THIRD QUARTER EXPLOSION LEADS QUEEN'S PAST GUELPH
- Giffin records 292-all purpose yards in 41-30 win-
Guelph, Ont. (September 6, 2008) –Mike Giffin of Kingston, Ont., rushed for 214-yards leading the No. 7 ranked Queen's Gaels to a 41-30 win over the Guelph Gryphon's at Alumni Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Queen's used a 21-point explosion in the third quarter to propel them to their second victory of the season while Guelph, the 2007 Yates Cup finalists drop to 0-2 to start the 2008 campaign.
Overall the Gaels recorded 692-total yards in offense with Giffin tallying 292 of them, recording two touchdowns in the second half. Dan Brannagan of Burlington, Ont. recorded 437-yards passing including a 78-yard touchdown pass to Giffin which broke open the game in the fourth quarter.
The opening half was a defensive struggle with both teams feeling each other out and exchanging multiple field goals. Guelph recorded the first touchdown of the game at 14:40 of the second quarter when Nick FitzGibbon of Puslinch, Ont. accepted a 41-yard pass from quarterback Justin Dunk of Guelph, Ont.
Gaels placekicker Dan Village of Abbotsford, B.C. recorded a field goal as time elapsed to close the first half with Guelph leading Queen's 10-9.
The game took an unusual twist after halftime with both teams responding with big offensive numbers and a scoring outburst. Queen's exploded for 21-points in the third quarter coupled with 11 in the fourth for a total 32 points in the second half while Guelph tallied 24.
“We tried to stick to our game play,” said Giffin following the game. “We wanted to play small football - little runs, tight passes and our offensive line kept wearing them down. That helped us put some points on the board and made for a big second half.”
Coming back after the half, Queen's proceeded to score on its next two possessions opening up the score to 23-10. In those possessions Chris Ioannides of Toronto received a pass from Brannagan for a 37-yard score while Giffin broke from the line of scrimmage for a 25-yard run just two minutes later.
Guelph responded with Dunk connecting with Zach Stacey of Burlington, Ont. on a 74-yard bomb making the score 23-17. On the ensuing drive, Brannagan found a wide open Ioannides on the far side of the field who broke a tackle and scored from 31-yards out making the score 30-17 Queen's.
The Gryphon's refused to give-up and scored at 1:27 of the fourth quarter with FitzGibbon receiving an 8-yard pass for a touchdown from Dunk. Minutes later Village connected with his fourth field goal of the game and later Giffin sealed the victory with his 78-yard run.
Dunk had a solid outing, posting 449-yards passing while connecting for three touchdowns. He also was the Guelph's second leading rushing gaining 48-yards. FitzGibbon led Guelph in rushing posting 116-yards on the ground and another 116-yards in receiving going along with his two touchdown receptions. Jedd Gardner of Niagara Falls, Ont. was Guelph's top receiver with 144 yards.
Queen's defensive back Jimmy Allin of Belleville, Ont., broke his way into the Gaels record books early in the second quarter when he broke up a pass from Dunk. The pass break-up moved him into top position ahead of Kirby Calvert for most career past break-ups in a Gaels uniform.
Overall Allin had another spectacular special team performance posting 161-yards on the punt return and another 23 on the kick-return.
The Gaels will host the Wilfred Laurier Golden Hawks next Saturday at Richardson Stadium. At that game, Queen's will honour military families and recognize several championship teams from the past. Fans are encouraged to wear red to show their support and appreciation for Canadian military families.
NOTES: Giffin extends his rushing streak of consecutive games over 100-yards or more to 12. The streak dates back to October 17, 2006 verses York University… Queen's long time Defensive Coordinator Pat Tracey is a University of Guelph graduate having stared for the Gryphon's from 1982 to 1986. He was a member of the 1984 Vanier Cup Championship Team.
Score by Quarters 1 2 3 4 Score
----------------- -- -- -- -- -----
Queen's Gaels....... 3 6 21 11 - 41 Record: (1-0)
Guelph Gryphons..... 3 7 7 13 - 30 Record: (0-1)
Scoring Summary:
1st 08:17 GUE - Maver, Rob 33 yd field goal, 15-0 4:51, QUE 0 - GUE 3
11:03 QUE - Village, Dan 36 yd field goal, 15-0 4:51, QUE 3 - GUE 3
2nd 06:21 QUE - Village, Dan 32 yd field goal, 11-0 2:53, QUE 6 - GUE 3
14:40 GUE - FitzGibbon, Nic 41 yd pass from Dunk, Justin (Maver, Rob kick), 4-82 1:06, QUE 6 - GUE 10
15:00 QUE - Village, Dan 38 yd field goal, 2-0 0:15, QUE 9 - GUE 10
3rd 03:28 QUE - Ioannides, Chri 37 yd pass from Brannagan, Dan (Village, Dan kick), 5-63 2:10, QUE 16 - GUE 10
05:59 QUE - Giffin, Mike 25 yd run (Village, Dan kick), 4-51 1:24, QUE 23 - GUE 10
07:01 GUE - Stacey, Zach 74 yd pass from Dunk, Justin (Maver, Rob kick), 2-77 0:51, QUE 23 - GUE 17
08:47 QUE - Ioannides, Chri 31 yd pass from Brannagan, Dan (Village, Dan kick), 4-65 1:41, QUE 30 - GUE 17
4th 01:27 GUE - FitzGibbon, Nic 8 yd pass from Dunk, Justin (Maver, Rob kick), 8-85 4:05, QUE 30 - GUE 24
04:01 QUE - Village, Dan 29 yd field goal, 9-0 2:28, QUE 33 - GUE 24
09:31 QUE - Giffin, Mike 78 yd pass from Brannagan, Dan (Village, Dan kick), 2-85 0:42, QUE 40 - GUE 24
13:09 QUE - Village, Dan rouge, , QUE 41 - GUE 24
14:38 GUE - Bartley, Paul 1 yd run (Bartley, Paul rush failed), 13-75 3:04, QUE 41 - GUE 30
QUE GUE
FIRST DOWNS................... 32 29
RUSHES-YARDS (NET)............ 34-261 31-169
PASSING YDS (NET)............. 437 462
Passes Att-Comp-Int........... 37-19-1 34-24-1
TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS..... 72-692 67-617
Fumble Returns-Yards.......... 0-0 0-0
Punt Returns-Yards............ 8-197 5--52
Kickoff Returns-Yards......... 4-67 5-96
Interception Returns-Yards.... 1-0 1-23
Punts (Number-Avg)............ 4-32.5 7-44.3
Fumbles-Lost.................. 0-0 0-0
Penalties-Yards............... 10-65 5-41
Possession Time............... 24:17 35:43
Third-Down Conversions........ 0 of 0 1 of 3
Red-Zone Scores-Chances....... 0-0 3-5
Sacks By: Number-Yards........ 2-14 1-6
RUSHING: Queen's Gaels-Giffin, Mike 26-214; Gordon, Marty 3-32; Brannagan, Dan
3-20; TEAM 2-minus 5. Guelph Gryphons-FitzGibbon, Nic 18-111; Dunk, Justin
10-43; Bartley, Paul 3-15.
PASSING: Queen's Gaels-Brannagan, Dan 19-37-1-437. Guelph Gryphons-Dunk, Justin
23-33-1-449; Maver, Rob 1-1-0-13.
RECEIVING: Queen's Gaels-Ioannides, Chri 7-126; Sheahan, Devan 4-70; Valberg,
Scott 3-80; Surya, Mark 2-59; Giffin, Mike 1-78; Poffley, Tim 1-13; Morrison,
Blais 1-11. Guelph Gryphons-Gardner, Jedd 9-144; FitzGibbon, Nic 5-116;
Harrison, David 4-92; Parker, Ryan 3-14; Stacey, Zach 2-83; Savoie, James 1-13.
INTERCEPTIONS: Queen's Gaels-Allin, Jimmy 1-0. Guelph Gryphons-Howard, Sabasti
1-23.
FUMBLES: Queen's Gaels-None. Guelph Gryphons-None.
Individual Statistics (Final)
Queen's Gaels Guelph Gryphons
Rushing No Gain Loss Net TD Lg Avg Rushing No Gain Loss Net TD Lg Avg
-------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------
Giffin, Mike 26 222 8 214 1 25 8.2 FitzGibbon, Nic 18 116 5 111 0 33 6.2
Gordon, Marty 3 32 0 32 0 21 10.7 Dunk, Justin 10 48 5 43 0 16 4.3
Brannagan, Dan 3 20 0 20 0 13 6.7 Bartley, Paul 3 15 0 15 1 14 5.0
TEAM 2 0 5 -5 0 0 -2.5 Totals... 31 179 10 169 1 33 5.5
Totals... 34 274 13 261 1 25 7.7
Passing Att-Cmp-Int Yds TD Long Sack Passing Att-Cmp-Int Yds TD Long Sack
-------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------
Brannagan, Dan 37-19-1 437 3 78 1 Dunk, Justin 33-23-1 449 3 74 2
Totals... 37-19-1 437 3 78 1 Maver, Rob 1-1-0 13 0 13 0
Totals... 34-24-1 462 3 74 2
Receiving No. Yds TD Long Receiving No. Yds TD Long
----------------------------------- -----------------------------------
Ioannides, Chri 7 126 2 37 Gardner, Jedd 9 144 0 30
Sheahan, Devan 4 70 0 29 FitzGibbon, Nic 5 116 2 41
Valberg, Scott 3 80 0 32 Harrison, David 4 92 0 32
Surya, Mark 2 59 0 39 Parker, Ryan 3 14 0 8
Giffin, Mike 1 78 1 78 Stacey, Zach 2 83 1 74
Poffley, Tim 1 13 0 13 Savoie, James 1 13 0 13
Morrison, Blais 1 11 0 11 Totals... 24 462 3 74
Totals... 19 437 3 78
Punting No. Yds Avg Long In20 Punting No. Yds Avg Long In20
----------------------------------------- -----------------------------------------
Village, Dan 4 130 32.5 40 1 Maver, Rob 7 310 44.3 60 0
Totals... 4 130 32.5 40 1 Totals... 7 310 44.3 60 0
Punts Kickoffs Intercept Punts Kickoffs Intercept
All Returns No.Yds.Lg No.Yds.Lg No.Yds.Lg All Returns No.Yds.Lg No.Yds.Lg No.Yds.Lg
--------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------
Valberg, Scott 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 Gardner, Jedd 1 28 28 0 0 0 0 0 0
Therrien, Jimmy 1 26 26 1 25 25 0 0 0 Riley, Sean 4 -80 13 0 0 0 0 0 0
Allin, Jimmy 6 161 44 1 23 23 1 0 0 Howard, Sabasti 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 23 23
Gordon, Marty 0 0 0 1 19 19 0 0 0 Bartley, Paul 0 0 0 4 97 40 0 0 0
Totals... 8 197 44 4 67 25 1 0 0 Totals... 5 -52 28 5 96 40 1 23 23
Field goal attempts Field goal attempts
---------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------
Village, Dan 1st 03:57 36 yds - Good Maver, Rob 1st 06:43 33 yds - Good
Village, Dan 2nd 08:39 32 yds - Good Maver, Rob 1st 00:01 32 yds - Returned
Village, Dan 2nd 04:48 35 yds - Returned Maver, Rob 4th 06:11 35 yds - Returned
Village, Dan 2nd 00:00 38 yds - Good
Village, Dan 3rd 02:38 48 yds - Returned
Village, Dan 4th 10:59 29 yds - Good
