as "Nick", since that's primarily what it consists of – Nicks. Both second year receivers, similar heights and weights, both from London, Ont. – could these two be any more alike? Well, yeah.
They've both had exceptional seasons, with Trevail making 33 receptions for 568 yards and one touchdown, and Pasic has made 36 catches for 520 yards. Faulds has great communication with both players during games, resulting in a tough-to-stop receiving team.
There's also the issue of Western's defence to sort out. They've lost more than their fair share of their defensive line to injury after injury, including two more last week. The defence burden now falls on one of their best; hopefully he can shoulder the pressure. But head coach Greg Marshall won't be placing the blame on injuries if the Mustangs come up short this weekend.
"We're pretty healthy. We lost a couple defensive linemen last week and some early in the year. You have to overcome those things. We're not using any injuries as an excuse; our defence has got to play better," Marshall said.
As far as the Week 4 match-up goes, while the defence struggled, Marshall is expecting fewer mistakes from the relatively young line.
"We put our defence into some bad situations against Guelph," he said. "Sometimes when you've got young players in there, they make mistakes and they're tentative."
"We hope after going through an eight-game regular season that we're a little bit more confident in what we do defensively. They've got a great challenge ahead of them this weekend."
With a big guy like John Surla (Niagara Falls, Ont.), who clocks in at an menacing 216 lbs., ready to protect his house, it's not going to be easy for Guelph to get around him. The third-year linebacker has made two sacks and three interceptions in the season, making him a threat to even the strongest offence.
Speaking of offence... well, is there really any more to be said about Western quarterback Faulds? He's a touchdown-passing, record-breaking machine. Faulds broke Queen's Dan Brannagan's moments-old Canadian Interuniversity Sport career passing record on Oct. 24 against Toronto with 10,811 yards, as well as the CIS single-season passing record with 3,033 yards.
Faulds dominated Dunk in touchdowns in Week 4, throwing four to Dunk's one.
But Dunk has something to prove this weekend, and that something is that he will not settle for anything less than great. He may be down, he may be beat but he is certainly not done and he's got plenty of fight left in him. The question is: will it be enough?
GUELPH LEADERS
Passing
Justin Dunk (Guelph, Ont.)
127 completions, 227 attempts, 1,897 yards, 13 touchdowns, 5 interceptions
Rushing
Nick Fitzgibbon (Puslinch, Ont.)
110 attempts, 736 yards, 8 touchdowns
Receiving
Jedd Gardner (Niagara Falls, Ont.)
32 receptions, 461 yards, 1 touchdown
Defence
Matthew Rossetti (Mississauga, Ont.)
52 solo tackles, 2 sacks, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery
Adam Dunk (Guelph, Ont.)
42 solo tackles, 1 sack, 2 forced fumbles, 1 fumble recovery
James Savoie (Niagara Falls, Ont.)
36 solo tackles, 2 interceptions, 1 forced fumble, 3 fumble recoveries
WESTERN LEADERS
Passing
Michael Faulds (Eden Mills, Ont.)
201 completions, 310 attempts, 3,033 yards, 15 touchdowns, 9 interceptions
Rushing
Nathan Riva (LaSalle, Ont.)
98 attempts, 606 yards, 10 touchdowns
Receiving
Nick Trevail (London, Ont.)
33 receptions, 568 yards, 1 touchdown
Defence
John Surla (Niagara Falls, Ont.)
36 solo tackles, 3 interceptions, 2 sacks
Craig Butler
27 solo tackles, 2 interceptions, 3 break-ups
Aaron Handsor
25 solo tackles, 2 interceptions, 1 break-up, 1 fumble recovery
ABOUT ONTARIO UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS
Ontario University Athletics (OUA) and its 19 member institutions are developing Champions For Life. Giving 9,000 student-athletes the opportunity to excel academically and on the playing field, while preparing for life after university. For more information, visit OUA.ca.
Guelph wasn't going to make it an easy win for the as-yet undefeated Mustangs, keeping the game close from start to finish.
Gryphon quarterback Justin Dunk (Guelph, Ont.) gave Western's Michael Faulds (Eden Mills, Ont.) a run for his money, getting the scoring started early in the first frame with a scramble to the end zone for a touchdown. From that point on, the two QBs went toe-to-toe, sending the game to a 39-38 score in the final minutes in Guelph's favour.
With less than a minute to go, it looked as though the Gryphons had defeated the Mustangs and handed them their first loss of the season. But a last-second (literally) field goal by Darryl Wheeler (Hamilton, Ont.) at 14:59 sent the Mustangs to a 41-39 victory.
The intensity of the game was obviously running high with no one feeling it more than Dunk, who, in the heat of the moment, made a regrettable comment into a television camera. The impulsive move marked the beginning of what could be the end for the Gryphons 2009 season.
"Football is a violent game, it's an emotional game," said Guelph head coach Kyle Walters. "You need to play on the edge of being out of control and there's that fine line that we have to get to but not cross."
"That's a difficult thing when you're dealing with kids at this age, is to get them fired up and make plays with aggression and emotion, but under control, and that's a tough thing for all the coaches."
Dunk was suspended for the Gryphons game against Waterloo following his outburst. The game saw back-ups Chris Rossetti (Mississauga, Ont.) and Kurtis Dance (Guelph, Ont.) step in for a win, filling the void left by Dunk.
Since his return to the field, Dunk has seen dismal numbers. Three straight losses and a combined 471 passing yards isn't the stuff champions are made of, and facing Faulds, who averages 379.1 yards per game, is going to be a challenge of epic proportions.
But Dunk, of course, is aware of his shortcomings and is preparing for an even tougher fight than their Week 4 face-off against Western. After throwing for 277 yards and turning out another close game against McMaster last weekend where the Gryphons lost 32-29, Dunk seems to be on the road to recovery.
"I think for us when we're heading into the playoffs with three straight losses and not a lot of positives over the last few weeks, that we can take positives out of the second half with McMaster," said Walters.
"Justin had his best half in a while so we trying to build on the second half of that last game."
Knowing how much is riding on this game and assuming Dunk can get his focus back in time, their Week 4 loss was a strong indicator of just what these Gryphons are capable of. They have all the workings of a playoff-contending team, but when they fall apart, it's not pretty.
Guelph has the fast feet of Nick Fitzgibbon (Puslinch, Ont.), who is third in OUA with 736 rushing yards, scoring eight touchdowns along the ground and averaging 92 yards per game. Dunk himself has had an excellent rushing game this season with seven rushing touchdowns (20 TDs overall); of his 423 rushing yards on 60 attempts, 123 of them came in the game against Western.
Unfortunately, getting the ball to Fitzgibbon for rushing chances hasn't come easily. Dunk's struggles have had an effect on the rest of the field, whether good or bad, putting the Gryphons in a tough situation as far as getting Fitzgibbon in on the plays.
"When we get behind so early, then it kind of limits how much we can get Nick the ball," said Walters.
"The nice thing is we have enough in our package that we have ways to throw him the ball, so we can still find ways to get Nick the ball."
The receiving duties will likely be split between Jedd Gardner (Niagara Falls, Ont.) and David Harrison (Waterdown, Ont.). Gardner, in comparison to last season, has seen better days. So far, he's recorded just one touchdown and has only 461 yards on 32 receptions.
Harrison, a third-year receiver, has a team-leading 33 catches for 390 yards and three touchdowns.
Fitzgibbon, alternatively, has made a dent in the Gryphons receiving corps, making 22 catches for 400 yards and six touchdowns.
The passing offence might be suffering a bit but, on the bright side, Guelph's defence has some of the top players in the league.
Matthew Rossetti and Adam Dunk (Guelph, Ont.) lead the team with 52 and 42 solo take-downs, respectively, and Rossetti has made two sacks. Neither one has successfully picked off any passes, but they can leave that up to Mark Durigon. The second-year defensive back led OUA with six picks.
Defensive back Brad Lively (Calgary) has made a large contribution to the Guelph special teams in the five games he's dressed for (he sat three with an ankle injury), returning 12 punts for 141 yards. Also hand for the Gryphons returning team is James Savoie (Niagara Falls, Ont.), who stepped in while Lively was out, returned a punt 72 yards for a touchdown.
Let's not forget to mention Rob Maver (Brampton, Ont.). The fourth-year kicker led OUA in field goal percentage with 13 on 14 attempts, kicking at a whopping 92.9 per cent.
But we all know that it was Western's kicker that made all the difference in Week 4. Wheeler made a clutch kick sealing the deal for the Mustangs. While the second-year kicker has seven field goals less than Maver and currently sits at 60 per cent efficiency, he can obviously shine when the spotlight's on him.
Western's got a loaded gun in their pocket with Nathan Riva. The second-year running back leads the country (and therefore, the league) in scoring with 15 touchdowns, 10 of which came from rushing plays. Quite a feat for a running back, considering they have a wall of defence to get past before scoring. As for rushing, Riva has made 606 yards on 98 attempts, the longest attempt being 72.
Western's receiving corps could just simply be referred to as "Nick", since that's primarily what it consists of – Nicks. Both second year receivers, similar heights and weights, both from London, Ont. – could these two be any more alike? Well, yeah.
They've both had exceptional seasons, with Trevail making 33 receptions for 568 yards and one touchdown, and Pasic has made 36 catches for 520 yards. Faulds has great communication with both players during games, resulting in a tough-to-stop receiving team.
There's also the issue of Western's defence to sort out. They've lost more than their fair share of their defensive line to injury after injury, including two more last week. The defence burden now falls on one of their best; hopefully he can shoulder the pressure. But head coach Greg Marshall won't be placing the blame on injuries if the Mustangs come up short this weekend.
"We're pretty healthy. We lost a couple defensive linemen last week and some early in the year. You have to overcome those things. We're not using any injuries as an excuse; our defence has got to play better," Marshall said.
As far as the Week 4 match-up goes, while the defence struggled, Marshall is expecting fewer mistakes from the relatively young line.
"We put our defence into some bad situations against Guelph," he said. "Sometimes when you've got young players in there, they make mistakes and they're tentative."
"We hope after going through an eight-game regular season that we're a little bit more confident in what we do defensively. They've got a great challenge ahead of them this weekend."
With a big guy like John Surla (Niagara Falls, Ont.), who clocks in at an menacing 216 lbs., ready to protect his house, it's not going to be easy for Guelph to get around him. The third-year linebacker has made two sacks and three interceptions in the season, making him a threat to even the strongest offence.
Speaking of offence... well, is there really any more to be said about Western quarterback Faulds? He's a touchdown-passing, record-breaking machine. Faulds broke Queen's Dan Brannagan's moments-old Canadian Interuniversity Sport career passing record on Oct. 24 against Toronto with 10,811 yards, as well as the CIS single-season passing record with 3,033 yards.
Faulds dominated Dunk in touchdowns in Week 4, throwing four to Dunk's one.
But Dunk has something to prove this weekend, and that something is that he will not settle for anything less than great. He may be down, he may be beat but he is certainly not done and he's got plenty of fight left in him. The question is: will it be enough?
GUELPH LEADERS
Passing
Justin Dunk (Guelph, Ont.)
127 completions, 227 attempts, 1,897 yards, 13 touchdowns, 5 interceptions
Rushing
Nick Fitzgibbon (Puslinch, Ont.)
110 attempts, 736 yards, 8 touchdowns
Receiving
Jedd Gardner (Niagara Falls, Ont.)
32 receptions, 461 yards, 1 touchdown
Defence
Matthew Rossetti (Mississauga, Ont.)
52 solo tackles, 2 sacks, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery
Adam Dunk (Guelph, Ont.)
42 solo tackles, 1 sack, 2 forced fumbles, 1 fumble recovery
James Savoie (Niagara Falls, Ont.)
36 solo tackles, 2 interceptions, 1 forced fumble, 3 fumble recoveries
WESTERN LEADERS
Passing
Michael Faulds (Eden Mills, Ont.)
201 completions, 310 attempts, 3,033 yards, 15 touchdowns, 9 interceptions
Rushing
Nathan Riva (LaSalle, Ont.)
98 attempts, 606 yards, 10 touchdowns
Receiving
Nick Trevail (London, Ont.)
33 receptions, 568 yards, 1 touchdown
Defence
John Surla (Niagara Falls, Ont.)
36 solo tackles, 3 interceptions, 2 sacks
Craig Butler
27 solo tackles, 2 interceptions, 3 break-ups
Aaron Handsor
25 solo tackles, 2 interceptions, 1 break-up, 1 fumble recovery
– OUA –
ABOUT ONTARIO UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS
Ontario University Athletics (OUA) and its 19 member institutions are developing Champions For Life. Giving 9,000 student-athletes the opportunity to excel academically and on the playing field, while preparing for life after university. For more information, visit OUA.ca.
