September 20, 2012
Gryphons host the Blues in Homecoming battle live on theScore
The atmosphere will be electric as the University of Guelph’s new and improved Alumni Stadium is sold out for homecoming and will play host to the third broadcast of the season of University Rush on theScore, presented by belairdirect at 1 p.m. on September 22.
Week four of the OUA season sees a match-up between two teams that started the season in opposite directions lock horns as the Toronto Varsity Blues visit the Guelph Gryphons. Toronto opened the season with a shut-out win over Laurier, but have since dropped two games, allowing more than a hundred points against in the process. Guelph is coming in on the strength of two straight wins after dropping their season opener by a large margin against No. 1 McMaster.
Spirits were high for the Varsity Blues squad after they started the season with a 19-0 win over Laurier, their first season opening win since 2008. However expectations were quickly reeled in after blow-out losses to Western and Windsor.
“We were surprised by our performance against Windsor last week, we expected to be more competitive. We lacked energy and we didn’t execute well,” said head coach Greg Gary. “This week against Guelph it’s back to basics. We’ve got to run the ball better, open up our passing game, and not give up the big plays. If we get back to the fundamentals, it’s going to be a good game on Saturday.”
Toronto is a young squad, being led by second-year quarterback Richard Quittenton (Ajax, Ont.), who takes over the starting role after serving as a back-up to Andrew Gillis last season. Also carrying much of the load is rookie running back Ashton Nelson (Brampton, Ont.) who is fourth in OUA with 280 yards rushing on the season.
The Varsity Blues defence is a veteran group, though one of the brightest spots through three weeks this season is the play of young defensive backs John Connors (Barrie, Ont.) and Spenser Stewart (Pickering, Ont.). Connors is leading the team in tackles with 17.5 plus two fumble recoveries in his first OUA season, while Stewart, a second-year player, has 13 tackles which is second on the team.
The Guelph Gryphons, by contrast, started the season with a loss to McMaster, but rebounded with a 28-9 upset on the road against Windsor, and a 30-point win against Waterloo on their home opener.
The Gryphs boast a well rounded offence, sitting in fourth in the OUA in rushing, seventh in passing, and fifth in both scoring and total offence. So far this season the Guelph offence has run through second-year quarterback Jazz Lindsey (Markham, Ont.) and third-year running back Rob Farquharson (Niagara Falls, Ont.). The two have combined for 470 yards rushing. Farquharson has accounted for 327 of those yards, which puts him in third in the OUA, and has added three touchdowns.
“Rob has always been a great kid. This year it has been the perfect storm of things coming together,” said Gryphons head coach Stu Lang when asked about the emergence of Farquharson as his go-to running back. “This is the second year of essentially the same offence, with our backs and o-line coming together very well. The addition of Neil Lumsden as our full-time running backs coach has also helped our backs a great deal. Rob tends to get better as the game gets longer and he’s been a pleasant surprise and provided us with a solid run game.”
Lindsey has thrown for 528 yards and four scores. What may be most impressive about the Guelph passing attack is its depth. Lindsey has completed 36 passes, and back-up Lucas Nangle (London, Ont.) nine, to 12 different receivers. Dillon Dimitroff (Burlington, Ont.) has 11 catches and Farquharson has seven, but no other member of the receiving corps has more than five.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Gryphons are led by the dynamic line-backing duo of John Rush (Niagara Falls, Ont.) and Jake Reinhart (Guelph, Ont.). The pair sit second and third in the OUA in tackles with 23.5 and 20 respectively. Jarryd Baines (Ottawa, Ont.) has also been productive on defence, racking up 13 tackles, a team-leading three sacks, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery.
Saturday’s game will be played in front of a packed house as the 4,000 tickets for Guelph’s homecoming game sold out in under one hour. The match-up is the second home game of the season for the Gryphs and will give students, alumni and viewers of University Rush on theScore a great view of Guelph’s top-notch facilities.
Despite the overwhelming crowd and a national TV audience, Blues’ head coach Greg Gary isn’t fazed by the added attention.
“Playing on theScore is a fun opportunity, we enjoyed it last year with a win and the guys get a great kick out of watching themselves on television after the fact. This week with it being in Guelph’s backyard, at their homecoming on their new field, the pressure is on the Gryphons. We’ve emphasized all week not to get caught up in the emotion of the game, and we’re just going to go out and play some football.”
The Varsity Blues are hoping to make it two straight wins over Guelph, after a 21-12 win at the Varsity Centre last season. The win was the first for Toronto over Guelph since 1995, and it pushed the all-time series to 20-16-1 in favour of Guelph. During the 2010 season the Gryphons were able to squeeze out a 15-13 win on a last second field goal.
“It seems that some teams have another team’s number and regardless of standings and players, Toronto has been that for us,” said Lang of recent match-ups with Toronto. “They’ve given us problems the last two seasons and they bring in key players in important positions who tend to perform well at the right time.”
Saturday’s game could see Toronto turn around their losing skid in front of over 4,000 enthusiastic Guelph fans, or it could see the Gryphons delight the crowd by extending their winning streak to three games. All the excitement of this OUA football match-up can be seen beginning September 22 at 1 p.m. on University Rush on theScore, presented by belairdirect.
Toronto Leaders
Passing
Richard Quittenton (Ajax, Ont.)
28 completions, 57 attempts, 325 yards, 0 touchdowns, 3 interceptions
Rushing
Ashton Nelson (Brampton, Ont.)
54 carries, 280 yards, 0 touchdowns
Richard Quittenton
20 carries, 116 yards, 2 touchdowns
Receiving
Alex Pierzchalski (London, Ont.)
14 catches, 147 yards
Paul de Pass (Ajax, Ont.)
5 catches, 98 yards
Defence
John Connors (Barrie, Ont.)
17.5 tackles, 2 fumble recoveries
Spenser Stewart (Pickering, Ont.)
13 tackles, 1 interception
Dylan Gordon (Cambridge, Ont.)
13 tackles
Guelph Leaders
Passing
Jazz Lindsey (Markham, Ont.)
36 completions, 77 attempts, 528 yards, 4 touchdowns, 4 interceptions
Rushing
Rob Farquharson (Niagara Falls, Ont.)
49 carries, 327 yards, 3 touchdowns
Jazz Lindsey
19 carries, 143 yards, 0 touchdowns
Receiving
Dillon Dimitroff (Burlington, Ont.)
11 catches, 160 yards, 1 touchdown
Rob Farquharson
7 catches, 84 yards, 0 touchdowns
Saxon Lindsey (Markham, Ont.)
5 catches, 33 yards, 1 touchdown
Defence
John Rush (Niagara Falls, Ont)
23.5 tackles, 1.5 sacks
Jake Reinhart (Guelph, Ont.)
20 tackles, 1.5 sacks
Jarryd Baines (Ottawa, Ont.)
13 tackles, 3 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, 1 fumble recovery
Week four of the OUA season sees a match-up between two teams that started the season in opposite directions lock horns as the Toronto Varsity Blues visit the Guelph Gryphons. Toronto opened the season with a shut-out win over Laurier, but have since dropped two games, allowing more than a hundred points against in the process. Guelph is coming in on the strength of two straight wins after dropping their season opener by a large margin against No. 1 McMaster.
Spirits were high for the Varsity Blues squad after they started the season with a 19-0 win over Laurier, their first season opening win since 2008. However expectations were quickly reeled in after blow-out losses to Western and Windsor.
“We were surprised by our performance against Windsor last week, we expected to be more competitive. We lacked energy and we didn’t execute well,” said head coach Greg Gary. “This week against Guelph it’s back to basics. We’ve got to run the ball better, open up our passing game, and not give up the big plays. If we get back to the fundamentals, it’s going to be a good game on Saturday.”
Toronto is a young squad, being led by second-year quarterback Richard Quittenton (Ajax, Ont.), who takes over the starting role after serving as a back-up to Andrew Gillis last season. Also carrying much of the load is rookie running back Ashton Nelson (Brampton, Ont.) who is fourth in OUA with 280 yards rushing on the season.
The Varsity Blues defence is a veteran group, though one of the brightest spots through three weeks this season is the play of young defensive backs John Connors (Barrie, Ont.) and Spenser Stewart (Pickering, Ont.). Connors is leading the team in tackles with 17.5 plus two fumble recoveries in his first OUA season, while Stewart, a second-year player, has 13 tackles which is second on the team.
The Guelph Gryphons, by contrast, started the season with a loss to McMaster, but rebounded with a 28-9 upset on the road against Windsor, and a 30-point win against Waterloo on their home opener.
The Gryphs boast a well rounded offence, sitting in fourth in the OUA in rushing, seventh in passing, and fifth in both scoring and total offence. So far this season the Guelph offence has run through second-year quarterback Jazz Lindsey (Markham, Ont.) and third-year running back Rob Farquharson (Niagara Falls, Ont.). The two have combined for 470 yards rushing. Farquharson has accounted for 327 of those yards, which puts him in third in the OUA, and has added three touchdowns.
“Rob has always been a great kid. This year it has been the perfect storm of things coming together,” said Gryphons head coach Stu Lang when asked about the emergence of Farquharson as his go-to running back. “This is the second year of essentially the same offence, with our backs and o-line coming together very well. The addition of Neil Lumsden as our full-time running backs coach has also helped our backs a great deal. Rob tends to get better as the game gets longer and he’s been a pleasant surprise and provided us with a solid run game.”
Lindsey has thrown for 528 yards and four scores. What may be most impressive about the Guelph passing attack is its depth. Lindsey has completed 36 passes, and back-up Lucas Nangle (London, Ont.) nine, to 12 different receivers. Dillon Dimitroff (Burlington, Ont.) has 11 catches and Farquharson has seven, but no other member of the receiving corps has more than five.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Gryphons are led by the dynamic line-backing duo of John Rush (Niagara Falls, Ont.) and Jake Reinhart (Guelph, Ont.). The pair sit second and third in the OUA in tackles with 23.5 and 20 respectively. Jarryd Baines (Ottawa, Ont.) has also been productive on defence, racking up 13 tackles, a team-leading three sacks, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery.
Saturday’s game will be played in front of a packed house as the 4,000 tickets for Guelph’s homecoming game sold out in under one hour. The match-up is the second home game of the season for the Gryphs and will give students, alumni and viewers of University Rush on theScore a great view of Guelph’s top-notch facilities.
Despite the overwhelming crowd and a national TV audience, Blues’ head coach Greg Gary isn’t fazed by the added attention.
“Playing on theScore is a fun opportunity, we enjoyed it last year with a win and the guys get a great kick out of watching themselves on television after the fact. This week with it being in Guelph’s backyard, at their homecoming on their new field, the pressure is on the Gryphons. We’ve emphasized all week not to get caught up in the emotion of the game, and we’re just going to go out and play some football.”
The Varsity Blues are hoping to make it two straight wins over Guelph, after a 21-12 win at the Varsity Centre last season. The win was the first for Toronto over Guelph since 1995, and it pushed the all-time series to 20-16-1 in favour of Guelph. During the 2010 season the Gryphons were able to squeeze out a 15-13 win on a last second field goal.
“It seems that some teams have another team’s number and regardless of standings and players, Toronto has been that for us,” said Lang of recent match-ups with Toronto. “They’ve given us problems the last two seasons and they bring in key players in important positions who tend to perform well at the right time.”
Saturday’s game could see Toronto turn around their losing skid in front of over 4,000 enthusiastic Guelph fans, or it could see the Gryphons delight the crowd by extending their winning streak to three games. All the excitement of this OUA football match-up can be seen beginning September 22 at 1 p.m. on University Rush on theScore, presented by belairdirect.
Toronto Leaders
Passing
Richard Quittenton (Ajax, Ont.)
28 completions, 57 attempts, 325 yards, 0 touchdowns, 3 interceptions
Rushing
Ashton Nelson (Brampton, Ont.)
54 carries, 280 yards, 0 touchdowns
Richard Quittenton
20 carries, 116 yards, 2 touchdowns
Receiving
Alex Pierzchalski (London, Ont.)
14 catches, 147 yards
Paul de Pass (Ajax, Ont.)
5 catches, 98 yards
Defence
John Connors (Barrie, Ont.)
17.5 tackles, 2 fumble recoveries
Spenser Stewart (Pickering, Ont.)
13 tackles, 1 interception
Dylan Gordon (Cambridge, Ont.)
13 tackles
Guelph Leaders
Passing
Jazz Lindsey (Markham, Ont.)
36 completions, 77 attempts, 528 yards, 4 touchdowns, 4 interceptions
Rushing
Rob Farquharson (Niagara Falls, Ont.)
49 carries, 327 yards, 3 touchdowns
Jazz Lindsey
19 carries, 143 yards, 0 touchdowns
Receiving
Dillon Dimitroff (Burlington, Ont.)
11 catches, 160 yards, 1 touchdown
Rob Farquharson
7 catches, 84 yards, 0 touchdowns
Saxon Lindsey (Markham, Ont.)
5 catches, 33 yards, 1 touchdown
Defence
John Rush (Niagara Falls, Ont)
23.5 tackles, 1.5 sacks
Jake Reinhart (Guelph, Ont.)
20 tackles, 1.5 sacks
Jarryd Baines (Ottawa, Ont.)
13 tackles, 3 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, 1 fumble recovery
