It was a night of almosts for the Waterloo Warriors.

They almost had three straight scoring drives, but only turned them into three points. The defense almost came up with a huge interception, only to have it turn into the biggest gain against them all night. And they looked almost ready to mount a big comeback, only to have an injury change their entire game plan. 

There were balls through fingertips, balls off of uprights, and shoestring tackles to prevent touchdowns. It's a game of inches, and on this night, all the extra inches went in favour of the host Guelph Gryphons, who defeated the Warriors 27-10 at a wet and windy Alumni Stadium in Guelph. 

The result evens both teams' records at 2-2, and further populates the logjam in the middle of the OUA West division: the Warriors and Gryphons are joined by Windsor and Laurier with identical records, and just two weeks left in the shortened six-game regular season. 

The Warriors outgained Guelph 354 yards to 217 yards on the night, led by quarterback Tre Ford (Niagara Falls/), who threw for 159 yards and a touchdown, while adding an incredible 171 yards on 15 rushing attempts. But the 2018 OUA MVP saw his game cut short midway through the third quarter when he was forced to the sidelines with an injury. 

Linebacker Michael Reid (Sault Ste. Marie/) had an outstanding game for a staunch Warriors defense, notching 9.5 total tackles (7 solo), three tackles for lost yardage, and 1.5 sacks. Jordan Travis (Barrie/) also added an interception for the visitors. 

For the Gryphons, electric receiver and returner Clark Barnes carried the day with 6 catches for 92 yards and a touchdown, while adding a 108-yard kickoff return for a major. 

The game was a defensive battle early on, with Cole Crossett (Ottawa/) and Eric Stranz exchanging field goals to make the score 3-3 early in the second quarter. While Waterloo's offense began to move the ball in the face of intense pressure from the Gryphons' talented front seven, the bend-but-don't-break defense of Guelph held Waterloo out of the end zone. Improbably, Crossett hit the uprights on two consecutive field goal attempts, leaving the score deadlocked at 3-3 late in the first half. 

But in just over two minutes of game time, the Gryphons took advantage of a pair of big plays to swing the momentum. First, Barnes turned an innocent screen play into a massive 62-yard gain setting up an 11-yard TD pass from Shawn Lal to Barnes. Then, in the closing minute of the half, Crossett mishandled a snap on his own five-yard line, which led to a 5-yard TD reception by Kiondre Smith, making it 17-3 Guelph. It looked like Ford might answer back on the final play of the half, but his sprint to the end zone was turned into a harmless 26-yard rushing gain thanks to a shoestring tackle by Ben Lack as time expired. 

Ford carried that offensive momentum into the third quarter, where he led the Warriors downfield and found Gordon Lam (Kitchener/) for a 7-yard score to cut the lead to 17-10. 

On the ensuing kickoff, Barnes weaved through traffic and returned it 108 yards to restore the two-score Guelph lead, and the stage was set once again for Ford to try and lead another scoring drive. But just two plays later, Ford was forced out of the game due to injury, pressing rookie quarterback Nolan Kaban (Calgary/) into action. 

The Guelph defense came up big against the freshman pivot, and the Warriors were unable to mount a charge to crawl back into the game. A fourth-quarter field goal from Stranz rounded out the scoring, making the final 27-10. 

The Warriors will now return home for the first time since the opening week of 2021, as they'll host the first-place Western Mustangs on Saturday, October 23. Kickoff from Warrior Field is slated for 1pm.