Gryphons hand Windsor its first loss in shootout at Alumni Stadium

Kaine Stevenson’s touchdown sure felt special to the Guelph Gryphons’ veteran receiver.

"It was a big one. I really wanted it," Stevenson said. "I haven't beaten them since I've been here, so..."

Stevenson reached out and grabbed a pass from quarterback Tristan Aboud, kept his balance and scampered into the endzone for his second touchdown of the OUA football season late in the first half of Guelph’s 45-40 victory over the fifth-ranked and previously unbeaten Windsor Lancers Saturday at Alumni Stadium. The Gryphons entered the game ranked an equal ninth with the UBC Thunderbirds.

The win clinched a playoff berth for the Gryphons.

The touchdown was a little special for Stevenson as it came against his hometown university’s team.

"I really wanted that,” Stevenson said. “At the end of the day it wouldn't have mattered if I'd scored or not as long as we got the W, right? So that's all that counted.”

The game was the fourth of the season for Stevenson as injuries kept him out of three games. He’s had 13 receptions for 139 yards and two touchdowns to raise his career totals to 61 catches for 686 yards and five touchdowns. He originally began his time with the Gryphons as a running back and had a team-high 81 carries for 379 yards and three touchdowns in 2019, his freshman season.

Saturday, the Gryphons appeared to do their best to give the game away.

"Well that starts with the coaching staff," Gryphon head coach Mark Surya said. "We like to be aggressive but sometimes we hunt ourselves and I'll be the first to say that. So we've got to get back to the drawing board and kind of see where we can improve. The kids did a great job. We've got to do a better job as a coaching staff to put them in better positions to win."

After going up 10-0 in the first quarter, Guelph’s onside kick backfired as Windsor’s Shane Johnson returned it straight up the middle of the field 61 yards for a touchdown. In the fourth quarter, the Gryphons blocked a field goal but Windsor holder Brett Bjorgan ended up with the ball and he ran 29 yards for a touchdown.

The Gryphons also had four drives stall in the red zone and they had to settle for Ben Lane field goals. And Guelph penalties allowed Windsor drives to continue, especially in the first half.

"They're a top-ranked team for a reason," Surya said. "I can't give them enough respect on how they played. Today was our day, but we had a lot of chances to give it away. We're a young team. We haven't been in this situation very often. We haven't played top teams very often. We had a chance to win so you can see some of our inexperience but I'm proud of the way they played."

The Gryphons had 494 yards of total offence, 283 passing and 238 rushing. Both teams had three sacks and Guelph’s Anakin Guthrie had the game’s lone interception.

Max Holmes had two sacks and Josh Campbell and Robert Keyes-Wilson shared another sack.

Bishop Macdonell Catholic High School graduate and a former District 10 high school most valuable player Marco Piccioni had four solo and six assisted tackles for Windsor.

Donavin Milloy, who had 101 yards rushing, scored a touchdown on a 14-yard run while other Gryphon touchdowns were scored by Willem Arseneau on a 20-yard pass from Aboud and Aboud also scored on a seven-yard run. Lane kicked field goals of 12, 19, 18, 48 (off an upright and in) and nine yards and also converted all four touchdowns. The hosts also had a safety.

The win leaves the Gryphons with a 5-2 (W-L) record. Laurier Golden Hawks lead the league at 6-0 while the Western Mustangs and Windsor are tied at 5-1 and the Queen’s Gaels are at 4-3.

The Gryphons are to complete their regular season Friday with a 7 p.m. against the York Lions (2-4) at York Lions Stadium.

"We've got to handle business," Stevenson said. "We can't come out in the first half like we did against Waterloo (in the Homecoming Game when they trailed the winless Warriors 15-3 early in the second quarter). We've got to come out firing on all cylinders, get the job done and get out of there and get our rest on our bye week.

"We're not going to take anybody lightly. You can't, not in this league. Not this year."

A win against York will give the Gryphons, who’ll have a bye on the final week of the regular season, a home game in the quarter-finals.

"Oh it's huge. It's everything," Stevenson said. "I live for playoff football. I love it. I love the intensity. I love playing football and I want to go out swinging."

Almost unbelievable that the intensity could get higher than the fourth quarter of Saturday’s game.

"That was intense, but it can always get more intense,” Stevenson said. “And I'm glad the boys rallied and faced a little adversity but we overcame it."

Top seven teams qualify for the playoffs. The first-place team gets a bye in the quarter-finals while the teams that finish second, third and fourth host quarter-final matches.