Unlike their prior two matchups, the Gee-Gees were unable to keep up with a streaking Guelph Gryphons team as their season ended in the OUA quarterfinals at Gee-Gees Field.
After putting up an impressive 20 unanswered points in the first quarter, the Ottawa offence stalled in what became a 30-8 win for the visiting Gryphons. A series of turnovers and mistakes in the redzone throughout the game cost the Gee-Gees a trip to the OUA semifinals next week.
For the second season in a row, the Gee-Gees lost their playoff-game starting quarterback to injury, forcing their backup to close out the game. Alex Lavric passed for 118 yards before a injury to his throwing hand pushed fellow rookie Ryan Astrom to the helm of the Ottawa offence. Astrom was able to move the ball fairly effectively passing for 105 yards and running for 25.
Ultimately, it was the same pitfalls that have been plaguing the Gee-Gees in their losses this season that led to the loss on Saturday.
"We weren't executing very well," said Gee-Gees head coach Jamie Barresi. "I told the group that you have to pay attention to details and we didn't. We moved the ball into position, but the little things hurt us �?� I blame myself for that."
Despite two short passing touchdowns given up, the Gee-Gees secondary that has been strong all season limited James Roberts effectively, holding him to 147 yards in the game.
Fifth-year captain Ty Cranston intercepted Roberts midway through the game, giving the Gee-Gees a total of 14 interceptions on the season to top the OUA. For Cranston, after his final game in garnet and grey, he had nothing but high-praise for his group in the secondary.
"These guys are unbelievable," he said. "They're some of the best athletes I've ever played with, some of the best we've had here. Some of these guys are going to be playing much longer than their university career. It was fun to play with them, they made it easy on me."
Going forward, although the Gee-Gees lose some key pieces to both their offence and defence next year, there is an overwhelming sense of optimism going forward.
Fourth-year running back Bryce Vieira is unsure of his path coming into next year, but regardless of whether or not he is manning the backfield in 2018, he has the utmost confidence going forward.
"We have a lot to look forward to," said Vieira. "Lavric got put in so young, but now he has a season of experience under his belt. We have a lot of o-linemen that are going into their second or third year. We're only going to get more complete in the years to come."
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