This is not how the Guelph Gryphons season was supposed to go.
The defending Yates Cup champions entered the year with a repeat OUA championship possible, first place almost expected and a home playoff game a virtual certaintly.
Now they are in a dog fight just to make the playoffs.
The Gryphs were clobbered 50-16 by the Western Mustangs Saturday before a sell-out Homecoming crowd of 8,500 at Alumni Stadium.
The loss leaves Guelph at 2-3 on the season, with their remaining three games including tough opponents McMaster and Wilfrid Laurier.
“There’s no excuses in the end. They were the better team and they won,” said Guelph quarterback James Roberts.
“It’s always about getting into the playoffs. This team’s culture has been to go 7-1, but this year’s different: it’s get in the playoffs and get a chance,” Roberts said.
“We’ve got to be better and we’ve got to be a better team to play for each other,” he said.
Guelph got off on the right foot Saturday.
Roberts connected with Colton Jones on the team’s second offensive play of the day for a 66-yard catch-and-run play to put Guelph up 7-0 early.
But it was all Western after that.
They led 17-7 after the first quarter and 26-13 at the half. A 17-point third quarter doused any hope of late game heroics by the home side.
“We still have a lot of games left,” coach Kevin MacNeill said.
When reminded of his team’s record, which means the team likely has to win two of its final three to make the post-season, MacNeill said “I don’t look that far ahead. We’ll look at the next game and figure out what we have to do to win that game.
“We’ve got to play better and we’ve got to practice better. They played better today.”
Western rolled up 511 yards in total offense, 224 of that on the ground, led by Alex Taylor’s 120 yards.
Guelph couldn’t break the 100-yard mark on the ground, with Johnny Augustine held to 73 yards on 14 carries.
Gryphs quarterback James Roberts had more success in the air, hitting on 30 of 46 pass attempts for 375 yards, but just one touchdown/
Guelph was also its own worst enemy at times, fumbling three times, throwing two interceptions, missing one field goal attempt and having another blocked.
They play at McMaster next weekend.
