Running backs in football are a lot like pitchers in baseball: you can never have too many of them.
That depth at running back is the main reason the Guelph Gryphons improved to 2-1 on the season Saturday afternoon with a 38-29 win over the Queen's Gaels at Alumni Stadium.
With starting running back Johnny Augustine still on the shelf with a leg injury and Week 1 hero Mack Jones also out with an injury, it was up to the dynamic duo of Daniel Palmer-Salmon and Brandon Gordon to step up to the plate against Queens.
The pair combined for 258 rushing yards and three touchdowns in a game that saw Guelph score 30 points in the second half to secure a come-from-behind win.
Palmer-Salmon also caught two passes for 42 yards.
Gordon said splitting the running duties between the two third-year backs helped keep both of them fresh.
"One hundred per cent. I was very tight after two carries, so it was good to have him there," said Gordon, who carried the ball 16 times for 133 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
"We knew our assignments, it was just a matter of getting down there and executing," said Palmer-Salmon, who ran the ball 30 times for 125 yards and a major.
Also impressive was that in 46 carries neither one fumbled the ball.
Thomas Bresciani had Guelph's other touchdown on an 11-yard pass from quarterback James Roberts.
Roberts connected on 13 of 26 passes for 164 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions.
The Gryphon defence, despite giving up 420 yards in total offence, came up with some big plays as the game went on, including three interceptions and four sacks of Queen's quarterback Nate Hobbs.
"You have to have depth in this league. There's going to be injuries and other things that happened and you have to have depth on the bench to come up with these big wins," Gryphon coach Kevin MacNeill said.
"Brandon was our second-string tailback all last year and he was awesome. Daniel did a great job in his first game starting."
The Gryphs trailed 11-0 after one quarter and 11-8 at the half before a second-half rally that included a 21-point third quarter.
Guelph also played the game without All-Canadian kick returner and receiver Ryan Nieuwesteeg, who was injured in practice last week.
Week 3 action has created quite the logjam in the OUA standings, with seven teams now sporting two wins on the season.
Guelph plays in Ottawa on Saturday.
