The Gryphons went into the Ravens Nest and plucked out a gutsy win against the odds.
Players celebrate after Ryan Sheahan records his first win as UofG head coach Photo: Kyle Rodriguez
After suffering a bitter loss to Mac in Week 1, this was close to a must-win game. The fact that a number of new starters had to step up makes the win even sweeter. People are already saying that the defense and special teams units led the way but I give the offense credit for coming through and doing their job despite injuries and limitations.
Quick Thoughts
- This was a very good win – on the road versus a ranked opponent. It says a lot about the character of the team and coaching staff. Congrats to Coach Sheahan on his first U Sports win as a head coach.
- How amazing is it that freshman Clarke Barnes returned the opening kick-off 106 yards for a touchdown. He’s done that in back-to-back games!
- Carleton’s run game had no success – they averaged just 2.8 ypc and produced 39 total yards. That’s outstanding defense against a team with a big, talented O-Line and a top notch RB.
- The D gave up 283 passing yards while sacking the CU quarterback 5 time. 91 of those passing yards came on a single play in the 1st Q. Eliminate that one breakdown and …
- The D produced 3 turnovers and scored 2 touchdowns. Linebacker Jared Beeksma scored one of those TDs and setup the other with a fumble-causing hit.
- Kicker Eric Stranz was a perfect 3-for-3 on FGs and 4-for-4 on converts.
- The offense didn’t produce much more yardage (net 278) than against Mac (net 240), but they did do an excellent job of hanging on to the ball – i.e. zero turnovers and no botched snaps/hand-offs recovered for loss. The number that really improved was 21 First Downs vs 14 but that was largely due to Carleton penalties.
- The O did make some plays in the 4th Q when it needed to. The fact that we failed to convert on two 3rd-&-1 situations is something that has to be solved.
- The offense also hurt themselves with a couple of unnecessary penalties – Illegal procedure, Time Clock Violation, but overall, I still felt positive about the offense. I thought some progress was made.
- Several inexperienced OLs [Spencer Swan at LT & freshman Matteo Kucinic at LG] had to start in place of injured players. Stuart Allan played several series at RG when Coulter Woodmansey was hurt. Veteran Ben Petrie looked more comfortable in his second game at Centre. Freshman Matt Fumawera played RT this week after playing LG last week. Even with all those changes along the O-Line there were zero sacks given up and 123 rushing yards gained. I’ll take that against a veteran D like Carleton’s.
Game Stories & Stats
Gryphons.ca – Defence, Special Teams Lead Gryphons to 37-20 Road Win
OTTAWA, Ont. – Sunday night in the nation’s capital, the Guelph Gryphons earned an impressive 37-20 road win over the No. 8-nationally-ranked Carleton Ravens. And it was the Gryphon defence and special teams leading the way.
For a second consecutive week, rookie Clark Barnes took the opening kickoff back for a touchdown, and the University of Guelph defence recorded a pair of defensive touchdowns to propel the visiting Gryphons to a 17-point road win over the Ravens.
GoRavens.ca – check here for a recap coming soon, I assume.
The Charlatan – and maybe here later in the week.
Gryphons Football Blog 