Queen's at Guelph - 20121013
Photos of the Queen's Golden Gaels vs. the Guelph Gryphons and the pre-game tailgate party at Alumni Stadium, Guelph, ON on October 13, 2012.
All photos are by Jeff Chan. Jeff is past Chairman of the Vanier Cup - Canada's University Football Championship and the Premier University Event in Canada, and was a member of the Canadian College Bowl Board and Vanier Cup Organizing Committee from 1978-2000.
All photos are Copyright (c) Jeff Chan 2000-2012, and may be used for personal non-commercial applications including by Queen's University, the CIS and its member conferences, so long as photo credits are shown or the photos are otherwise attributed to Jeff Chan. All other rights, including for all corporate use, are reserved.
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QUEEN'S 28, GUELPH 33
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NO. 7 GRYPHONS COME FROM BEHIND TO UPSET NO. 4 GAELS
By Chris Lund, Queen's Sports Information
The No. 4 Queen's Gaels (5-2) jumped out to a big lead early but ultimately couldn't hang on as they fell to the No. 7 Guelph Gryphons (6-1) by a 33-28 score.
The Gaels scored on their first possession of the game, as Billy McPhee of Burlington, Ont., connected with Aaron Gazendam of Kingston, Ont., for a nine yard touchdown pass, four minutes into the first quarter. The Gryphons responded ten minutes later with a field goal from Julian Tropea of Niagara Falls, Ont. On the first play following the field goal, McPhee hit Giovanni Aprile downfield for a 75 yard catch and run play which resulted in a Gaels touchdown just before time expired in the first quarter.
The second quarter started well for the Gaels as Andrew Sauer of Ayr, Ont., recovered a fumble in the Gryphons endzone to increase the Queen's lead to 21-3 just 24 seconds into the frame. The teams were stalemated for much of the second quarter until Justin Chapdelaine of Abbotsford, B.C., ran a fake field goal into the endzone from 41 yards out to give the Gaels a 28-3 lead. Momentum shifted late in the second quarter, however, as Gaels punter Dillon Wamsley of London, Ont., had a punt blocked deep in Queen's territory. After a Gryphons recovery, Rob Farquharson of Niagara Falls, Ont., ran a ball into the endzone to cut the Gaels lead to 28-10. Gryphons quarterback Jazz Lindsey of Markham, Ont., added a rushing touchdown of his own just before halftime to bring the score to 28-17 at the break.
Guelph kicked the scoring off in the second half when Mackenzie Myers of Guelph, Ont., intercepted a McPhee pass and returned it the length of the field to cut the Gaels lead to 28-25. Lindsey hit Michael Fortino of Niagara Falls, Ont., on the following two point conversion play. The Gryphons then took the lead late in the third quarter when Farquharson ran his second touchdown in from four yards out. They capped the scoring in the fourth quarter with a rouge from punter Daniel Ferraro of Mississauga, Ont., which made the score 33-28.
Lindsey was the catalyst on offence for the Gryphons, passing for 180 yards on 18 completions, while also adding a rushing touchdown on three carries for 11 yards. He also added the two-point conversion in the third quarter. Farquharson provided the bulk of the production with an 87 yard, two touchdown performance.
Billy McPhee was 26 of 43 passing for the Gaels, with two touchdowns -- both in the first half. He struggled in the second, getting picked off four times by the Gryphons defence. Ryan Granberg of Sherwood Park, Alta., ran for 88 yards on 23 carries in the loss while also chipping in 42 receiving yards.
Defensively the Gaels were led by Cory Dyer of Gananoque, Ont., who had a team high five tackles and the lone sack of the game.
GAELS SUFFER CRUSHING DEFEAT AT GUELPH
By Claude Scilley, Kingston Whig Standard
Everyone knows what it's like to have one of those horrible days at work where it's just one bad thing after another. Often the only comfort comes from knowing it will soon be over.
The Queen's Golden Gaels, however, couldn't even take that bit of solace from Saturday's 33-28 defeat at the hands of the Guelph Gryphons, because for coach Pat Sheahan it wasn't yet over.
He won't know until today just what the impact will be of a host of injuries his team suffered in Saturday's Ontario University Athletics football game.
Potentially it could be significant.
All-star corner Andrew Lue had to be helped off the field in the second quarter with an injury to his right ankle. After the game Lue said he was hopeful it was merely a bad sprain.
Earlier, reserve defensive back and special teams regular Evan Sequeira was helped off.
The Gaels finished the game with both of their starting tackles, Josh Prinsen and Matt Kendrick, on the sideline, meaning Queen's desperately tried to come back in the fourth quarter with an offensive line that included a freshman, two rookie starters and a veteran playing out of position.
Depending on the news from sick bay today, the Gaels may continue to feel the effects of Saturday's loss long after time has soothed the sting of blowing a 28-3 lead and kissing a first-round playoff bye and home field for the semifinals good-bye.
"It's very disappointing," Sheahan said, softly, oblivious to the drizzle that was falling outside the Gaels' dressing room after the game.
"Most disappointing is we had a 25-point lead and it exploded. We handed them 14 points."
Sheahan referred to a blocked punt late in the second quarter that Guelph needed just three plays to convert into a touchdown and an 85-yard interception return for a touchdown early in the third quarter. The ensuing two-point convert brought the Gryphons back to 28-25.
Guelph then scored on its next possession to take the lead, moving 76 yards in just three plays against a Queen's team that had become unglued.
Perhaps fuelled by the frustration of blowing the lead and wide-open receivers dropping at least half a dozen balls, Queen's began to take penalties. The least penalized intercollegiate team in Canada — 30, in six previous games — was flagged 14 times.
Guelph got six first downs by penalty, a major foul was instrumental in the Gryphons' second TD drive and penalties gave Guelph three cracks at the two-point convert on its third TD. Part of the reason the Gaels had lousy field position at the end of the game was 67 yards in penalties in the fourth quarter.
"I can't believe in a big game like that all of a sudden our team lost its discipline," Sheahan said, raising his voice for benefit of a passing official, "but I will be reviewing the film closely."
The Gaels regrouped in the final nine minutes. While the defence was containing the Gryphons — Guelph had just 40 yards of offence in the fourth quarter — the Queen's offence moved the ball 46, 70 and 41 yards with their final three possessions. Starting at their own 10-, 15- and 14-yard line, respectively, as the Gaels did, rendered such proficiency moot.
"We had tremendous ball movement in the fourth quarter," Sheahan said, "but to bring the ball 100 yards without something going wrong … is asking a lot."
Guelph coach Stu Lang, whose team improved to 6-1 after a 2-6 campaign a year ago, was delighted with the outcome.
"It was so important," he said, "not just to guarantee second place, but the win for the program, the building of confidence … this helps us get farther up the mountain."
Even the 28-3 deficit was not imposing, said Lang, whose team came from behind in the fourth quarter last week to defeat Western. Though one Queen's TD came from a fumble recovery in the end zone, another on a fake field goal attempt and a third on a 75-yard pass — each the sort of play that can demoralize a team — his players didn't seem to be bothered, even happening as they did, just nine minutes apart.
"When I looked around at the bench I saw confidence," Lang said. "There wasn't worry as in past years. The guys are starting to learn we can do it, we can come back.
"It's another great lesson that builds character and confidence. I can talk until I'm blue in the face but unless the guys experience it they won't believe it. Now it's a reality."
Mike Millar, Guelph's fifth-year defensive end, said his team merely came up flat to start the game.
"We knew Queen's was going to be a good team," he said, "(but) we knew we were playing well. Besides the first series (and when) they caught a deep ball and just beat our coverage … we ended up shutting down the Queen's offence and we got back in the game."
Guelph held Gaels running back Ryan Granberg to 88 yards, just the second time this year — and third time in his last 14 games — he's been held to less than 100.
"Granberg's a great runner," Millar said. "He's always getting yards after contact. We had to shut down Granberg in order to shut down Queen's."
Other parts of the Queen's game were strong enough to win without Granberg, but for every positive, it seemed, there was something that screamed, 'Yeah, but …'
Take McPhee, for instance. When the game was on the line in the fourth quarter, he completed 12 of 15 passes in one stretch. His four interceptions, however, was a career high.
"We didn't play well enough to win a big ball game," Sheahan said. "There were points in the game where we were very much in control. I thought the first half we played as well as we've played a first half (all year) but we didn't get out of there unscathed, either.
"We've got to play better. We haven't had that 60-minute exercise, still have not put that together. I don't think they're better than us, but they're just good enough that if you go out there and hand them a bunch of gifts, they'll appreciate that."
Queen's: TDs from Aaron Gazendam and Giovanni Aprile on passes from Billy McPhee, also Andrew Sauer, who recovered a Guelph fumble in the end zone, and Justin Chapdelaine, who went 34 yards on a fake field goal
Gryphons: Two rushing TDs by Rob Farquharson, another by QB Jazz Lindsey and Mackenzie Myers returns an interception 85 yards; Julian Tropea kicks a 12-yard FG
The game: Queen's leads 28-3 eight and a half minutes into the second quarter; a blocked punt leads to Guelph's first TD with 2:25 left in the half and the Gryphons score another before halftime
Result: Guelph will finish second and get the first week of playoffs off; Queen's will finish no worse than third and host a quarter-final game Oct. 27
Gaels the good: Queen's has a 45-yard scoring drive on its first possession and McPhee and Aprile connect for a 75-yard TD immediately after Guelph's FG late in the first quarter
Gaels the bad: After going ahead 28-3 Queen's is either two plays and out or throws an interception on eight of its next nine possessions, to the middle part of the fourth quarter
Turnovers: A blocked punt and an interception both lead to Guelph touchdowns; two more interceptions kill Queen's drives inside the Gryphons' 25-yard line
JC NOTE: The Gaels enjoyed a significant statistical advantage on offence with 30 first downs to 22 for the Gryphons, and 423 net yards vs. 209; however, 4 interceptions, a lost fumble, 107 yards in penalties, being out-returned 236 yards to 66, and several game-ending injuries including Prinsen, Kendrick, Lue, and Sequeira, more than made up for the 5 point differential.
Read MoreAll photos are by Jeff Chan. Jeff is past Chairman of the Vanier Cup - Canada's University Football Championship and the Premier University Event in Canada, and was a member of the Canadian College Bowl Board and Vanier Cup Organizing Committee from 1978-2000.
All photos are Copyright (c) Jeff Chan 2000-2012, and may be used for personal non-commercial applications including by Queen's University, the CIS and its member conferences, so long as photo credits are shown or the photos are otherwise attributed to Jeff Chan. All other rights, including for all corporate use, are reserved.
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QUEEN'S 28, GUELPH 33
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NO. 7 GRYPHONS COME FROM BEHIND TO UPSET NO. 4 GAELS
By Chris Lund, Queen's Sports Information
The No. 4 Queen's Gaels (5-2) jumped out to a big lead early but ultimately couldn't hang on as they fell to the No. 7 Guelph Gryphons (6-1) by a 33-28 score.
The Gaels scored on their first possession of the game, as Billy McPhee of Burlington, Ont., connected with Aaron Gazendam of Kingston, Ont., for a nine yard touchdown pass, four minutes into the first quarter. The Gryphons responded ten minutes later with a field goal from Julian Tropea of Niagara Falls, Ont. On the first play following the field goal, McPhee hit Giovanni Aprile downfield for a 75 yard catch and run play which resulted in a Gaels touchdown just before time expired in the first quarter.
The second quarter started well for the Gaels as Andrew Sauer of Ayr, Ont., recovered a fumble in the Gryphons endzone to increase the Queen's lead to 21-3 just 24 seconds into the frame. The teams were stalemated for much of the second quarter until Justin Chapdelaine of Abbotsford, B.C., ran a fake field goal into the endzone from 41 yards out to give the Gaels a 28-3 lead. Momentum shifted late in the second quarter, however, as Gaels punter Dillon Wamsley of London, Ont., had a punt blocked deep in Queen's territory. After a Gryphons recovery, Rob Farquharson of Niagara Falls, Ont., ran a ball into the endzone to cut the Gaels lead to 28-10. Gryphons quarterback Jazz Lindsey of Markham, Ont., added a rushing touchdown of his own just before halftime to bring the score to 28-17 at the break.
Guelph kicked the scoring off in the second half when Mackenzie Myers of Guelph, Ont., intercepted a McPhee pass and returned it the length of the field to cut the Gaels lead to 28-25. Lindsey hit Michael Fortino of Niagara Falls, Ont., on the following two point conversion play. The Gryphons then took the lead late in the third quarter when Farquharson ran his second touchdown in from four yards out. They capped the scoring in the fourth quarter with a rouge from punter Daniel Ferraro of Mississauga, Ont., which made the score 33-28.
Lindsey was the catalyst on offence for the Gryphons, passing for 180 yards on 18 completions, while also adding a rushing touchdown on three carries for 11 yards. He also added the two-point conversion in the third quarter. Farquharson provided the bulk of the production with an 87 yard, two touchdown performance.
Billy McPhee was 26 of 43 passing for the Gaels, with two touchdowns -- both in the first half. He struggled in the second, getting picked off four times by the Gryphons defence. Ryan Granberg of Sherwood Park, Alta., ran for 88 yards on 23 carries in the loss while also chipping in 42 receiving yards.
Defensively the Gaels were led by Cory Dyer of Gananoque, Ont., who had a team high five tackles and the lone sack of the game.
GAELS SUFFER CRUSHING DEFEAT AT GUELPH
By Claude Scilley, Kingston Whig Standard
Everyone knows what it's like to have one of those horrible days at work where it's just one bad thing after another. Often the only comfort comes from knowing it will soon be over.
The Queen's Golden Gaels, however, couldn't even take that bit of solace from Saturday's 33-28 defeat at the hands of the Guelph Gryphons, because for coach Pat Sheahan it wasn't yet over.
He won't know until today just what the impact will be of a host of injuries his team suffered in Saturday's Ontario University Athletics football game.
Potentially it could be significant.
All-star corner Andrew Lue had to be helped off the field in the second quarter with an injury to his right ankle. After the game Lue said he was hopeful it was merely a bad sprain.
Earlier, reserve defensive back and special teams regular Evan Sequeira was helped off.
The Gaels finished the game with both of their starting tackles, Josh Prinsen and Matt Kendrick, on the sideline, meaning Queen's desperately tried to come back in the fourth quarter with an offensive line that included a freshman, two rookie starters and a veteran playing out of position.
Depending on the news from sick bay today, the Gaels may continue to feel the effects of Saturday's loss long after time has soothed the sting of blowing a 28-3 lead and kissing a first-round playoff bye and home field for the semifinals good-bye.
"It's very disappointing," Sheahan said, softly, oblivious to the drizzle that was falling outside the Gaels' dressing room after the game.
"Most disappointing is we had a 25-point lead and it exploded. We handed them 14 points."
Sheahan referred to a blocked punt late in the second quarter that Guelph needed just three plays to convert into a touchdown and an 85-yard interception return for a touchdown early in the third quarter. The ensuing two-point convert brought the Gryphons back to 28-25.
Guelph then scored on its next possession to take the lead, moving 76 yards in just three plays against a Queen's team that had become unglued.
Perhaps fuelled by the frustration of blowing the lead and wide-open receivers dropping at least half a dozen balls, Queen's began to take penalties. The least penalized intercollegiate team in Canada — 30, in six previous games — was flagged 14 times.
Guelph got six first downs by penalty, a major foul was instrumental in the Gryphons' second TD drive and penalties gave Guelph three cracks at the two-point convert on its third TD. Part of the reason the Gaels had lousy field position at the end of the game was 67 yards in penalties in the fourth quarter.
"I can't believe in a big game like that all of a sudden our team lost its discipline," Sheahan said, raising his voice for benefit of a passing official, "but I will be reviewing the film closely."
The Gaels regrouped in the final nine minutes. While the defence was containing the Gryphons — Guelph had just 40 yards of offence in the fourth quarter — the Queen's offence moved the ball 46, 70 and 41 yards with their final three possessions. Starting at their own 10-, 15- and 14-yard line, respectively, as the Gaels did, rendered such proficiency moot.
"We had tremendous ball movement in the fourth quarter," Sheahan said, "but to bring the ball 100 yards without something going wrong … is asking a lot."
Guelph coach Stu Lang, whose team improved to 6-1 after a 2-6 campaign a year ago, was delighted with the outcome.
"It was so important," he said, "not just to guarantee second place, but the win for the program, the building of confidence … this helps us get farther up the mountain."
Even the 28-3 deficit was not imposing, said Lang, whose team came from behind in the fourth quarter last week to defeat Western. Though one Queen's TD came from a fumble recovery in the end zone, another on a fake field goal attempt and a third on a 75-yard pass — each the sort of play that can demoralize a team — his players didn't seem to be bothered, even happening as they did, just nine minutes apart.
"When I looked around at the bench I saw confidence," Lang said. "There wasn't worry as in past years. The guys are starting to learn we can do it, we can come back.
"It's another great lesson that builds character and confidence. I can talk until I'm blue in the face but unless the guys experience it they won't believe it. Now it's a reality."
Mike Millar, Guelph's fifth-year defensive end, said his team merely came up flat to start the game.
"We knew Queen's was going to be a good team," he said, "(but) we knew we were playing well. Besides the first series (and when) they caught a deep ball and just beat our coverage … we ended up shutting down the Queen's offence and we got back in the game."
Guelph held Gaels running back Ryan Granberg to 88 yards, just the second time this year — and third time in his last 14 games — he's been held to less than 100.
"Granberg's a great runner," Millar said. "He's always getting yards after contact. We had to shut down Granberg in order to shut down Queen's."
Other parts of the Queen's game were strong enough to win without Granberg, but for every positive, it seemed, there was something that screamed, 'Yeah, but …'
Take McPhee, for instance. When the game was on the line in the fourth quarter, he completed 12 of 15 passes in one stretch. His four interceptions, however, was a career high.
"We didn't play well enough to win a big ball game," Sheahan said. "There were points in the game where we were very much in control. I thought the first half we played as well as we've played a first half (all year) but we didn't get out of there unscathed, either.
"We've got to play better. We haven't had that 60-minute exercise, still have not put that together. I don't think they're better than us, but they're just good enough that if you go out there and hand them a bunch of gifts, they'll appreciate that."
Queen's: TDs from Aaron Gazendam and Giovanni Aprile on passes from Billy McPhee, also Andrew Sauer, who recovered a Guelph fumble in the end zone, and Justin Chapdelaine, who went 34 yards on a fake field goal
Gryphons: Two rushing TDs by Rob Farquharson, another by QB Jazz Lindsey and Mackenzie Myers returns an interception 85 yards; Julian Tropea kicks a 12-yard FG
The game: Queen's leads 28-3 eight and a half minutes into the second quarter; a blocked punt leads to Guelph's first TD with 2:25 left in the half and the Gryphons score another before halftime
Result: Guelph will finish second and get the first week of playoffs off; Queen's will finish no worse than third and host a quarter-final game Oct. 27
Gaels the good: Queen's has a 45-yard scoring drive on its first possession and McPhee and Aprile connect for a 75-yard TD immediately after Guelph's FG late in the first quarter
Gaels the bad: After going ahead 28-3 Queen's is either two plays and out or throws an interception on eight of its next nine possessions, to the middle part of the fourth quarter
Turnovers: A blocked punt and an interception both lead to Guelph touchdowns; two more interceptions kill Queen's drives inside the Gryphons' 25-yard line
JC NOTE: The Gaels enjoyed a significant statistical advantage on offence with 30 first downs to 22 for the Gryphons, and 423 net yards vs. 209; however, 4 interceptions, a lost fumble, 107 yards in penalties, being out-returned 236 yards to 66, and several game-ending injuries including Prinsen, Kendrick, Lue, and Sequeira, more than made up for the 5 point differential.
