Running back Cam Ford receives a big block in front of him as he attempts to break off a run to the outside. PHOTO BY CHRIS DAWSON.
The Guelph Gryphons came into North Bay today and showed their dominance at the Steve Omischl Sports Complex.
The short handed Nipissing Wild team gave up a staggering 61 points in the first half and went on to lose the game with a final score of 68-7.
Nipissing knew they had a tough task ahead of them going into the Saturday afternoon contest.
Guelph was undefeated and is the number one ranked team in their division.
Many spectators did not think there would be any surprises at the game, but there was.
Just 30 minutes prior to kick off, coach Samson for the Nipissing Wild found out his team would be short a few players. It was six players to be exact.
Although no names were mentioned, coach Samson was adamant about how important those guys would've been.
“Those six guys are definitely key players,” stated coach Samson.
“You game plan for those certain guys, on certain positions and then you find out they're not there. But, we found today, who really wants to play football.”
When he was asked about the missing players again and how their actions would affect their future playing time, Samson did not give away much.
“Yeah, we will definitely be having a talk,” said coach Samson.
It was a rough start for the Wild before the game even began, but when the game started, their luck didn't get any better. The Gryphons came out and scored a touchdown on their very first play of the game during the kick off. Then with a mix of good defence and good offence, they were able to shut out the Wild and score 31 points in the first quarter.
And just when it seemed like the Wild's luck couldn't worse, their quarterback Riley Gravelle got hurt on what seemed like a horse collar tackle. Fortunately, Gravelle was able to return to the game after a few series.
The second quarter was no different for the Wild.
They had no answers for Guelph and the Gryphons were firing on all cylinders. It was hard to find any offence for the Wild as the Guelph D-line broke through on just about every single play. The Wild's defence also couldn't stop the Gryphons air raid on offence and allowed several touch down passes.
Guelph managed to pile on another 30 points in the second quarter before going into half time. By that point Nipissing could have easily given up, but they didn't.
The Wild surrendered only one touchdown in the entire second half and everyone on the team kept pushing. They were eventually able to score a touch down on a broken down field goal attempt. Riley Gravelle was able to pick up the football after a wild snap on the field goal attempt, then he was able to scramble and lob a TD pass to the end zone.
It was a tough loss for the now 0-6 Wild, but they have two weeks to rest and to forget about the game as they have a bye week next week.
The week after, the Wild will look to defend their home turf one last time this season against the Huronia Stallions.
