Box Score

The Warriors fell to 0-3 on the season following a 47-17 loss to the Guelph Gryphons on Saturday afternoon at the grand re-opening of their Alumni Stadium. 

Rookie quarterback Ben Hall (Brantford/Assumption College) saw his first action as a Warrior, looking impressive in the loss going 11-for-15 with 171 yards in the air including his first touchdown pass to Nick Anapolsky (Guelph /) late in the game.  Anapolsky led all players in receiving with 172 yards on seven catches and two touchdowns. 
 
Leading the Gryphon's offence was Robert Farquharson  (Niagara Falls, Ont.) who rushed for a monstrous 165 yards on 18 carries and two majors. Jazz Lindsey (Markham, Ont.) completed 13-of-30 attempts for 178 yards and two touchdowns. 
 
Receiving the first kick-off in the new stadium, the Warriors sought to leave their mark with an early victory in the season.  However, the Gryphon defence emerged strong, ruining any hopes of Waterloo domination.  Yet following several sloppy penalties on both sides of the ball, it was unclear as to who would emerge on top in the first quarter.
 
It was only in the eighth minute of regulation that Jazz Lindsey (Markham, Ont.) was able to shovel the ball to veteran receiver Michael Fortino (Niagara Falls, Ont.) to punch Guelph's first ticket into the end zone.  The successful conversion by Daniel Ferraro (Mississauga, Ont.) gave the Gryphons their first lead of 7-0.
 
Wasting no time on retaliation, Warrior quarterback, Jamie Cook (Collingwood/) (Collingwood, Ont.) was able to connect with Guelph local, Anapolsky to bring the Warriors within one.  The successful conversion put the first, and only tie on the scoreboard to end the quarter at 7-7.
 
Carrying the momentum into the Warrior end to start the second, the Gryphons wasted no time in dominating the Warrior red-zone.  However, a costly fumble saw possession switch to the Warriors within their 5-yard line.  The defence wasted no time in bringing the ball back into Lindsey's hands by shutting down the Warrior drive and forcing the punt.  The special teams came up strong to force a Warrior safety, bringing their lead to 9-7.
 
Waterloo would once again cut this lead short as Jake Fiorucci (Niagara Falls/) (Niagara Falls, Ont.) hit a 38-yard field goal to give Waterloo their first and only lead of the game.  Guelph quickly rebounded, but after a missed field goal attempt, the Gryphons were able to settle for a rouge to tie the game at 10.
 
As the half neared its completion, the Warriors had three big plays to bring them to a first and goal opportunity within Guelph's 5-yard line.  Rejected on the first two tries, the Warriors risked it on third and were once again denied by Guelph's impenetrable D-line.  The huge defensive upset gave the Gryphons the momentum they needed going into half to ensure the first victory in the new stadium.
 
Following the Gryphons' sixth sack, and a forced fumble by Iain Hutchison (Ottawa, Ont.) the offensive pressure surged into the Warrior red-zone with Rob Farquharson (Niagara Falls, Ont.) hammering home the second touchdown of the day to put Guelph up 17-9.  He would secure his second ticket to the end-zone minutes later with a monstrous 38-yard run to extend the lead by seven.  Daniel Ferraro (Mississauga, Ont.) capitalized on both conversion attempts.
 
As the offence finally found its rhythm, Jazz Lindsey (Markham, Ont.) connected with older brother Saxon Lindsey (Markham, Ont.) through the air to put Guelph up 33-10 going into the final quarter.
 
Dominance on both sides of the Guelph ball became the common theme in the fourth quarter as Guelph was able to keep Waterloo first-downs to a minimum, while maintaining possession to wind down the clock.  This led to Guelph's inevitable fifth touchdown as Marc Routledge snuck a 1-yard touchdown run in to put the Gryphons up 40-10.
 
Waterloo started to show signs of life as they retaliated with a 27-yard pass to Anapolsky from Hall for his second of the day.  The successful conversion cut the Gryphons' lead to 23.
 
However, the Gryphons defence wasn't finished as Taylor Palmer recorded the second interception of the game and ran it back for a whopping 75 yard touchdown in the final seven minutes to bring the lead back to 30 and seal the victory for the home side.

The Warriors will look to get into the win column next weekend as they travel to Toronto to face the York Lions (1-2) who are coming off a close defeat to the Laurier Golden Hawks a score of 24-20.